The President of the Community, Daniel Gibbs and his Vice-President in charge of Social Affairs, Annick Pétrus, received, recently, the representative of the association "Electriciens sans Frontières", Philippe Guistinati in order to define with him the launch of the second intervention phase of this voluntary association serving Saint Martin.
As Philippe Guistinati pointed out, ESF's intervention will take place on three distinct axes:
- Continue the work of securing houses damaged by Irma in partnership with the Compagnons Bâtisseurs, the Red Cross, associations and local businesses
- Create autonomous lighting on Boulevard de Grand Case by installing solar street lights
- Organize training sessions in electrical risks and photovoltaic maintenance and think about the implementation of autonomous lighting systems to avoid post IRMA blackouts.
These three missions are financed by donations collected by the Fondation de France for the benefit of Saint-Martin and by equipment made available to the ESF association by French manufacturers for Saint-Martin.
This partnership between the community of Saint-Martin and Electriciens sans Frontières will enable the development of renewable energy on our island, a necessity in the event of a hurricane and a moral imperative in the face of global warming. Renewable energies are also a great opportunity for economic development and local employment.
President Daniel Gibbs and his vice-president Annick Pétrus welcomed the involvement of Electriciens sans Frontières and the work of public utility carried out in the territory, supporting the reorganization of the electrical networks and public lighting that the community launched with its partners.
Note
On September 13, 2017, after the IRMA cataclysm, Electriciens sans Frontières sent volunteer technicians to the island in support of the French Red Cross, to electrify food distribution locations and secure the electrical installations of individuals in support of the EDF intervention. ESF has also distributed thousands of Schneider solar lamps in Saint-Martin and in Dominica in partnership with the Red Cross, which has enabled thousands of Saint-Martinois to light up and charge their mobile phones.
The distributions were organized with elected officials from the community and the district councils and with the significant support of local associations, mainly AIDES. ESF also sent teams of volunteers for the electrical security of homes during the first half of 2018 as part of the Fondation de France's reconstruction projects.
Founded thirty years ago, ESF has 1300 volunteers and works all over the planet to bring electricity and water to the most disadvantaged and also create activity in order to develop the local economy. A partnership with the French government's crisis unit exists to intervene as quickly as possible during disasters. This protocol enabled us to be the only French NGO to be authorized by the Indonesian government to intervene in Palu following the tsunami last month.
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