Kemron Dufont
Kemron comes from Grenada and received a New Zealand Development Scholarship to study towards a Master of Disaster Management at the University of Auckland.
“Since the impact of hurricane Ivan on Grenada in 2004, I have dedicated my career path to the field of disaster management and climate change resilience. I obtained a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering in the US to get a sound understanding of hazards and their relationship with climate change. Now I am pursuing the Master of Disaster Management at the University of Auckland so I can consolidate my knowledge of sustainable development.”
I feel blessed to be afforded the opportunity to receive a New Zealand Development Scholarship at such a prestigious institution.
“New Zealand has a wealth of knowledge that the Caribbean can gain on disaster management. The teaching and academic staff at the University have extensive experience in their field. The staff care about students’ wellbeing and development, and guide us to access the resources to help ourselves.”
“My future goal is to lead a global organisation to build resilience to the impact of natural hazards. I conducted field research under the supervision of Dr Alice Chang-Richards to gather information on Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes from stakeholders who participated in the response and recovery process. I hope this information will be used to save lives from the impact of natural hazards, and I look forward to Grenada partnering with New Zealand to share best practices in disaster management.”