More peaceful sleep

“I felt like there was a voice in my head telling me to run and ask the children to follow me (…) We got out of the house safe and sound under the falling blocks.” Wesnotte Simeus, a 32-year-old mother of five, painfully recalls the day she had to leave her house during the earthquake.

On Saturday, August 14, 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Grand’Anse, Sud and Nippes departments in Haiti, affecting an estimated 800,000 people, including 340,000 children. The earthquake killed 2,246 people, injured 12,763, left 329 missing and many more with disabilities. It also destroyed and severely damaged more than 100,000 houses.

Wesnotte's house in Manichesuffered severe damages, leaving her and her family with an insecure place to sleep in the aftermath of the earthquake. Moreover, their lands and crops were destroyed by landslides and rockfalls. As a result, Wesnotte's sources of income were significantly impacted. The family struggles to cover basic needs, including food and safe drinking water.

Wesnotte and her family lost almost all their personal and household items, including essential hygiene items for their children and Corine*, her baby. Thankfully, Save the Children was in the area, providing relief assistance to the most affected families and communities in Les Cayes – including Wesnotte’s. She received hygiene kits for her children’s needs and cash assistance to help her cover urgent expenses.

Further, thanks to funds provided by Global Affairs Canada and the Humanitarian Coalition, Save the Children distributed tarpaulins to help people rebuild houses.  It allowed families such as Wesnotte’s to close this painful chapter and get a chance at a new beginning. “I have no words to thank Save the Children for these tarpaulins received…This will allow us to close part of the house and sleep more peacefully.”