“I am convinced that we can lessen the impacts of these events and reduce our risks if we work systematically from policy, through strategy, legislation, training, work implementation, monitoring and evaluation.” - Franklyn Michael. Here he was at a training session where he shared similar sentiments. Continued from previous page We produced the first one last year. The research started with me critically reviewing the content we had in the 2020 edition. I then identified the articles that would still be relevant in 2021. I reviewed and revised those and then turned my attention to new material. I relied a great deal on the Internet for the cited/sourced articles. I tried to find the most authoritative sources of information for the particular subject matter, then I scripted the new articles. Those arose out of both my personal and professional experiences. Finally, I prepared the manuscript for review by our Executive Director – Mr. Devon Rowe and subsequent formatting and setting by our expert. My part of the process took about two weeks of intense work, including a lot of after-hours time at home in addition to the regular time at the office. Your poem the newsletter (See on Page 22) about experiencing a hurricane is very vivid. What was your main source of inspiration for writing that piece? Oh, a lot of people seem to like the poem. The main inspiration was what I had lived through during the passage of Hurricane Hugo. It devastated Montserrat in 1987. In a way, it was as if I was reliving the experience. I also drew on experiences of friends and colleagues in our member states who experienced the hurricanes of 2017. I wrote the poem in less than an hour at home. Apart from what you described in the newsletter; can you tell us more about what CARICAD does in relation to addressing the issues relating to natural disasters? Are there other documents that someone who is interested can download? I would be happy to do that. CARICAD has produced several documents that might be of interest. I mentioned the 2020 Hurricane Edition of our newsletter before. We produced a COVID-19 Business Continuity Plan template also in 2020. We developed a Guide for Public Sector Managers for Hurricane Recovery Planning Continues on next page 17
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