Haiti Earthquake

CARE's Earthquake Response

CARE IS ON THE GROUND DELIVERING AID TO SURVIVORS

Emy Merci, 39, was holding her newborn baby in the hospital soon after delivery, when she felt the earth start to shake on January 12. She received a hygiene kits (background) from CARE. (2010 Evelyn Hockstein/CARE)

Devastation from the January 12 earthquake in Haiti was massive. But so was the outpouring of public support for relief and recovery efforts.

As a result, emergency aid has made a real difference in the lives of survivors, including the women and girls targeted in CARE's response. There has been no large outbreak of disease and no nutrition crisis. Virtually all displaced people have some form of shelter. And we are proud to be part of a response that has helped alleviate suffering for hundreds of thousands of people across Haiti.

Today, our relief efforts are currently focused in two areas of the country: Pétionville and Léogâne. We also have worked in Canapé Vert, Cité Soleil, Delmas, Gonaïves, Gros-Morne, Jérémie, Léogâne, Tabarre and Port-au-Prince. During the past six months, we have reached hundreds of thousands of people with aid.

CARE has distributed food, PUR® water purification packets, water, jerry cans, buckets, hygiene kits, shelter kits, emergency housing repair kits, solar flashlights, kitchen sets, mattresses, blankets, clean delivery kits, newborn kits, latrines, showers and worked on other projects that promote hygiene and sanitation. And we organized our distributions so that women and children, who are among the most vulnerable during times of disaster and crisis, have benefited from CARE's assistance.

WHAT IS IN THE WORKS

Using a community-based approach and working closely with the government, CARE is focusing on those most affected by the earthquake.

Shelter

Daniel Léger, lives alone in his CARE-built shelter in Carrefour. He lost his leg eight years ago after an accident while working in construction. (2010 Natasha Fillion/CARE)

As much as possible, we want to help families move from the camps back into their communities. CARE is doing so by distributing transitional shelter and home repair kits, providing economic opportunities and improving health and educational services – both in earthquake-affected communities and several outlying provinces. CARE also will continue to provide support to people remaining in camps.

Of immediate concern is a hurricane season predicted to be more active and more dangerous than usual. That's why we're importing emergency materials to repair damaged homes and to make 20,000 shelter reinforcement kits for families forced to live in self-built structures. CARE also continues to construct 25 to 30 transitional shelters per week, giving widows, women-headed households and other survivors a safe, secure place to rebuild their lives.

The shelters, roughly 13 feet by 15 feet with wooden frames and sheet metal roofs, are hazard-resistant – able to withstand earthquakes and high winds. They are designed to last at least 3 years – or 5 to 10 years with repair and maintenance. Not only that, but the materials are reusable, and the design can be adapted by beneficiaries to form the core of a permanent dwelling to suit the families' tastes and local housing styles.

Our shelter teams, local authorities and community associations are working together to identify beneficiaries using the following criteria: families with available plots whose homes that have been destroyed or rendered unrepairable. CARE is targeting people who are most vulnerable, including female-headed households, families with children under age 5, persons suffering of chronic illness, disabled people and the elderly. Each person receiving a shelter is assigned two CARE carpenters. Along with three friends or family members, the team can build the shelter in two days.

Since starting in June, 33 percent of transitional shelters targeted for 2010 have been constructed.

Women and Girls

"Femme Vigilante" women' committee members, Uphania Ladouceur, 30 (left) and Mesidor Hyguette, 29, (right) at a meeting with CARE in Léogâne on June 30, 2010. (Natasha Fillion/CARE)

CARE's programs prior to the earthquake were designed to meet the needs of women and girls, making sure they had significant opportunities to improve their quality of life. Now, we are integrating these approaches into all areas of our emergency response. For example, nearly half the participants in cash-for-work activities are women; half the children receiving recreation kits will be girls; and many of our projects seek to lessen workload burdens of women, such as collecting water.

We are also working to help prevent violence against women in Haiti's crowded camps. We've conducted community-training activities at 14 different sites in Carrefour and Léogâne, covering topics, such as gender-based violence, sexually-transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS and family planning.

In partnership with local health committees, CARE is opening more than 20 women's centers that will serve more than 40,000 women and girls. The centers that will serve as places that women can go to for counseling and referrals, especially in the case of reproductive health issues and matters of gender-based violence. In addition, the centers will offer activities to support pregnant women, the importance of prenatal consultations, nursing, neonatal care and family planning, the danger signs of pregnancy and use of the clean delivery kits and newborn kits.

Water, Sanitation Hygiene

A mother washes her baby girl in a bowl in Place St. Pierre Camp, Pétionville. Delivering clean water for consumption and hygiene has been a vital component of CARE's relief efforts. (2010 CARE/Sabine Wilke)

CARE is providing water, building latrines and showers, and organizing citizens to promote good hygiene. Since the earthquake, we have built 800 latrines and 140 showers at 60 sites between Léogâne and Carrefour. We've also installed 23 water bladders in 21 locations, bringing clean drinking water to a total of 45,000 people.

In the immediate days after the quake, sanitation quickly became a grave concern, especially the removal of human waste from sites where it was impossible to install emergency trench latrines. CARE purchased 10 mobile vacuum trucks to help meet this need.

In addition, CARE is conducting hygiene promotion activities through local committees in 133 sites in Carrefour and Léogâne. These activities include house visits, group training sessions and peer outreach, such as child-to-child and mother-to-mother. So far, 43 latrine-cleaning committees and 76 site-cleaning committees have been created. We've also distributed more than 32,000 hygiene kits. Moving forward, we plan to work with schools to introduce good hygiene habits to students, replicating programs we have done in other countries.

