C&W Communications (C&W), a Liberty Latin America company, through its Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (Foundation), today announced that it has earmarked US$500,000 toward immediate and longer-term relief and restoration efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 hurricane that devastated parts of The Bahamas. The Foundation has also put out an appeal to help raise additional funds to support the recovery efforts given the significant damage reported on the islands.
This past weekend, the north-western Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama were ravaged by the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in The Bahamas. Hurricane Dorian brought catastrophic damage leaving many homeless and without basic supplies of food, water and shelter.
As the government and people of The Bahamas come to terms with the devastating news of the loss of life and widespread destruction to homes and property, C&W Communications CEO, Inge Smidts, expressed sympathies to the Government and people of The Bahamas, who have been directly and indirectly affected by this natural disaster.
Smidts, who is the Chair of the Foundation is appealing to the public to join the efforts by supporting a fundraising campaign. “We are urging our customers, employees and business partners to help us support the people of The Bahamas in this very challenging time. The donations will go towards the immediate relief effort and long-term rebuilding programs.”
Anyone wishing to donate can visit: https://www.cwc.com/live/corporate-responsibility/cable-wireless-foundation/support-hurricane-dorian-relief.html to make a contribution.
Regarding the impact of the hurricane on C&W’s operations, Smidts said, “We are following up with our teams in Abaco and Grand Bahama to ensure their safety as well as the safety of everyone on the islands. There are island-wide power outages on both islands and as such, communications are slow to come in.” Giving an update on the company’s preparations to provide support, Smidts shared, “We already have a team in place supported by our parent company, Liberty Latin America, who has been mobilizing efforts to provide relief to Abaco and Grand Bahama immediately following the “all-clear”. Members of our team will fly out to Abaco and Grand Bahama to personally check on our team members in those islands, provide care packages, conduct assessments and determine what further assistance is required.”
Smidts further stated, “We are certainly not out of the woods yet, as Hurricane Dorian is slowly trekking towards Florida. Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our employees and customers is always our top priority.” She urged everyone in the path of the hurricane to “stay safe, keep in touch with friends, family and neighbors and most of all, heed the warnings issued by the Disaster Management Authorities.”
Notwithstanding the extensive damage on the islands, BTC’s mobile services in some areas of Abaco, Grand Bahama, Berry Islands and Bimini have been compromised. However, some fixed landlines services are available on those islands. In New Providence, mobile and landline services are challenged. Due to the loss of commercial power and excessive flooding, BTC customers in the company’s Fiber-to-the-Home and recently upgraded MSAN areas may be experiencing landline and internet outages if their home is not equipped with backup power.
Smidts ended by saying, “Our teams are working around the clock to restore services as quickly as possible as we know how important it is for families and friends to connect with each other especially during these trying times. Together we will recover and rebuild. We stand with the people and Government of The Bahamas.”
