Church aids vulnerable families in water-scarce communities

With many communities still crying out for relief from an inadequate water supply, an evangelical church with American help has stepped in to assist some of the more vulnerable people living in those districts.

Mount Zion’s Missions Barbados Foursquare Church ventured into Bagatelle, St. Thomas on Wednesday to distribute water bottles as well as care packages to ten families in that community.

Senior Pastor Reverend Dr Lucille Baird said her church is affiliated with the United States-based Foursquare Church, whose Foursquare Disaster Relief (FDR) division provides assistance to those affected by natural disasters and other such situations.

She explained: “They asked us whether we needed any help in Barbados, so we said we needed help with water supplies for those in our communities who were adversely affected by a lack of water. They then sent us an offering which we used to purchase the water and foodstuff for those who were most disadvantaged.”

While not disclosing the amount of money the church received, she said it was enough to cover three communities, namely Bagatelle, Boscobelle in St. Peter and Lammings, St. Joseph.

“We recognise we cannot fix the water problems, but we figured we could offer some kind of relief,” Reverend Dr Baird said.

“We have asked people living in these areas to identify the most vulnerable families for us. For example, here in Bagatelle, one young woman named Juliet Boyce went through the area and selected the people that she knew needed the most help, while in Boscobelle we have asked one of the Parish Ambassadors to assist with that process. We covered ten families here in Bagatelle, but since the water issues are more severe in Lammings and Boscobelle, we hope to visit about 25 families in those communities.”

Apart from 40 water bottles, the residents also received care packages including juice and foodstuff as well as toiletries.

The team will be heading to Lammings on Saturday at 11 a.m. to hand out care packages from the St. Bernard’s Primary School but said they have not yet finalised when they will be carrying out their work in Boscobelle. (DH)