Red Cross to build office and shelter in Barbuda

The Antigua and Barbuda Red Cross Society is planning to construct a branch office with an adjoining shelter in Barbuda.
President of the Red Cross Society, Michael Joseph, made the disclosure yesterday during an exclusive interview with OBSERVER media.
The proposed shelter would have the capacity to hold 100 individuals comfortably.
 “We are now at the stage where we are discussing with contractors,” Joseph said.
He also disclosed that it is desired that construction starts “as early as the end of May”.
This week the prequalification documents will be reviewed with the contractors, in a process which adheres to international standards.
 “Next week, once all documents and information we need [are] in, we will create a short list and then we will request bids from them [contractors],” Joseph explained. This, according to him, would give the society an idea of the cost associated with building the facility. 
The shelter would be utilised in cases of disasters similar to the devastating Hurricane Irma and would be hurricane-resistant, as “resilience” is the key concept of all the current projects of the Red Cross Society.
 Joseph said that resilience is important so that “we don’t have a situation where all our work, all our energy, all the resources just go back into doing it all over again.”
The rebuilding efforts of the Antigua and Barbuda Red Cross are being aided by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to assist those Barbudans who were affected by Hurricane Irma.