MIDDLE REGION--“Now I have a room and light so I can transfer my bed while my house is being rebuilt,” said a thankful Middle Region senior citizen allotted one of the emergency shelter homes provided by the Netherlands for worst-affected Hurricane Irma survivors.
The shelter home of this 67-year-old woman was set up by the Royal Dutch Marines next to her severely damaged home. This setup gives her access to her old dwelling while it is being repaired and keeps her in her comfort zone with neighbours and support systems close by.
“My roof was all gone and most walls were damaged. Luckily, my son and nephew have been fixing some parts of the roof,” she recounted to Dutch Civil Mission representatives when they paid her a follow-up visit this week. The reps, who also provided her with some food supplies, were checking whether the shelter house lived up to her expectations.
“The Marines put the house here last Monday and I’m very happy with it,” she told them.
Most of her small one-level home is still in very bad shape. The roof now comprises a wooden frame covered in blue tarpaulin. Broken pieces of wood and debris are still piled in the yard.
A neighbouring house belonging to another senior is also severely damaged and has a shelter home in the back yard. Both shelter homes were erected this week.
Jan Rooijakker of the Mission said: “These are the people that really need help now. It’s hard to believe that this is still an everyday reality. They are older and you can’t expect them to do everything themselves. These small emergency shelter homes at least provide a dry and cool place with the basic needs while people rebuild what is left of their houses.”
Sybren van Dam, also of the Mission, said: “The people of St Maarten need help and they deserve our help. It hurts to see still so many people in need because they lost almost everything they had. ... Let’s make sure that they [the shelter homes – Ed.] are set up quickly and that the repair of all the shattered roofs is done without delay.”
Fifty more shelter homes were delivered from the Netherlands to St. Maarten last month. These are to be further distributed by the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI in the coming weeks.
