By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Hugh Campbell Primary School that was severely damaged during Hurricane Dorian is being repaired and readied for students and teachers who could be back in the classrooms in just a matter of days.

This is being made possible by Global Emergency Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction (GER3), which is spearheading the school repair and restoration efforts there, and at others schools in Freeport, through partnership forged with UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund).

The school, situated on Mahogany Street, saw over four feet of flooding in classrooms as a result of storm surge that came through the island.

Mould had overtaken the walls, and there was also significant paint and roof damage to the building, which comprises 30 classrooms and administrative offices.

Norwood Scott, a GER3 representative, said that in addition to providing repairs, the organisation also provides employment opportunities to local Bahamians who they hire to work on the projects.

GER3 is a non-profit organisation based in Virginia that responds to global crisis and disasters. During the first week after the storm, a response team led by its president and founder, Langdon Greenhalgh, was one of the first on the ground in Grand Bahama helping out at the Rand Memorial Hospital, which was also severely affected.

The group has now turned its efforts to restoring schools in Freeport.

"We want to thank to UNICEF for the funding that they give us to come down here and do these projects," Mr Scott said.

"We have a slightly different model than other NGOs in that we hire locally and try to put some money back into the local economy. And while we do that, we are also giving our crews some technical assistance and capacity building on the island."

Mr Scott stated that the whole purpose is to get the children back in the school at Hugh Campbell, and at the other schools, in a safe environment.

GER3 representative Richard Philips said they have been carrying out repairs at Hugh Campbell for a couple of weeks, first starting with debris removal and general clean-up of the exterior and interior of the building.

The water level, he said, had reached to about four-and-a-half feet in the classrooms. "I never seen floodwater like this before. I have seen lots of trees and roof damage, but never seen a flood surge anything like this… before. It is devastating to imagine all the teachers' desks and classroom books - everything is just ruined, and all the school supplies are gone."

The team has bleached all the walls and floors because of mould, and then used scrapers to remove all the bubbled paint where water had been sitting. They then applied a thick layer of primer with mould retardant on all the walls. The team will carry-out a final bleaching on the floors.

The team also sorted through textbooks to determine which ones were not damaged.

Bahamians Evan Powell and Lily Knowles were among several local persons hired to work on the project at Hugh Campbell.

Mr Powell is a taxi driver who has been out of work since the storm. He said he was happy to be earning an income to repair his home which sustained severe roof damage during the storm.

"We lost the top of our roof and so everything got ruined, so I don't have a home, but this job helps out as a form of income which I will use to start repairs on my home," he said.

He believes the work that GER3 is doing is very critical to the community.

"GER3 is doing a lot of positive work and it is very important to get the kids back in school because they have exams to prepare for; so, they need to get back to the classrooms because they have missed so many days already."

Ms Knowles, who is employed at Taino Beach by the Sea restaurant, said that she is also out of work right now.

"I thank God for GER3 that hired me. I am enjoying it, and I don't think the kids would have gotten in school this fast without them," she said.

GER3 has responded to other global crisis in other countries, including Haiti following Hurricane Matthew, and also the earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Indonesia.