By Government Press Office | BELIZE
BELMOPAN, Belize – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, upon request of the ministry of economic development, provided construction materials and tools to help refugees, asylum seekers and host community members severely impacted by hurricane Lisa in and around the Belize City area to rebuild their houses, as well as their lives.
As part of the United Nations’ response to the Hurricane, this donation, benefitting approximately 100 refugee and local community members, included hurricane straps, sheets of circular roofing, plywood, Brazil hardboards, roofing screws for
metal and wood, among other construction materials and tools.
Belize District hosts the second-largest population of asylum seekers and refugees in the country, with Belize City and its surrounding neighbourhoods home to roughly 20 percent of the population UNHCR protects in Belize.
“Together with the other UN Agencies, UNHCR is supporting the government of Belize and ensuring effective help reaches those who need it the most,” said UNHCR’s head of office, Myrat Myradov. “This donation will help the most vulnerable asylum seeker and refugee families, as well as host community members, who have been severely impacted by hurricane Lisa”.
Belize is home to over 7,000 refugees, asylum seekers, and others whom UNHCR serves who have come seeking safety and protection, mostly from nearby El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.