KINGSTON, Jamaica — In an effort to build community resilience to natural hazards, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) is inviting regional students and graduates to apply for their funded training programmes in geography, natural hazards or economics at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The facility has been providing internships to recent university undergraduates and postgraduate students from the Caribbean who have earned degrees in areas like disaster risk management, environmental management, geography, civil engineering, and climate studies at regional and national institutions.

Vice Chairman Saundra Bailey explained the rationale behind the project.

“Because we operate as a development insurer, we put our surpluses into initiatives that support our members to build resilience to the many natural hazards that we are exposed to,” she said.

Bailey said it has awarded 190 grants since 2010, amounting to US$2 million, and spent over US$500,000 on 200 youth in the region, through their internship programme.

Addressing the recent launch of the Papine High School greenhouse in St Andrew, where they provided US$25,000 for its buildout, the vice chairman said applications can be made for grants as well.

Under their small grants programme, the organisation provides grants of US$2,500 to US$25,000 to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based groups, service clubs, universities and schools, to implement projects that are aligned with their mandate.

Interested persons can reach the entity at www.ccrif.org.

— JIS