June 7th, 2025, 5pm MDT
As the 2025 hurricane season begins in the Atlantic, a new regional logistics hub, built in collaboration between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the United Nations World Food Program, brings emergency response and training closer to Caribbean people.
The Caribbean Regional Logistics Centre and Centre of Excellence officially opened at Grantry Adams International Airport in Christchurch, Barbados on Monday, May 26th.
The goal is to reduce the time to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters and hurricanes by seven days.
The centre was built in Barbados for its ideal climate and location and was close to a potential climate-related disaster.
According to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, the region had to wait for supplies from Panama or Miami before.
“This is the perfect conclusion,” she said. “This center is going to save lives. Let’s be very clear. This is getting food and supplies from people who need it faster.”
According to a news release from Churchofjesuschrist.org, the United Nations World Food Program and the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency will support $2.3 million from the World Food Program and $2 million from the Church and oversee the centre.
The Church and the World Food Program have been working together since 2014.
Laura Castro, director of the World Food Programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the center will be a major boon for disaster victims.
“One thing that wakes up at night is, how long can people not eat underwater, without shelter, without beds, after a hurricane or earthquake hit?” Castro said. “This center will be the solution. This center will require you to wait 24, 48 or 72 hours for shelter, water filters and food to occur.”
The center will have space for 1,300 transport pallets and 112 cubic meters of cold storage.
The centre also serves as a training facility for training first responders, humanitarian organizations and logistics professionals, as it does not serve as a storage hub for resources and emergency supplies. This training will enhance disaster response capabilities through workshops and simulations at the centre.
Castro said this would make the centre “more than a warehouse.”
“This is where every country in the region, every member of the Caribbean (collaborators) places assets that help save lives.”
Elder Claude R. Gamiett, a region of 70, said the effort demonstrated the Church’s deep commitment to humanitarian efforts.
“The church has a desire to help everyone,” he said. “We are all children of our Heavenly Father, and the command of the Church is to make Christ do.”
Elder Gamiette continued. “Preparation can address not only our needs, but our needs, and the more prepared we are, the more we can serve others.”
