The ANSA McAL Group of companies has pledged $500,000 worth of relief supplies to Haiti. Dr Anthony N Sabga, Chairman Emeritus of ANSA McAL said yesterday that the group of companies was committed to doing all it could to assist the Haitian people recover from the earthquake which left thousands dead and much more in need of relief. ANSA McAL group corporate communications manager Nicole Dyer-Griffith said the group had pledged to send $500,000 worth of relief supplies which included food, pharmaceuticals, matches and drinking water.
She said when the group, like most of the nation, heard the devastating news, the “chairman and the executive immediately decided to respond. It wasn’t a matter of when and how, it was a matter of we have to respond.” She said the first move of the group was to open up the TPCL media groups to transmit not only what had happened in Haiti, but how people could help. Dyer-Griffith said the group had also received overwhelming support from other companies, such as Blue Waters, who had pledged to donate supplies and/or volunteer as drop-off zones. She said a major hurdle was not collecting relief supplies but getting them to Haiti.
She added that the group’s shipping company Alston’s Shipping had contacted their Florida partners who had contact with Haiti and were devising means as to how to get the supplies to the island. She said the second phase of the group relief efforts would be committing to the rebuilding stage. At this point, she said, the majority of relief efforts were off and the group was committed to go beyond initial relief efforts to assist in the rebuilding of Haiti. Dyer-Griffith said the group would look at sending it its construction companies such as Abel in the form of bricks, building supplies and concrete to assist rebuilding the nation.
She said the plan was a long term and ANSA McAL was dedicated to help restore some form of stability to the Haitian population. She advised the public to closely follow the TPCL’s media coverage to learn where drop-off zones would be and how they can help provide some relief to Haiti.
(Taken from the Trinidad Guardian – http://guardian.co.tt/news/general/2010/01/16/ansa-mcal-pledges-500000-supplies)