2019 Workshop, St. Thomas, Usvi
Investigate Options
Week 6
Be Prepared!
One key message in Week 6 of the USVI Storm Strong workshop was “Be prepared!”.
To increase personal resilience it is essential to consider your options and priorities before the threat of a hurricane and plan how you will manage after a storm. Loosely defined as a capacity to respond well to challenge or setback, personal resilience is your ability to 'bounce back' from a difficult or even traumatic event. A little planning now goes a long way to creating the resilience needed before, during and after a hurricane.
The Race To Prepare! Storm Preparedness Game reinforced this message as participants were challenged to prepare for a pending storm and compete against each other for limited resources. Time constraints and unforeseen “road blocks” forced players to prioritize and choose wisely.
Clean Water
And what about drinking water? Access to clean water is a fundamental building block to resilience before, during and after storms. Workshop participants learned how to secure their cisterns before a storm, and how to ensure the water is safe to drink after.
Community Transfer Projects
This week participants were introduced to Community Transfer Projects (CTPs), with the question “What is an urgent USVI community problem or need related to hurricane preparedness and resilience?”
CTPs are people-driven projects which take place in a community or neighborhood to reduce hurricane risk. There are so many ways to increase the resilience of a community. Workshop participants reviewed examples of CTP-like case studies to learn what worked, and what didn’t work for other small communities like the USVI. What CTPs will be most effective and useful for our neighborhoods? We’re excited to see what they come up with!
