A report from the Bahamas
September 29, 2019 by
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Sydney-based Alethea Gold has spent two weeks distributing much-needed support working with Israeli NGO smartAID on the island Abaco.
The island among the worst-hit parts of the Bahamas.
Alethea Gold reports:
None of this aid could have been delivered if it wasn’t for DHL GLOBAL who picked up goods up from all over the globe and freighted them to Nassau..a cost of over US$700,000 for free.
Alethea gets down to work
In fact, DHL has never turned me down and they’ve always been there to help all my causes.
smartAID specialises in innovative technology for disaster zones and emergency relief.
The situation here in the Bahamas is very very bad. Today we were in areas where the smell was so bad from bodies that haven’t yet been found., we had to wear masks.
My team of three Israeli are professional tech guys who also enlisted help from a guy from Miami, and myself. These Israelis have the knowhow of technology to make generators out of old car batteries, and more.
We’re also helping other local NGOs to get telecommunication and their wifi boosted and set up communication for them. The hardest part for all the volunteers and NGO’s in the field is no communication.
We’ve also just built a shower and a petrol pump for a local medic team on Abaco…but there’s no petrol.
There are also no showers .. these poor medics haven’t showered for two weeks.
Helping the kids
It’s unusual that NGO’s work together but this is such a sad story and it’s interesting that everyone is helping each other.
We’ve been given the service of a plane many times by another NGO, to help us get all our aid across from Nassau to Abaco.
We’re spending most of our time in Marsh Harbour, Treasure Key and Sandy Point which are the worst-hit parts of Abaco island.
I’ve been delivering solar-powered lights, especially to the kids… These pics are from some kids in shelters in Nassau in gymnasiums, and also in Freeport on the Grand Bahama Island where there are 1600 evacuees in gymnasiums and thousands of people spread all over the churches…and lots of children.
We also have given people on Abaco Island water purifiers, (that purify contaminated water) and solar lights, and now we’ve just had a donor give us more money to buy pellets for Dengue fever.. that is the next big scare that they’re afraid of.
I can go on and on…..
Shana Tova
