THE WORKSITE
Our team has moved into the greatest affected areas of Great Abaco and continue to assess the greatest needs in the hardest hit communities. In the past, our scopes of work include response work such as muck and guts, mold sanitization and extensive debris removal. We've also focused on critical repairs and ground up construction on schools as well as home roof repairs. Our upcoming scope of work will center around interior home repairs and shutter installation.
Working in a disaster zone requires patience. The situation is very dynamic and plans often are forced to change at the last minute. While it appears there are always things to be done, it is important they are done correctly and in coordination with the community we serve and our NGO partners.
work Activites
Our scope of work for the end of the program is scheduled to be:
11/14/22 to 11/24/22: scope of work will be focused on community projects, including the interiors and finishing works of a local community center and library.
11/20/22 - 11/26/22: Assistance from volunteers with the ramp-down of the base may also be required.
We will focus on two scopes of work for this program: interior rebuild and finishing works and hurricane-resilient window shutters.
If you have special skills related to any of the following areas (construction experience, plumbing/electrics, finishing work, volunteer construction leadership), we want to hear about it! Please let your Volunteer Coordinator Niall know when he calls you a couple of weeks before your arrival!
Interiors:
Our interior rebuild work will focus on getting homeowners still in need the basics to turn four walls and a roof into a home! This will include insulation, drywall, mudding and taping, painting and flooring. Each house will be a unique challenge and require volunteers to operate with care. The homeowners we’re working with have been waiting for nearly three years for stability in their residences, and we can’t wait to handover a transformed home!
Shutters:
Ongoing home resiliency is a key component of our past Bahamas programs, and window shutters are a critical and necessary precaution for homes in hurricane prone areas to strengthen the exterior of the home during periods of high wind and flying debris. We’re looking to provide full window shutter protection to around a dozen homeowners in the Marsh Harbour area.
Base work:
In the early weeks of program (September), there will be much to do in getting our base setup and dialed in. Volunteers are as much of making our base a home as staff, and there will likely be work necessary to get it squared away! Similarly, at the end of program (November), we need to close things down, and volunteers play an integral role in that process. Both setup and ramp down are critical parts of any organization’s ability to do disaster recovery work! Ramp down tasks will involve breaking down the base and helping to reorganize our equipment and material assets. However, we are still working on some community engagement projects for the last few weeks of our time in the Bahamas.
Here are some pictures of our teams in the field
