PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — UNDP’s Cash for Work, Community Clean-up project remains highly impactful in St. Maarten’s recovery process. A project that focuses directly on aiding in the clean-up of hurricane debris through the engagement of hired community contractors and persons who are currently unemployed or underemployed.
From private residences, open spaces to public facilities, such as Raoul Illidge Sports Complex and the St. Maarten’s Zoo. UNDP with the support of VROMI continues to be very progressive in Building Back a Better and more resilient St. Maarten.
The wrath of hurricane Irma left a trail of devastation at The St. Maarten’s Zoo, causing the entire facility to become a pile of debris. Through partnership support with VROMI, UNDP was able to contract local contractor, Pro Resources, who then hired some twenty-one (21) persons, majority being female to engage in the cleaning of the facility.
Other Cash for Work activities are ongoing in Oyster Pond where partnerships with The St. Maarten Nature Foundation, VROMI and Kidz at Sea were established. This partnership allows a collective focus on the cleaning-up of debris in portions of the lagoon and its perimeter while ensuring wild life and mangroves are protected.
The United Nations Development Programme established relations with Collective Prevention Services (CPS) to assist with the execution of their mosquito flogging programme. Debris sites are known to be mosquitoes’ breeding ground. Through the funding support of UNDP, CPS was able to train persons who are currently unemployed to learn more about mosquito flogging and to be Vector Control Apprentices. This joint effort creates a focus on the elimination of mosquito breeding at debris clean-up sites.
Our Cash for Work project gives persons who are unemployed or underemployed the opportunity to participate in community clean-up and be paid for their work.
UNDP believes resilience is built through a “building back better” approach by ensuring development as part of the island’s recovery process.
‘This is one of the early recovery projects financed from the Dutch Recovery Fund for St Maarten, under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. €7 million has been made available during the early recovery phase for projects that will have a direct impact on the population of St Maarten.’
