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HOME	FEBRUARY 26th, 2005

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FirstCaribbean International Bank has donated US$80,000 to the rebuilding of four science laboratories in schools in Grenada.

The bank disclosed this at a press conference held with members of the local media last Thursday at the Financial Complex on the Carenage. The schools that will benefit from this donation are Happy Hill Secondary School, Grenada Seventh Day Adventist Comprehensive, St. John's Christian Secondary School and Grenville Secondary School.

Country Manager and Head of Corporate Banking with FirstCaribbean, Ricardo Charles said that within a few months after the passage of Hurricane Ivan, "the bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), to formally start a partnership for an initial three years. "The MOU, which will see a disbursement of US$225,000 over three years, will cover six areas", he said.

Charles identified the six areas as an annual contribution to CDERA's Emergency Assistance Fund, Training and Certification of builders and artisans, assistance with the production of literature on disaster mitigation and national building codes for home-owners, a scholarship fund for study in Disaster Management, the development of a fund to assist CDERA in accessing funds from other corporate entities, and a separately funded education programme for FirstCaribbean staff on disaster mitigation and preparedness.

According to the banker, FirstCaribbean responded to the region's needs by donating a further US$75,000 to CDERA for immediate assistance, and also committed a further US$400,000 to the recovery effort in Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. "We opened several accounts across our banking network on behalf of CDERA, into which the people of the Caribbean donated funds to assist with the massive recovery effort", he said.

"And through our Barbados Country Management committee, FisrtCaribbean collaborated with The Starcom Network in Barbados and Rotary International to host a very successful radiothon that raised over $1M Barbados in pledges for Grenada," he added.

Charles indicated that the announcement with respect to the refurbishment of science laboratories for four Grenadian schools, "is testimony to our commitment to investing in our future: our young people, and ensuring that opportunities for fulfilling their educational dreams and goals remain intact." Programme Manager, Mitigation and Research of CDERA, Elizabeth Riley pointed out that this "event demonstrates Corporate Social Responsibility in action."

She stated that the bank, "already a committed Agency partner, demonstrated the flexibility of that partnership with a ready indication to support the Grenada recovery and reconstruction effort." "The Grenada experience has highlighted the urgency for the pursuit of an integrated approach to disaster management," Riley said.

Minister of Education Claris Charles who also spoke stressed that, "First Caribbean has shown that it is indeed a really good co-operative citizen." "We hope that the example they set will be followed by others", she said.

The money donated for the refurbishment of the four laboratories will cover the structure of the buildings. Three of the schools sustained 100 per cent damage to their labs.