ST JAMES, Jamaica —  Co-founder of the BREDS Treasure Beach Foundation, Jason Henzell, says the community’s approach to disaster recovery and resilience is attracting regional attention and serving as a model for other Caribbean communities.

Addressing the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Community Fun Day at the BREDS Treasure Beach Sports Park in St Elizabeth on July 23, Henzell said the community’s experience recovering from hurricanes Beryl and Melissa has demonstrated the value of strong partnerships and community-driven development.

“There are a lot of other countries around the Caribbean that are also having disaster risk management conferences. I was invited to one in Trinidad a few weeks ago, which I attended, and they’re using Treasure Beach as a model of community development and how an active NGO [non-governmental organisation] can partner with others to build back,” he said.

Henzell noted that through its extensive network of local and overseas partners, the BREDS Foundation was able to mobilise significant support following the disasters.

“We were able to raise a considerable amount of money that would have gone into farming vouchers, vouchers for fishermen, vouchers to put roofs backs on homes, and we were able to help 30 small businesses and over 300 community tourism workers,” he informed.

Henzell said the experience reinforced the importance of strengthening disaster preparedness and resilience across Jamaica.

Looking ahead, he informed that the foundation is advancing plans to construct a Treasure Beach Resilience Centre, which will serve as a model emergency shelter capable of accommodating more than 200 people.

Henzell outlined that the project is intended to reduce the dependence on using schools as emergency shelters by demonstrating how community centres can be purpose-built to withstand disasters while providing essential services.

He said the foundation also plans to share the model and lessons learned with neighbouring communities, including Black River and Savanna-la-Mar, which have also experienced severe hurricane impacts.

The BREDS Treasure Beach Foundation is a grassroots, community-lead organisation based in the St Elizabeth community.

—  JIS