The Bottom, Saba- The Red Cross branch on Saba has a new board. Antonio Hughes and Janet Wilson welcomed three new members on the board.

Mark Zagers joined as its treasurer, Marva Simmons as the new secretary and Gerald Simmons–de Jong as its new chairman. Hughes and Wilson will stay on as board members to ensure that their valuable experience and knowledge is retained.

Especially on Saba, being a secluded island inside a hurricane-prone region, crisis response and disaster preparedness is key. Therefore, this is one of the more important tasks of the branch here. The Saba branch of the Red Cross wishes to further invest in its disaster response preparedness in order to provide an adequate support to the local community in case of new challenges. Earlier this year the team has been reinforced with a motivated branch manager, Maarten Plante. “Now, with this new board in place and the broad array of skills that each member brings to the table, we hope to work towards a resilient and effective presence of the Red Cross on Saba,” the board stated in a press release on Thursday.

The Netherlands Red Cross Society was founded in 1867 in the Netherlands. It is among the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which is the mother organization. The branches on the different six Dutch Caribbean islands fall under the same umbrella organization within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The general coordination for these branches lies with the Red Cross Netherlands. The fundamental principles of the Red Cross are: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary, Unity and Universality. Each island is different and therefore, so are the needs. The Saba branch wishes to work towards a focus and vision that matches best with those of the island of Saba.