The United States Government-funded project is part of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency’s regional warehouses to support CARICOM countries and was executed by the U.S. Southern Command.

Secretary to the Defence Board, Dr. Roger Luncheon, accepted the keys from U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. David Robinson, in the presence of visiting Commanding General, U.S. Army South, Brigadier General Purl Keen; Head of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Colonel (ret’d) Chabilall Ramsarup; Lieutenant Colonel Claude Fraser, representing the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF); Second in Command of the Guyana Police Force, Deputy Commissioner Edward Wills; Chief Fire Officer, Lawrence David; Military Liaison Officer at the U.S. Embassy, Major Jim Enos, other officials from the U.S. Embassy and the Brazil Embassy, and GDF ranks

In addition to the warehouse and supplies which include gurneys, face masks, syringes, breathing circuits, breathing exerciser, fluid adapters, sleeping bags, rigid pole and folding kits, the U.S. also handed over two diesel water trucks.

The goal of the U.S. is to build regional warehouses throughout the Caribbean and Central America and provide disaster relief supplies where these are needed most.

This was reiterated by Brigadier General Keen, visiting this country for the first time, who said that using U.S. foreign assistance to build the facility “provides the Guyana leadership with the right tools to better respond to the needs of the people during times of natural disaster.”

This is what foreign assistance is all about, he added.

The visiting head of the U.S. Army component of the U.S. Southern Command, recalling the ground-breaking ceremony in August 2005, noted that by working together to build the warehouse, “we are helping to save the lives of people during times of national floods and other emergencies.”

Recalling, too, Guyana rebuilding assistance to its CARICOM sister nation Grenada in 2004 following devastation by Hurricane Ivan, Keen said “we fully support the motto of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency, `Managing Disasters with Preparedness’”.

He sees the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees humanitarian assistance and disaster relief programmes to build the capacity of host nations to respond to disasters and enhance their self-sufficiency while also empowering regional organizations, as having achieved its goal with the construction of the warehouse.

He is also confident that the dynamic use of the new facility will serve to positively facilitate increased assistance to the victims of natural disasters.

Keen said yesterday marked an opportunity for the U.S. Army South to affirm its commitment to work together as partners in pursuit of the shared goal of a stable and secure Caribbean region.

Ambassador Robinson said the opening of the warehouse is a practical and pragmatic manifestation of the commitment of the people of the U.S. to a partnership they have with the people of Guyana.

It will also help Guyana again resume leadership role in the region in responding to any problems facing its neighbours, he said.

Dr. Luncheon, echoing much of the sentiments of the earlier speakers, bemoaned the lack of such a facility during the 2005 floods in Guyana, and to a lesser extent the following year.

He said that while some CARICOM countries are more susceptible to natural disasters than others, the contribution by the U.S. has much significance to all in CARICOM.

He expressed appreciation to the U.S. for seeking to foster better relations with Guyana, adding that the country looks forward to further fostering these.

Enos told the Guyana Chronicle the warehouse would be manned by Civil Defence Commission personnel but the U.S. South Command will be facilitating the setting up of a computer networking system that will allow CEDERA, a subset organization of CARICOM for disaster management, to know offhand, should a disaster occur in another CARICOM state, what supplies Guyana has in stock.

The warehouse will be managed by Warrant Officer (ret’d) Basil Denhert who was granted the honour of unveiling a plaque on the building, with assistance from Captain Craig.

Ramsarup told the Guyana Chronicle the facility, which is “very” important not only to Guyana but to other CARICOM states affected by disasters, was built at the Timehri location because of three major reasons -- the high ground, security and closeness to the major port in the country.

He added that the warehouse, the present stock of supplies along with what is expected, will help Guyana to respond more quickly and efficiently whenever there is a disaster.