Emmanuel Thomas l Monday, January 22, 2018
JWS TO SPEND $33.8 M TO ACCOMODATE OVER 16,000 MEMBERS RENDERED HOMELESS BY HURRICANE IRMA, MARIA
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Worldwide association of Jehovah’s Witnesses are to spend a total sum of $33.2 million in reconstruction to rehabilitate thousands of members whose homes were decimated when Hurricane Irma and Maria hit the Caribbean in September, 2017.
A breakdown of the figures show that planned reconstruction work in the Barbados branch territories will cost about $2.4 million. The work include repairing 8 Kingdom Halls and 122 homes our brothers. “Another 19 homes will need to be completely rebuilt”, the Jehovah’s Witnesses said on their website, jw.org.
In Guadeloupe, construction work is estimated to cost nearly $1.4 million. The work includes repairing 12 Kingdom Halls on Guadeloupe and 2 Kingdom Halls and 24 homes of brothers in St. Martin.
“A total of 22 construction volunteers from France, Guadeloupe, and Martinique will assist with the relief work”, the JWs said in a statement.
In the United States and nearby areas, about 16,200 publishers were affected besides 57 others affected in Dominican Republic. Rehabilitating them will cost about $30 million.
“A total of 690 construction volunteers, 450 for the islands and 240 for Florida and Georgia, will assist with repairing Kingdom Halls and the homes of our brothers. The relief work is estimated to cost over $30 million and entails the following repair work: British and U.S. Virgin Islands – 5 Kingdom Halls, 190 homes; Florida – 40 Kingdom Halls, 1,174 homes; Puerto Rico – 106 Kingdom Halls, 2 Assembly Halls, 1,216 homes; Turks and Caicos – 2 Kingdom Halls, 56 homes”, the JWs said.