Charity helps 65 homes pay CUC bill
(CNS): With the help of a local charity, 65 homes recently received $250 each towards their Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) bills as part of a utility relief programme. Resilience Cayman, supported by a CI$50,000 grant from the Dart-created R3 Cayman Foundation, gave the money to workers who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have been struggling to keep up with their bills.
The families who received the support have also been enrolled in an online budgeting series to improve their skills in managing their monthly spending, with tips on reducing their energy consumption.
However, the help appears to be just a fraction of what is really needed. Resilience spokesperson Patricia Patino Langfitt said the programme is an extension of the charity’s food relief efforts which have supported over 3,000 families since the start of the pandemic.
“As the economy has reopened there are still thousands of families that either have no work or have reduced hours and lower incomes than before the closures. Even with the $1,000 stipend that the Ministry of Tourism is providing, many are finding it hard to pay for their housing, utilities and food needs,” she said.
R3 Chairman Bryan Hunter said the foundation said there was a growing need for utility and rent relief as the economic impacts of the pandemic continue.
“Even as recent news about a COVID-19 vaccine brings renewed hope for economic recovery, R3 recognises the urgent need to help families and individuals make ends meet in the short term, and reskill or upskill for the return of tourism in the medium to long term,” he added.
Resilience’s utility relief programme requires a completed online application along with supporting documents. An income verification process is also conducted and decisions are made for completed applications on a monthly basis.
See more about Resilience Cayman’s Utility Relief Programme here.
Category: Community, Local News
I don’t care what CUC does as long as it doesn’t affect my dividends.
Its not my money and I guess donors to R3 can do whatever they want. But why in hell are they bailing out CUC? Why not companies that actually need the help? Restaurants? Hotels? Watersports operators? Why bailout CUC who could easily afford to just waive these 65 families fees for a month (or a year!)
I thought R3 was setup to help those in need? How the F does CUC qualify as needy?
Listen, people are hurting and many have stepped up to help, and we all need to do our part and I hate to criticize…but…why didn’t CUC just give these folks a break? Why should others pay CUC when they can afford to give a few poor folk a break?
On the other hand: has CUC donated to R3? If yes, are you telling me that they’re just getting their donation back? smh
There should be 2 utility providers on island just like there are 2 phone providers with Digicel and Flow. CUC is almost as big of a rip off as getting your car repaired XXXXX. Monthly utility rates would go down if there was 2 providers on island.
Phone bill Did Not go down with 2 providers
Ah yes, changing it from a monopoly to a duopoly will resolve the problem.
Collusion is worse
I really wonder who benefited? Was it genuine needy indigenous Caymanians or….. the usually imported Paper poverty stricken P of S from S H places.
i paid 65 bucks electricity includin a/c….i am on cpa salary…i choose to build small…live within means and not support rich…maybe they out to read this message…Live within your means!
I sincerely hope that your numeracy skills greatly exceed those of their cousin literacy.
So the shareholders of CUC benefit financially from a donation made by a board on which their CEO sits? Interesting.
Quite a stretch there….
What stretch? Those are facts.
How is that a stretch?
Three words….Joey Who’s family.
All you need to hear.
Give me a break. People are in a bad position. This is electricity to your home, it’s not like they were granted vouchers for a sailing excursion and the owner of the sailing company was on the board. This is a pretty basic need. I applaud their charity. Thank you R3 and Dart for helping our community.
I worry that people are getting so used to the handouts that they are not seeking to live within their means and lower their expenses. $250 for an electricity bill seems very generous. I run my ac all day and cook a lot any my cuc bill is not that high.
What stove and a/c unit you have?
I am genuinely curious, mine is $400 plus doing the same.
Its not the people getting the “handout” I’m worried about. Its the meaningless circulation of money that makes no sense.
E.G. Bank A donates to R3 and gets money back to cover mortgages of select customers.
E.G.2 Phone Company B donates to R3 and gets money back to cover phone bills of select customers.
Why the hell don’t these companies just give their customers a discount or waive the fees if a family is in dire need. Why the middleman?
R3 vets the recipients. I doubt any utility provider will want to be responsible for that task, talk about the potential for corruption. This seems like the best case scenario to me and it’s charity for God’s sake.
LOL…sounds like the current USA Covid stimulus plan….an untraceable world tour of money laundering by the professionals who love to put the “Caymans” in the limelight on this particular front!
Plenty of well paying jobs in the construction industry for the able bodied. Just sayin.