A TEAM of volunteers from disaster response charity Serve On who have flown out to the Caribbean to install emergency equipment have seen the project turn into a live mission.

International Response Team members from the Chilmark-based charity are currently on the island of Virgin Gorda, which was devastated by a hurricane in 2017.

The charity says that no sooner had the team enabled digital radio communications across the entire island and neighbouring settlements, and started to provide an emergency FM radio system, that local authorities were keen to use it.

A local emergency response team first set up with the help of Serve On in 2017 has also been re-initiated with help from the Serve On volunteers in the light of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The Virgin Gorda Recovery Operation Centre (VGROC) which Serve On helped to set up in the wake of Hurricane Irma has also been re-opened.

Serve On operations manager Dan said: “The training has led to the group standing up the VGROC again for the coronavirus issues.

“We are sourcing an operations centre and re-opening stores with administration sources from last time.

“It was great to facilitate this and help their journey to shared situational awareness and joined-up efforts.”

Serve On search and rescue volunteers were among the first NGOs to arrive in the British Virgin Islands after they had been devastated by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and they have returned to find the islanders still struggling to get back on their feet.

The charity says the Covid-19 pandemic has come as an extra blow as residents rely on food shipments from the United States and it is anticipated restrictions could be imposed.

A first wave of four Serve On volunteers had flown out to the Caribbean to install an emergency radio system last week but within days the coronavirus crisis had accelerated and a second wave of three Serve On International Response Team (IRT) members was cancelled.

With support from the Serve On team, the VGROC group are identifying high-risk individuals, increasing local education and awareness about the virus, sorting out communications, sourcing safe locations for isolation and looking for potential morgue facilities.

Dan added: “We have been trying to identify and complete priority objectives as soon as possible in case we have the opportunity to get out fast, but we still have a mission and we will do our best to make a difference while we are here.”

The project to help the islanders with an emergency radio system had been made possible with backing from The Lawson Trust, Superyacht Charities, Pinmar, Yachtee, Viking Travel, Peters and May, and members of the public who donated to a crowdfunding campaign.