KEVON FELMINE
Even though it's been over a month since widespread floods brought hardship to thousands of families, the effects are still being felt by many.
This is the reason why residents of Avocat, Fyzabad were grateful for the Bankers Association's (BATT) $400,000 donation to flood-affected communities throughout Trinidad.
Yesterday, BATT started its distribution of food hampers, mattresses, refrigerators and stoves in the farming community.
This will be followed by distributions in the Mayaro/Rio Claro, Tunapuna/Piarco and San Juan/Laventille regional corporation districts.
BATT treasurer Darryl White said they will be distributing 500 mattresses, 1000 hampers and dozens of appliances.
He said quite often in cases of floods, when the water subsides, the news cycle ends and people forget about the victims.
While flooding has become common, he said when livestock and crops are destroyed, it affects the economic cycle of a community.
"In our instance, certainly the news cycle does not end and we want to keep a focus on those communities that are affected, the families that are affected and help everybody get back on their feet again in some small way," White said.
Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe said approximately 200 residents in the Avocat area were affected by the flood.
Bodoe said the area was only accessible by boat for several days.
He said he was happy that the problem has not been forgotten.
While life was improving for the residents, he believes it would take some time before normalcy is returned.
Therefore, he called on Government to expedite flood relief as residents would like to have a cheerful Christmas.
"There was both psychological and emotional trauma from these floods and the physical damage that took place. There is still the need for small appliances, furniture and things like that," Bodoe said.