September 18, 2019 02:16 PM EDT
As thousands of Bahamians continue to be in need of food, water and shelter, The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), through the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF), today announced its partnership with World Central Kitchen (WCK). BTC presented WCK with a check in the amount of US$25,000 to help the organization with the cost of providing meals to displaced families.
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BTC employees preparing supplies for evacuees (Photo: Business Wire)
WCK has been providing fresh meals throughout The Bahamas since just after Hurricane Dorian made landfall on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama as a category five hurricane on September 1st. “This grant from the CWCF will go a long way to help us get food to those who need it the most. Many communities have been completely devastated and are in dire need,” said Erin Gore of WCK. “To date, we have served 280,000 meals to people across both islands, as well as to those currently living in shelters in Nassau.”
“This grant to WCK is part of our broader humanitarian initiative in The Bahamas,” said Denise Williams, a Director of the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation and SVP of Communications at C&W Communications. “Our team visited the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco immediately after the passage of Hurricane Dorian and have seen the devastation firsthand. Based on those reports we immediately initiated our response protocols. We will be supporting organizations such as WCK that are working to help bring relief to those affected by the hurricane.”
Last week, the CWCF committed US$500,000 towards immediate relief and rebuilding initiatives. “We have already utilized a significant amount of these funds to purchase and ship critical items such as generators, care packages and supplies to the islands to support affected communities. In the weeks ahead, we will continue to work with organizations such as WCK to get additional supplies to those most in need,” said Williams.
Gary Sinclair, CEO of BTC, also outlined the broader humanitarian support the company is providing in The Bahamas. “In addition to aid from the C&W regional Foundation, BTC has also airlifted and shipped over 60,000 pounds of food, water and critical care supplies along with 225 generators to the islands. Our first priority was securing the safety of our employees and their families. We have evacuated 160 employees and family members and are providing them with temporary housing and essential supplies, while at the same time, we are providing critical supplies to members of affected communities.” Sinclair indicated that BTC will support longer term re-building activities on the island.
The Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation was established in 2017 to help the region rebuild in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Foundation has raised more than US$1.2M and has used the funds to:
- distribute emergency supplies to thousands in the British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla and Puerto Rico;
- build stronger and safer facilities for students in Dominica, Anguilla, and Turks and Caicos Islands;
- support the rebuilding efforts in Dominica, including the island’s only public library;
- enable hundreds of young people to learn new life skills in vulnerable communities in Puerto Rico, Curacao and Jamaica; and,
- support more disaster resilient communities in Trinidad and Barbados.
The Foundation is now focusing its efforts on immediate disaster relief and longer-term rebuilding activities in the region.
About C&W Communications
C&W, part of the Liberty Latin America group of companies, is a full-service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in more than 20 markets. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network – the most extensive in the region.
About Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation
Cable & Wireless Communications’ commitment to doing business in a responsible and sustainable way is why we launched the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF). The Foundation is a powerful platform to raise and distribute funds to those in need across our markets.
Since its launch, the Foundation has raised US$1.5 million, and committed over US$1 million to recognized local, regional and international agencies to execute relief and recovery projects in eight countries. These projects help communities across Latin America and the Caribbean to not only recover from crises but support them in becoming more resilient when facing similar challenges in the future. In addition to the recovery and resiliency work, the CWCF also supports activities that enable progress in communities, as part of our efforts to build stronger communities and nations.
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