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12 April 2010
Three months ago Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed 250,000 people. Thanks to your generous support, ActionAid has been at work providing food, shelter and support to 20,000 Haitians. We aim to help over 100,000 people by July as part of a three-year rehabilitation programme in Haiti. What has ActionAid done in Haiti so far?We have been meeting people’s immediate needs with three months’ worth of food, as well as healthcare, hygiene kits, blankets, kitchen equipment, tarpaulin sheets and clothing. We have also started the process of getting people back to work and school, leading sessions with vulnerable people and training volunteers to deal with trauma recovery.
Our work is centred in camps located in Mariani, Philippeau and Jacmel. Plans are also in place for work in Thiotte and Lascahobas, where ActionAid-sponsored children live.
What are the biggest challenges to our response?The scale of this disaster – and the damage done to Haiti’s infrastructure - is our biggest challenge. Alongside those who lost their lives, 300,000 people were injured and 1.5 million displaced in the most powerful earthquake to have hit Haiti in 200 years. The earthquake hit as Haiti was barely recovering from the storms of 2008, which left 800 people dead and caused over $1 billion worth of damage. More than a million people have no shelter, are living on the streets or in temporary camps that are vulnerable to flooding. Aftershocks are also still hitting Haiti, adding to the feeling of instability.What are our current priorities?With the rainy season underway and the hurricane season approaching, our priority is getting people under shelter. The rainy season brings with it risk of flooding, landslides and disease. Worse still, the hurricane season could destroy the temporary shelters in which many people are still living. We are distributing tents in Philippeau and tarpaulin sheeting in Mariani, and are working to make sure people have more permanent shelter as soon as possible, or are able to return to their homes and rebuild on cleared land.
What else are we planning to do? We have committed to a three year response and rehabilitation plan in Haiti. In the next few months we will be shifting our focus from emergency relief to longer-term projects, such as getting people back to work and education. We also plan to build a number of transitional shelters to get people out of tents.
We are working to ensure that Haitian people have a voice in the reconstruction of their country and that aid is delivered in the most democratic and accountable way. How are we working to make sure the money gets to where it is needed? Our funds are being directed to helping the most vulnerable Haitian people, including women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. We are working with local partners who know the communities well and have put measures in place to ensure transparency in our actions and accountability to the people we are working with.
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Anjali Kwatra
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