Above: St Lucia

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The government of Taiwan has donated $200,000 to the government of St Lucia to provide humanitarian assistance following the Christmas floods.

Taiwan’s Ambassador to St Lucia, Ambassador James Chang, handed over the cheque to St Lucia Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony.

“We are glad to learn that substantial restoration has been made on water and electricity supplies,” Chang said. “Telecommunications is back. The north to south traffic is restored and most of the debris has been cleared from affected schools and hospitals.”

Anthony said the funding would be given to “those who deserve it,” with much of the most serious damage having been done to the “very poor within society.”

“We need to be sure that those who are affected are the ones who are the beneficiaries,” Anthony said. “NEMO and the Red Cross have a very critical role to play in helping us identify those households.”

St Lucia and Taiwan have had diplomatic relations since 2007.