The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has received a $ 5.7 million donation from the German Government to support recovery and relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Ambassador Josef Beck presented the cheque to Director General of ODPEM, Ronald Jackson, on 21 November 2012. The money will be used to assist in re-roofing and other re-building work of King Weston All Age School in St. Andrew, Ferncourt High School in St. Ann and Robin’s Bay Primary School in St. Mary.

Ambassador Beck underlined that it is the very nature of humanitarian aid to help people in dire need in a fast, flexible and non-bureaucratic way. That is why Germany as a friend and partner of Jamaica offered its support just a few days after hurricane Sandy passed. We chose ODPEM again as our trusted partner with whom we worked in the past in similar difficult situations like tropical storm Nicole and who is best situated to assess the needs and coordinate international support.

 Hurricane “Sandy” serves us also as another reminder of our joint interest in combating climate change as hurricane intensity and severe weather conditions have clearly increased.