U.S. Government facilitates delivery of private U.S. donations in the wake of Hurricane Tomas to St. Vincent

Bridgetown, Barbados – On Saturday, November 13, 2010 a “Denton” shipment over $69,000 of donated humanitarian supplies will arrive in St. Vincent via U.S. military aircraft. The materials – almost 14,000 lbs of clothing, educational materials, and hygiene and medical supplies – were donated by private U.S. citizens to assist the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines who were affected by Hurricane Tomas last month.

These donations are delivered through the Denton Program which enables private U.S. citizens and organizations to use space available on U.S. military planes and vessels to transport humanitarian goods such as clothing, food, medical and educational supplies, and agricultural equipment and vehicles, to countries in need. The program is jointly administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

This humanitarian aid will be distributed in St. Vincent by Good News Projects, an organization based in Wisconsin, USA. The shipment includes clothing and building materials; desks and school supplies for preschools, primary and secondary schools; nursing and health sciences text books; and medical supplies for clinics, nurseries and hospitals in St. Vincent.

This humanitarian aid complements relief assistance previously provided by the U.S. Government to assist the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Recently, USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance provided $50,000 in emergency relief aid through the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown for the local procurement of emergency relief supplies to assist storm-affected populations. In addition to these funds, on November 2 the U.S. Government transported immediate supplies to St. Vincent from USAID/OFDA stockpiles in Miami to serve the needs of approximately 1,000 storm-affected families, including 1,056 hygiene kits, 1000 water containers, 1,000 blankets, and 100 rolls of plastic sheeting. The materials are being distributed by local partners.

The United States Embassy remains in close consultation with the Government of St. Vincent to assess needs and potential additional support. OFDA’s Regional Director for the Caribbean and Central America will be in St. Vincent for further consultations with the Government and its National Emergency Management Office (NEMO).