In the wake of Hurricane Beryl’s devastating impact on neighbouring islands in the Grenadines, insurance giant Sagicor has announced an aid package focused on restoring power to the hardest-hit areas. The company will provide generators and solar streetlamps to Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada, as well as Union Island and other affected regions in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Robert Trestrail, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Sagicor Life Inc., revealed that the decision to provide power to these islands came following an assessment of the needs by the Sagicor teams on the ground in Grenada and St Vincent and local disaster management officials.
“Our conversations with the officials at the national disaster management agencies in both countries revealed that lack of power is a huge issue for the islands impacted, so we are focusing our effort there,” Trestrail said. “In light of this, we were happy to use local suppliers to source generators and solar streetlamps to donate to Carriacou and Petite Martinique. For Union Island in St Vincent and the Grenadines, we have spoken to them about providing similar items but will confirm once we have sourced them as we are in contact with suppliers off-island. These conversations are happening currently.”
The Sagicor executive said in the immediate aftermath of the storm, the company assisted with basic supplies such as bottled water and tinned foods, but suggested that more needed to be done to help accelerate recovery across multiple sectors in the affected islands.
Donald Austin, Chief Executive Officer for Sagicor Life (Eastern Caribbean) Inc., underscored the company’s deep-rooted presence in the region, emphasising the fact that Sagicor has been operating in the Caribbean for over 100 years.
“Utilising suppliers on the ground means we provide some commercial support to these affected countries,” Austin said, while also highlighting the solidarity shown by Sagicor employees in unaffected countries, who have been encouraged to donate to the relief efforts. (RG)
