SPOTLIGHT:
DOMINICA
5
COMMUNITY CLEANUPS
5545
TOTAL KG COLLECTED
4129
TOTAL VOLUNTEER HOURS
WHY DOMINICA?
Dominica is classed as a lower middle-income country and is the poorest of the South-eastern Caribbean islands. Located in one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world, it has a history of tropical storms and hurricanes.
On September 18, 2017, the worst natural disaster in the history of Dominica ravaged this small island nation. With wind gales as strong as 160 mph, Hurricane Maria blasted through the country, damaging 90% of all structures and knocking out all power, water and telecoms.
Agencies such as Unicef and International Office of Migration, shipped in over 27,900,000 litres in plastic bottles (not including any sold soft drink bottles or food containers) and over 35,000 sheets of Tarpaulin to cover roofs in just the first two months. The World Bank highlighted pre-Maria that Dominica had already overfilled its landfill, a target that was not expected to be exceeded until 2020. Now over 6 months after the natural disaster the original tarps are being replaced and now lay on the sides of the road, or worse burned.
THE PROJECT
Dominica currently has a damaged waste management system, and currently, no functioning recycling centres on the island.
Recycle Rebuild with the help of Rotary Club Grenada and Portsmouth, DM we are changing that, one community at a time.
Our first current project is a small recycling centre in the middle of Dominica's second-largest city Portsmouth. The recycling centre acts as a hub for surrounding communities to collect, sort, shred and then make new products based on the demands of the community.
Our products range from very small jewellery such as rings and necklaces to larger items such as beams and planks for construction.
This project is currently heavily funded by grants and donations to operate. However, over the next 6 month period, we are working on transitioning into a profitable business.
This is a project for Dominicans, run by Dominicans and expect a full hand over by March 2019. Till then we have a lot of training and community activities to do to ensure the best possible future for this project.
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