: HURRICANE RESPONSE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION

SITUATION REPORT NO. 13 / 29 JUN 2018

IOM Community Engagement and M&E Teams in Marigot, Dominica with beneficiaries ©IOM – Jun 2018

Highlights ** Dominica has made some strides toward ** Some hurricane preparedness activities ** IOM has partnered with the Dominica Wel- an increased preparedness of its citizens have been implemented, such as: negotia- fare Department to specifically address the for impending disasters— most immediate- tions within communities to identify person- housing needs of families who are fostering ly, the rest of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane al properties as well for potential collective children. In addition, IOM collaborates with season. A preliminary list of emergency centers; some construction work which has the Ministry of Health to address the hou- shelter has been disseminated by the Lo- taken place for retrofitting of pre-identified sing repair needs of families that include cal Government Authority and the Office collective centers and constructions of members with Down syndrome or other of Disaster Management, the secretariat of some new collective centers disabilities. the National Emergency Preparedness Or- ganization (NEPO), has put some measures ** Under IOM’s current shelter recovery proj- in place to strengthen the subcommittees ects funded by DFID, ECHO and Australia to ensure that emergency communication, Aid and supported by China-Aid through shelter management, public services and UNDP, IOM repaired 243 roofs and handed the like are well organized. over six t-shelters (core houses) to 747 ben- eficiaries in Woodford Hill, Marigot, , , Wesley, , St. Joseph, Salisbury, and Bioche. CONTACTS 1 767 245 0658 Cnr Old St & Cork St, third floor, , Dominica. www.iom.int SITUATION REPORT · JUN 2018

Situation Overview AsSituation rehabilitation activities Overviews shift into overdrive, utility and telecom- However, a public information campaign about the role of those munication companies continue to work feverishly to restore ser- centers has not run yet. vices in rural communities. To date, most of the country has been reconnected to the national power and water grids, and mobile The GoD is transitioning towards a coordination mechanism laid phone service has improved greatly. out in the Housing Framework policy and has appointed a hous- ing coordinator to oversee progress achieved with regards to the The Government of Dominica (GoD) launched the first phase of framework’s objectives. Before this transition, IOM supported the its housing reconstruction project. The prime minister, who is also government through a housing and settlements coordination ad- the housing minister, along with other officials, has signed doz- visor and information manager. Their work has since been hand- ens of contracts for the building of apartment units and dwelling ed over to the housing coordinator. housing for the most vulnerable people on the island. Most of these constructions are scheduled to take a year. Concern remains about the capacity to review submitted plans, to monitor the reconstruction works and to ensure the adherence Some IDPs are still being housed in collective shelters. The gov- to building standards. Concerning the latter, IOM and other hu- ernment and other key stakeholders are currently in the process manitarian agencies continue to actively share the “Build Back of identifying durable solutions for the affected families, for in- Better” messages with target communities and in trainings. stance through rental homes or host families. Housing repairing needs of families who are fostering children The government continues the process of identifying and estab- and of families with specific disability concerns were identified, lishing seven Technical Assistance Centers (TACs). with collaborations between IOM and the respective ministries aiming to address those needs.

Visit to Grotto Home for the Homeless - June 8, 2018

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CCCM • The modality of communi- • IOM is supporting the Government of Dominica to ty interaction with affected assist with the coordination and management of collective households is shifting from centers. The shelter subcommittee of NEPO has been tasked to large community meet- identify and prepare such centers. Almost all centers are still in ings to face-to-face need of minor or larger repairs and there are no collective centers communication, in about 12 villages. aiming to obtain and better address feed- • IOM conducted a monitoring visit to the Grotto Home, a collec- back received from tive center for homeless individuals in Bellevue Rawle, which will affected community receive a donation of CGI to improve its conditions. The collective members in the field. The center was found in highly favorable conditions. All residents were Community Engagement moved to the center and live- in, staff are also being housed com- team is holding daily sessions fortably. with the community members targeted by IOM in eastern and • IOM submitted a project proposal to OFDA regarding to the up- western regions of the island1, grading of collective centers, training of collective center manag- addressing concerns within the scope ers and of amateur radio communicators, and for equipment and of the Dominica Shelter Recovery NFI kits for those centers. Project2, resolving any complaints, and raising awareness on Dominica’s • A donation of ply wood was also made to local farmers groups to revised building standards. support their organic farming initiatives and by extension, small business development on island. • The IOM Dominica Facebook page is also being used to dissem- inate Build Back Better messages, including Hurricane Prepared- ness Tips and an explanation of the Building Code revisions. Shelter • 150 individuals are working with IOM shelter operations • This process is also feeding into beneficiary selection; as new infor- with the goal of assisting as many vulnerable families as possible mation is received on vulnerable households which had not been by September 2018. obtained through the Government´s Vulnerability Needs Assess- ment or through the household lists of the Village Councils. The • 40 migrant workers from Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica and St Vin- IOM Community Mobilisers are receiving and investigating these cent were recruited in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Ef- cases and adding new beneficiaries to the list for each village. forts to employ or contract local laborers continue to take place, despite ongoing challenges • Feedback was received from 606 persons, with 55 complaints, mainly regarding timing and IOM beneficiaries’ selection. 395 indi- • IOM is planning to train 100 local tradesmen in collaboration with viduals received a response from IOM, providing them with corre- “The Builders and Contractors Association of Dominica” (BCAD) sponding information. and Habitat for Humanity. • Facebook is now also being used as a communication tool by IOM • 837 most vulnerable people were selected by IOM as beneficiaries Dominica, generating 165 likes and over 7,000 user engagements of the shelter projects in the following seven communities: Marig- thus far. Community members send inquires, suggest beneficia- ot, Woodford Hill, Morne Racquette, Colihaut , Dublanc, Salisbury, ries and provide much needed feedback to the community en- Bioche and . gagement team

• To date, 243 houses were repaired and six t-shelters (core hous- 1. Map of communities with shelter projects implemented by IOM. es) were handed over to approximately 747 IOM beneficiaries in 2. In September 2017, Dominica was devastated by the category 5 Hurricane Maria, causing pervasive shelter damage and the potential for significant and extended dis- Woodford Hill, Wesley, Coulibistrie, Marigot, Morne Rachette, Co- placement. The purpose of this project is to contribute toward and meet the immedi- lihaut, St. Joseph, Dublanc, Salisbury and Bioche. ate, priority shelter needs of vulnerable households with severely damaged houses. The key project deliverable includes: 1) Repairing house for the most vulnerable fam- ilies according to the structural assessment by the Ministry of Housing /UNDP. 2) • The most vulnerable families whose houses require full repair Participatory vulnerability and needs assessments to identify beneficiaries according to standardised criteria in coordination with Village Councils. 3) Training program for works, will be referred to other actors, such as the Government construction teams (contractor/carpenter) on better, disaster-resilient practices. 4) A comprehensive and large scale public information campaign on disaster resilient of Dominica and the World Bank to consider under their housing shelter repair. projects

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