Gutter Village Shelter re-opens

Gutter village can feel a little safer this hurricane season as the village emergency shelter will finally be reopened on Tuesday July 26 2016, after the December 2013 flooding wreaked havoc on the shelter.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) entered into a cooperation agreement to provide assistance to vulnerable communities in OECS Member States impacted by the 2013 Christmas Flooding.
The two organizations collaborated with the Roseau City Council and supporting national agencies such as the Office of Disaster Management and the Local Government Department on a project aimed at retrofitting the Gutter Emergency Shelter.
Project activities included renovations and upgrading of the physical structure, installation of rain water harvesting equipment, drainage improvement, provision of appliances for the kitchen and enhancement of the security of the emergency shelter. The Project also assisted with the sourcing of reading books for a small library housed in the shelter for use by the children in the Gutter Community.
Dominica is one of countries who have benefitted from The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT) Small Scale Fund aimed at assisting in the recovery, rehabilitation and resilience to future disasters of communities that were affected by the 2013 Christmas floods.