Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Kyra Paul says her organisation’s next step as it relates to Tropical Storm Erika Recover has to do with restoring the livelihoods of those affected.
She described a project written for funding by the Basic Needs Trust Fund.
“We have included both sexes particularly because disasters affect men and women differently. For men as the usual breadwinner who have lost their productive assets and livelihoods. That’s a challenge to their masculinity in addition to all the other issues,” she said.
The program will also pay special attention to women as in many cases they are the sole breadwinners of their family.
“The project activity ensures that they are re-skilled so that they can diversify into viable sustainable livelihoods that would meet specific needs and/or return to the livelihoods to which they are accustomed.
“To improve access to credit, we have written for a revolving loan fund which is called the ‘Livelihood Recovery Relief Fund’,” she said.