News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Feb. 6, 2018: A former U.S. President will be in a CARICOM Caribbean island nation that was devastated by Hurricane Maria last September.
Former US President Bill Clinton, fresh from visits to the U.S. Virgin Islands Monday, will be in the Commonwealth of Dominica today as part of an effort to highlight ongoing efforts to continue building back in the nation.
Clinton, head of the New York-based Clinton Foundation, is visiting the island at the invitation of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerritt, whose own home was impacted by the storm.
President Clinton and Skerrit are set to announce that the Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative and the Government of Dominica are launching a partnership to assist Dominica with an integrated resource plan for the energy sector, helping Dominica become the first climate-resilient country in the world.
Clinton will also visit the Soufriere Primary School, which was severely impacted by the hurricane as well as Pichelin village, a community that was devastated by Hurricane Maria. There he is set to meet residents and hear how the storm has affected them and what relief needs remain.
U.S. Virgin Islands
In the U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday, Clinton visited My Brother’s Workshop, a local nonprofit organization that provides mentoring and job training and placement to at-risk youth. From there, he joined Governor Kenneth Mapp and Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett at the Schneider Regional Medical Center, where he saw first hand the damage caused by the storms and donated medical supplies provided by long-time Clinton Foundation partner, Direct Relief. Clinton also travelled to the island of St. John, where he visited the only public school on the island, the Julius E. Sprauve School, which was badly damaged.
Describing the talks with President Clinton as productive, Governor Mapp said: “We discussed a number of issues, but more specifically, improving power generation, hardening distribution and investing in more renewables to reduce rates.” He added: “We also talked of steps we can take that would help to grow the economy, strengthen small businesses and restore and grow tourism.”
These visits follow a trip to Puerto Rico in November of last year, when President Clinton visited communities that were impacted by Hurricanes Maria and Irma, assessing progress of the work of the Clinton Foundation and its partners to deliver emergency medical supplies and solar energy resources.
This follows an announcement that the Foundation is launching a new Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery.
The Clinton Foundation, at the invitation of the leaders of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua & Barbuda, and Dominica, will formally convene its first open meeting on April 3rd at the University of Miami. There, its members will consider commitments to action, building on the Clinton Global Initiative model that stresses mobilization of resources to combat urgent global challenges.
