Bridgetown, April 24, 2008 (CDERA/FCIB)- ROCHÉ MAHON, one of the first recipients of the joint FirstCaribbean International Bank (FirstCaribbean)/Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) Disaster Management Scholarship, has joined CDERA’s staff after successfully completing graduate studies in Planning and Development.

As Programme Officer to the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System Project, Miss Mahon will be active in empowering coastal communities to prepare for and respond to tsunamis and other coastal hazards. The project is being implemented by CDERA with funding from the United States Agency for International Development/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA).

The FirstCaribbean/CDERA Disaster Management Scholarship was launched in 2005 as part of a collaborative initiative to help advance disaster management in the Caribbean. Miss Mahon was one of three recipients who received the first grants, which were awarded in 2006.

Ms Roché Mahon (2nd from left) explains a point in her thesis to Ms Debra Johnson, Head of FirstCaribbean Corporate & International Communications (extreme left), Ms Marietta Carrington, Secretary to the FirstCaribbean International Comtrust Foundation (2nd right) and Mr. Jeremy Collymore, Coordinator CDERA after presenting them with a copy.

A national of Trinidad & Tobago, Miss Mahon received the FirstCaribbean/CDERA grant of US$4,000 to assist her in conducting research in Grand Anse, Grenada, for her MSc. thesis. She used Grenada’s experience in reconstructing its coastal tourism belt to investigate the role that physical planning plays in linking disaster risk reduction to sustainable development.

“This was a natural choice given that I had previous training in tourism management and that I am particularly interested in coastal zone management. When the region was hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, I realized that this was an excellent opportunity for me to find ways in which one of the region’s main industries can build resilience against the devastating impacts of events like Ivan,” Miss Mahon stated.

Miss Mahon added that the lessons learnt from her study would be of interest to other Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean where the physical development of the tourism sector is an integral part of the islands’ economic development.

In expressing her gratitude to CDERA and FirstCaribbean, Roché said the FirstCaribbean/CDERA Disaster Management Scholarship Fund was an excellent initiative for promoting meaningful research and study in the discipline. She said the Fund also created opportunities for young Caribbean nationals who wished to pursue careers in disaster management.

Jeremy Collymore, Coordinator of CDERA said, “Miss Mahon’s story represents the vision we have for this initiative where capacity developed through programmes like the Scholarship Fund remains available to the region. We are very thankful for the funding we received from FirstCaribbean to facilitate this research grant, and look forward to their continued collaboration and partnership in disaster management initiatives in the Caribbean Community.”

Ms Roché Mahon presents a copy of her thesis to Mr. Jeremy Collymore, Coordinator, CDERA

Head of Corporate & International Communications with FirstCaribbean, Debra Johnson, observed that the Bank was equally proud to contribute in a tangible way through the scholarship.  “Not only are we elated to receive this permanent record, but we are doubly so in the knowledge that Roché has decided to pursue a career in finding solutions to the pressing issues related to disaster management in the region. It is therefore fitting that she has returned to work with CDERA to enable her to achieve these goals.”
 
Since completing her studies at the University of West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Roché has been sharing her findings with development planners, tourism practitioners, disaster managers, policy makers and researchers at home in the Caribbean and abroad. She has presented her work at the 5th International Coastal and Marine Tourism Congress in Auckland, New Zealand in September 2007 and at the 2nd Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management in Barbados last December. She is also slated to make a presentation in June 2008 at the 21st International Conference of The Coastal Society in California.

Even before joining CDERA, Miss Mahon’s scholarship-funded research was already benefitting the region, having been applied during her stints at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and at the Sustainable Tourism Directorate at the Association of Caribbean States.

The FirstCaribbean/CDERA awards were open to Caribbean nationals pursuing degrees/diplomas in Earth Science, Natural Resource Management, Emergency Management, Contingency Planning or related disciplines, as well as persons undertaking short-term disaster management training.

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Caption: ROCHÉ MAHON, one of the first recipients of the FirstCaribbean/CDERA Disaster Management Scholarship has joined the staff of CDERA.

 
About FirstCaribbean International Bank
FirstCaribbean is a major Caribbean bank offering a full range of market-leading financial services in Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Credit Cards, Treasury and Capital Markets.  Formed in 2002, it is a member of the CIBC Group and is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with assets of over US$12 billion and market capitalization of US$3 billion.  The Bank has over 3,500 staff; over 100 branches, banking centres, and offices in 17 regional markets, and serves 800,000 active accounts. 

Every year from 2004 to 2007, FirstCaribbean was named “Best Emerging Market Bank” by Global Finance magazine of New York. Since inception, the bank has also received several industry awards for excellence from, Euromoney Magazine, Latin Finance Magazine, and The Banker magazine.

Through the FirstCaribbean International Comtrust Foundation, FirstCaribbean dedicates 1% of its annual prior year profits (pre-tax) to Community Partnership in the countries where it operates.

More information about FirstCaribbean can be found at: www.firstcaribbeanbank.com

Media contact:
Debra Johnson, Head of Corporate & Internal Communications, FirstCaribbean International Bank, Barbados, Head Office, telephone: +246 367 2248, fax: +246 421 7148 and email: debra.johnson@firstcaribbeanbank.com.

About the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) is an inter-governmental body established in 1991 with responsibility for disaster management in the Caribbean Community. It has a membership of 16 English Speaking Caribbean Countries - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts/Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos.

 CDERA advocates and pursues a Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) strategy for reducing disaster risk and building resilience in the Caribbean Community. This is an integrated approach encompassing all hazards, all sectors of society and all phases of the disaster management continuum of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, relief and reconstruction. Through its broad-based partnerships and alliances with national, regional, and international bodies, CDERA receives support for its programmes and interventions aimed primarily at capacity building and institutional strengthening regionally and within its Participating States.

For more information on CDERA, please visit the CDERA website at www.cdera.org or contact:
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency
Building #1, Manor Lodge
Lodge Hill, St. Michael, Barbados
Tel.no. (246)-425-0386; Fax no. (246)-425-8854
E-mail-cdera@caribsurf.org