Devastated first by Hurricane Dorian, and then by a crippling pandemic, young children in Great Abaco Island and the northern Bahamas are still reeling from the fear and anxiety wrought by those experiences.

A team of medical professionals from the University of Miami is trying to help.

Close to 90 young Bahamian students were learning and drawing about hurricanes in late April as part of a pilot program led by a team of doctors and staff members from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Global Institute for Community Health and Development. The pilot was conceived by Dr. Anjali Saxena, an assistant professor of clinical internal medicine and pediatrics at the Miller School. 

In the months after Dorian, she joined a team of University physicians from the Global Institute, and staff from a nonprofit called Direct Relief, that helped the Bahamian government care for patients at a public medical clinic on the island. At the time, Saxena was struck by the need for counseling and education to help local children process the trauma of living through such a destructive storm. 

“As a general pediatrician, I left there feeling very concerned that there was this entire group of kids who were just sitting with these thoughts and nothing to do,” said Saxena, who is also academic program manager for the Global Institute. “For months after the storm, they had no safe place to learn, play, or receive appropriate counseling because of the immense infrastructural damage that had occurred. So, I really wanted to find a way to help them.”

From her own research and experience, Saxena knew how critical schools are to help children recover from disaster. She also recalled how books can help people come to terms with their feelings, and she remembered happily borrowing books from a library van that visited her school when she was a child. From these ideas, Saxena envisioned The Wonderful Floating Library program—a library carried by donated boats. On Great Abaco, where the only public library was destroyed during Dorian, the pilot program aims to try and help these students  emotionally process their experiences, while also offering books to help improve on the poor literacy rates. Eventually, the team hopes to expand the program to visit surrounding islands.

“This area endured back-to-back disasters with Hurricane Dorian and then the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many of these children to be out of school for longer than the rest of the world, moving from place to place, and lacking many of the things that we know are needed for them to have healthy development and growth,” said Saxena. “We wanted to help increase literacy again and also to provide these students with a place to talk about their experiences with Dorian, as well as how to prepare for the next storm in age-appropriate ways.”  

By giving the children a chance to select a new book, and by teaching them about hurricanes and disaster preparedness, the team hopes it can help the children gain more resilience before the 2023 hurricane season begins on June 1. 

“At the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Global Institute for Community Health and Development, we remain totally committed to the underserved children of the Bahamas. Our focus is on providing each one of them the opportunity to be healthy, safe, educated, and optimistic about their future,” said Dr. Barth Green, co-director of the Global Institute as well as a professor of neurological surgery and executive dean for global health and community service. “Our team has embraced the Floating Library strategy as a means of providing these children what they deserve: A sense of self confidence and self-esteem, and the knowledge that the world beyond their island homes truly care about their future.”

To craft the three lessons for the pilot, Saxena enlisted the guidance of her colleague Dr. Kendra Van Kirk, a former middle school science teacher, who is now the Miller School’s co-director of the medical educator pathway for the internal medicine and combined internal medicine-pediatrics residency programs. 

“We know storms like Dorian are likely to affect the Bahamas again, so we want to help lay the groundwork for these students—to learn basic terminology about hurricanes, to help them better understand what is happening when they see or hear about them on the news. But we also want to create a safe space where they can openly discuss their feelings of fear or sadness as it relates to past storms,” said Van Kirk, an assistant professor of clinical internal medicine and pediatrics. “We hope that in doing so, they are equipped with the tools to mentally prepare for and cope with another hurricane when it happens.” 

Saxena, Jessica Lemma, senior manager of business operations for the Global Institute, and the Global Institute’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, Didi Bertrand Farmer, traveled to Marsh Harbour last fall to bring their idea to local schools, educators, and government officials, all of whom had similar concerns about the children in the Abacos. In February, the group partnered with Central Abaco Primary School and Agape Christian School to host their first lesson at the Abaco Beach Resort and Marina, focused on “courage and everyday heroes.” By reading the picture book, “I Am Amazing,” and using activity books created and donated by AshBritt Chief Executive Officer, Brittany Perkins Castillo, the lesson focused on building self-confidence and resiliency.

Students were asked to express in words or pictures a time when they had to be brave and overcome their fears. Afterward, each child got a mask and cape they could decorate, and the University team explained that heroes too must overcome scary situations to help others.