THE University of the West Indies (UWI) has initiated a ‘Vice-Chancellor’s Hurricane Recovery Task Force’ to offer technical advice and assistance to countries affected by Hurricane Ivan.

The university, in a statement, said a database has been compiled of the relevant expertise available at the university from among the academic and senior administrative staff who could provide advisory and technical service in a broad range of sectors.

These include housing, education, psychological counselling, the environment, agriculture including livestock and fisheries, as well as economic and policy planning.

The sectors on the database have been sub-divided into assistance for immediate recovery, short-term and long-term phases and eventual reduction of vulnerability to hurricane damage, the university said.

As part of this effort, the newly-installed vice-chancellor Professor E Nigel Harris and pro vice-chancellor Professor Lawrence Carrington, who has responsibility for the non-campus countries and distance education, recently visited Grenada – the country worst hit by Ivan – to ascertain the ways in which the UWI could offer immediate relief.

They met with Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, the minister of education Claris Charles, and with the staff and students of the University of the West Indies Centre in Grenada. One of the measures taken was to waive the tuition fees of all Grenadian students currently enrolled at the UWI.

“Despite the fact that the university’s finances are extremely strained at present, this concession, valued at over EC$1 million, was a gesture which had the unanimous support of all constituents of the university. In addition, a benefit cricket match for Grenadian students has been arranged by Professor Hilary Beckles, to be played at the 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill Campus, between a team captained by Brian Lara and a Cave Hill campus eleven,” said the university’s statement.

According to the statement, the University of the West Indies also offered immediate assistance to Grenada in two crucial areas of the rehabilitation and reconstruction being pursued by the government: the psycho-social well-being of affected citizens and shelter, specifically housing and building restoration.

At the same time, Professor Carrington assured Minister Charles that the UWI was prepared to partner with the T A Marryshow College, the Grenada Ministry of Education and other constituents, in a “strategic planning effort” to assess the human resource needs of Grenada and to structure educational programmes to meet those needs.

The vice-chancellor also held discussions with Prime Minister P J Patterson of Jamaica as well as with Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago about the UWI initiative.

“In the long-term, it is vital to develop and implement strategies to reduce the Caribbean’s vulnerability to natural disasters, such as revising and enforcing building codes and putting in place environmental protection measures that would minimise erosion, landslides, flooding and related negative outcomes,” said the university.

Vice-Chancellor Harris has, in the meantime, proposed the establishment of a regional centre of excellence in disaster management, in collaboration with institutions such as the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), the Caribbean Community (Caricom), regional banking institutions and possibly, regional insurance agencies.