K1 volunteers packing relief boxes during the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.
PHILIPSBURG--K1 Britannia Foundation’s disaster and crisis team K1 DIRECT said in a press release on Sunday that it has started preparations to assist the region in the event of a hurricane strike this year.
“In the last several months, K1 DIRECT has expanded its capacity by enhancing its supplies, operational capabilities, regional and international partnerships, as well as the qualifications of the volunteer team.
“Most recently, K1 DIRECT has been involved in coordinating the packaging and distribution of food packages during the COVID-19 crisis, which has further developed and given the team the experience and immediate preparedness needed for any future disasters,” said K1 DIRECT.
K1 DIRECT has focused on disaster preparedness since the team’s inception in 2017. Its members are trained in crisis management, emergency medicine, data collection, information management, psychosocial support, distribution of relief goods, shelter management and emergency logistics, among other things.
K1 DIRECT conducted relief efforts in St. Maarten after Hurricane Irma in 2017, in Dominica after Hurricane Maria in 2017, and in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
K1 DIRECT has also established a branch in Curaçao, which supports the St. Maarten team in regional disaster relief.
“The team’s first priority is to the island of St. Maarten, in which K1 DIRECT has maintained dialogue with St. Maarten government’s Emergency Support Function 7 (ESF-7). These dialogues outline the team’s predetermined roles in shelter management, first response, and distribution management on the island.
“This partnership was an outcome of the experiences of Hurricane Irma, but also through COVID-19, which continued to build the foundation of a strong partnership and set clear criteria of processes and procedures for disaster management,” said K1 DIRECT Programme Manager Priya Thirumur.
“The [United States] National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] expects an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season amid the global pandemic and, although we are hoping that we do not endure any disasters, we must be prepared and K1 DIRECT has been making necessary steps of preparedness via training and expansion of the team over the years,” said K1 DIRECT Programme Manager Alan Schet.
For more information about K1 DIRECT, persons can visit its website at
www.k1britanniafoundation.org, its Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/k1sxm, or send an e-mail to
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