Melange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine July 2020 | Page 41

Asha Frank
AAsha Frank is cofounder
of the
Barbudan NGO,
barbudanGO. The
organization is the brainchild of
three Barbudans, who grew up
on the island and were raised by
the community.
After the passage of Hurricane
Irma in 2017, she was given
the responsibility of managing
the relief efforts as a member
of the Barbuda Council.
Miss. Frank’s most rewarding
achievement after the
hurricane was facilitating the
return of Barbudans to their
community. The devastating
blow by Hurricane Irma caused
a mandatory evacuation order
to be given by the government,
which made it near impossible
for Barbudans to return to
their homes in the ensuing
months after the hurricane. She
was able to organize a team
of volunteers, who regularly
took an active part in the
essential clean up initiative. This
initiative expedited the process
of assisting home owners to
return to their homes. She was
instrumental in assisting the
government to re-open schools
on the island. Additionally,
Miss. Frank was an essential
factor in the reopening of
banking facilities and also the
full restoration of electricity,
running water and other
essential services that were
needed on the island.
Asha’s efforts and contribution
through her organization
helped the people of Barbuda
to find a way to live their lives
as normal as their present
circumstance would allow
them. The barbudanGO
organization embarked on
a US$20,000 project tagged
“Water Harvesting Initiative”.
This venture facilitated the
replacement of black water
tanks lost in the hurricane, to 25
homes on Barbuda.
of the Barbudan community
who experienced Irma (the most
devastating storm in the history
of Atlantic weather systems) I was
among the first to return home.
I recognize the importance of
creating sustainable solutions
to the worldwide problem of
climate change and the local
issues we face as a result of it such
as displacement and large scale
population migration.”
Asha is also an author. Her book,
“Dreamland Barbuda: A Study
of the History and Development
of Communal Land Ownership
on the island of Barbuda” can be
found on Amazon.
“In the world, 800 million
people (approximately 11% of
the population), are currently
vulnerable to the impact of
climate change such as droughts,
floods, heat waves, extreme
weather events and sea-level rise.
Since the devastating impact of
Hurricane Irma two years ago,
33% of Barbuda’s population is
yet to return home. As a member
barbudanGO