As the 2025 hurricane season begins in the Atlantic Ocean, a new regional logistics hub built in collaboration between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the United Nations World Food Programme will bring emergency-response supplies and training closer to people in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Regional Logistics Centre and Centre of Excellence officially opened at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Christ Church, Barbados, on Monday, May 26.
The goal is to decrease response times — by as much as seven days — to natural disasters and emergencies like hurricanes.
The center was built in Barbados because of its ideal climate and location, close to potential climate-related disasters.
According to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, the area has previously had to wait for supplies from Panama or Miami.
“This is just a perfect conclusion,” she said. “This center will be saving lives. Let’s be very, very clear: This is about getting food and supplies to those who need it much quicker.”
The United Nations World Food Programme and the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency will oversee the center, with $2.3 million in support from World Food Programme and $2 million from the Church, according to a news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The Church and the World Food Programme have collaborated in service since 2014.
Lola Castro, World Food Programme regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the center will be a significant boon to disaster victims.
“One thing that keeps me awake at night is — after a hurricane or earthquake hits, how long are the people going to be underwater, without shelter, without a bed, without being able to eat?” Castro said. “This center will be the solution. With this center, they will only have to wait 24, 48 or 72 hours before they will have shelter, water filters and food.”
The center has space for 1,300 shipping pallets and 112 cubic meters of cold storage.
Beyond serving as a storage hub for resources and emergency supplies, the center will also function as a training facility to train first responders, humanitarian organizations and logistics experts. This training will enhance disaster response capabilities through workshops and simulations at the center.
Castro said this makes the center “more than a warehouse.”
“It’s a place where all the countries in the region, all the [collaborators] in the Caribbean, will put the assets that will help save lives.”
Elder Claude R. Gamiette, an Area Seventy, said this effort shows the Church’s deep commitment to humanitarian efforts.
“The Church has the desire to help all people,” he said. “We are all children of Heavenly Father, and the mandate of the Church is to do as Christ would do.”
Elder Gamiette continued: “Preparedness allows us to not only respond to our needs, but also to the needs of others. The better we are prepared, the better we will be able to serve others.”
