Haiti: Six months later

12/07/2010

Efforts have shifted to the rebuilding phase of Haiti earthquake response.

Ottawa (12 July, 2010) - Six months after the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION and its members have shifted their focus from emergency relief to the longer-term work of supporting Haitian communities as they rebuild their country. While life in Haiti is beginning to return to some semblance of normality, there is still a great deal of work to be done.

Relief workers with CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children Canada shifted their efforts from emergency relief to fostering recovery and reconstruction. A long road lays ahead for the people of Haiti and the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION will remain in the country for years to come, helping every step of the way.

Over the past six months, the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION have effectively contributed to rebuilding Haiti alongside the survivors of the earthquake. The members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION have reached hundreds of thousands of Haitians with essential and urgently needed assistance.

Here are just a few examples and highlights of the many different activities undertaken so far:

  • CARE has created 20 women's centres in Carrefour and Leogane to help prevent gender-based violence and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.
  • Save the Children has registered 1,740 children in family tracking and reunification programs. To date, 567 children have been reunited with their family.
  • 134,000 people are benefitting from Oxfam's cash-for-work programs.
  • Save the Children has reached more than 100,000 people with health and nutritional programs.
  • 1,575 families have received spinach and okra seeds from CARE to improve their access to fresh food.
  • Oxfam hygiene kits are benefitting 120,000 people. For more information on what the members are doing to help the people of Haiti, please contact the member organisations directly using the details in the right-hand column.

For more information on what the members are doing to help the people of Haiti, please contact the member organizations directly using the details in the right-hand column. Or, to read more about the efforts of these organizations in Haiti, read:

Save the Children's, Serving Haiti's Children Now, Rebuilding For Their Future

Oxfam Canada's six-month update on Haiti

Oxfam Quebec's six-month report on Haiti (in French)

CARE's Haiti earthquake appeal

 

Below are a few stories and pictures from Haiti:

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CARE

Emilienne Laguerre, 39 is 7 months pregnant and is getting ready to move into a new temporary shelter provided by CARE's shelter program in Carrefour, July 05, 2010.  (Natasha Fillion/CARE)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oxfam
 
Elsie Delva is from Carrefour Feuilles, a poor neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. She lost everything in the earthquake. As one of the most vulnerable members of her community, she was selected as a beneficiary of one of the first community canteens that Oxfam opened in March.
Since then Oxfam has also supported her with grants of 50 and 100 US dollars, so she could recapitalize her business and start earning a living again.
 
"After the earthquake things were very difficult. Then Oxfam started the canteens, and we were able to eat every day for two months. That helped. And since then, Oxfam also gave me money. With that money, I was able to repay some debt that I had so that I could feed the children (both of them are orphans), and then I bought some stock and opened this stall. "In the future, I hope to be able to expand my business, that would make it much easier to live, and then I would be able to send the children to school."

 

Save the Children

The mother of 2-week-old twins Richardson and Rejeffson was still recovering from a Caesarian section, so she could not bring her newborns to the Save the Children clinic for their check-up. Instead, she enlisted the help of her cousins, who brought the newborns to the Gaston Margron camp where Save the Children operates its mobile clinic. The mobile clinic serves the camp population of 6,000, but also reaches out to others in the community and will see any patient who comes to the clinic. At Gaston Margron, patients have a consultation with a doctor and nurse who is trained in nutritional supports. They are then assessed and prescribed medication which is available free of charge at the clinic. Since the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, Save the Children has been able to reach more than 100,000 people with health and nutrition programs.