Fort Ordnance School to be used as emergency shelter
In an effort to provide safe refuge for residents in cases of major emergency, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has collaborated with the Canadian Government to retrofit and equip the Fort Ordnance Primary School to be used as an emergency shelter.
The project titled “Enhancement of Emergency Shelter Capacity to Mitigate Flood Risk in Ordnance Fortland” will be funded with the million that was awarded by the Canadian Government.
Canadian High Commissioner Pierre Giroux with Fort Ordnance Primary School Headteacher; CDC Director General, Colonel (Ret’d) Chabilall Ramsarup, and parents of some of the students
Fort Ordnance located in Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), is frequently flooded by torrential rainfall and high tides. The village, home to over 700 persons who are mostly self-employed, suffers significant losses in goods.
Children are particularly affected as most of the school’s compound is flooded during the rainy season, preventing classes.
It is hoped that upon completion of the project through the support of the Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund, the compound of the Fort Ordnance Primary School will be raised, the current sanitary block will be expanded to include additional toilets and baths, additional gutters and drains will be installed, the walkway will be expanded to accommodate vehicles and the bridge leading to the school will be reinforced.
Equipment including a refrigerator, microwaves, stoves, sinks and counters will be installed at the school to be utilised when the shelter is activated.
The project will also support the development of a protocol for the activation and management of the shelter and the training of a shelter management committee.
The Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund is part of Canada’s C$600 million Caribbean Regional Programme.
The Fund is designed to support Non-Governmental Organisations, community groups and Government agencies within Caricom in carrying out small-scale community projects to reduce the risks from the many natural hazards affecting the Region such as floods, droughts, storms, and hurricanes.
In addition to the Civil Defence Commission, the Government of Canada, through the Fund, is also currently supporting the Wowetta Women’s Group and the Kanuku Mountains Community Representative Group to increase the resilience of North and Central Rupununi against droughts – particularly through the establishment of two modern cassava processing and farine storage facilities.