With the installation of waste bins, the problem of household waste disposal around the camps has been halted. Today, Haiti's camps are litter-free and people are enjoying the cleanliness of the water and sanitation facilities. This is helped by CARE's cash-for-work project that helps people earn a living while keeping the settlements clean of debris.

Livelihoods and Food Security

Mona Jean Pierre and Berta Noel are participating in CARE's "cash for work" program planting peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and other vegetables to eat and sell in the local markets. (2010 Natasha Fillion/CARE)

CARE has supported affected families in non-urban areas (including families who are hosting displaced people) to ensure that sufficient food is locally produced, in order to avoid widespread hunger and reduce the need for people to travel to quake-affected urban areas in search of food.

Our approach includes paying people for infrastructure projects, so they have money to buy food. Through cash-for-work programs, CARE has assisted 3,154 affected families, which is 81 percent of the project's target. Of the people employed, nearly half of them are women. Through these programs, 33 kilometers of irrigation canals have been cleared; 7 kilometers of feeder roads have been rehabilitated, facilitating exchanges between communities; dry stone walls supporting 250 meters of ravines have been built; and rubble from a church and an orphanage have been removed. Communities identified all of these projects as high priority.

CARE also is promoting gardening to improve families' access to fresh food. So far, 146 pounds of spinach and okra seeds have been distributed to 1,575 families, as these vegetables are easy to grow from seeds. Additionally, tomatoes, chilies and eggplants are being started at local nurseries to improve chances for survival; and the seedlings are being distributed to families.

Children's Education, Psychological Care and Well-Being

Children who now live in a camp in Léogâne. (2010 Melanie Brooks/CARE)

Our education efforts includes a project to help 20 directly-affected schools in Léogâne and 50 indirectly-affected schools (serving displaced children) in the areas of Gonaïves, Gros-Morne, and Jérémie. The project will also support students to resume learning activities. Schools will be assisted with refurbishing, e.g. desks and chairs for students and teachers; and their students will be provided school and hygiene kits.

In order to contribute to the stability and security of children, we're training teachers and parents on psycho-social support for children ages 6 to12. And these adults help spread the messages to other teachers and families in the neighborhood. As of the end of October, we'd reached 46 percent of our target.

Out trainings cover topics such as child development, conflict management and post-traumatic stress symptoms, such as loss of appetite, grinding the teeth, apathy, aggressiveness, nightmares, difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity, intense sadness and difficulty sleeping. Participants employ activities for children such as drawing and coloring (which provide them a way to express their emotions), and sports and games, such as hopscotch and marbles.

We've identified 100 schools where CARE will provide psycho-social training for teachers and caregivers. The schools are located in the towns of Gonaïves, Gros-Morne, Léogâne and Jérémie, where many displaced children are now living. In addition to addressing the emotional well-being of the children, we'll provide school furniture and supplies, and rehabilitate school water and sanitation facilities, and promote recreational activities so that the children have a supportive, comfortable and fun place to resume their studies.

Finally, CARE intends to distribute 8,000 recreational backpacks to families whose children are not currently attending school. The backpacks will contain jump ropes, marbles, pens, colored pencils and pencil sharpeners, among other items.

CARE'S LONG-TERM RELIEF AND RECOVERY PLANS

We have developed a 5-year, $100 million strategy for relief and rehabilitation in Haiti, one guided by the priorities of the Haitian people and the Haitian government. It places special emphasis on women and girls who, with the right support and resources, can help build a better Haiti. The strategy focuses not only on earthquake-ravaged areas but also the provinces, so that economic opportunities and social services are spread throughout the country.

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Background

EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI

Click the map above to download a Google Earth file and see what CARE is doing in Haiti now (updated March 31, 2010)!

Around 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck 10 miles southwest of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, and triggered a tsunami warning for the region. A series of aftershocks – more than 30 – measuring 5.0 or greater on the Richter Scale, followed throughout the night and into the morning. The nearby towns of Carrefour and Jacmel and other ares to the west and south of Port-au-Prince also were affected, with the town of Léogâne reported to be 80 percent destroyed.

Buildings across the area area collapsed, leaving hundred of thosands homeless, injured and dead. The exact number of people killed will probably never be known, but the Haitian government places the figure at 222,517, and some 300,600 wounded. Three million people were directly affected, of whom the government estimates 1.2 million lost their homes.

Several hundred spontaneous sites in and around Port-au-Prince were established to house affected families, who continue to rely on the assistance of the international community and direct intervention of approximately 1,000 humanitarian organizations, including CARE. There was also a mass migration of an estimated 600,000 persons away from affected cities. Host families and communities in outlying areas are bearing much of the burden of supporting these dispaced people.

CARE IN HAITI

CARE began working in Haiti in 1954 to provide relief assistance after Hurricane Hazel. Our work shifted to development programming in 1959, with a focus on maternal and child nutrition. In 1966, CARE launched community development activities in the country's impoverished Northwest region. In the 1970s, we broadened our focus to include health care for preschool children, safe drinking water and income-generating activities. By the 1980s CARE's programming in Haiti included agriculture and natural resources, preschool education, water and sanitation, primary health care and small enterprise projects. Following the coup d'état in 1991, CARE concentrated on humanitarian feeding and rehabilitation projects.

Today, CARE's work in Haiti reflects an integrated approach, with projects in HIV and AIDS, reproductive health, maternal and child health, education, food security, and water and sanitation. CARE works closely with local nongovernment organizations (NGOs), private companies, community organizations and the Haitian government to build local capacity and achieve sustainable development.

Our emergency response efforts in Haiti also have continued. More recently, tropical storm Jeanne nearly destroyed the regional capital city of Arbonite in 2004. Following that emergency, CARE Haiti developed a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan focused on response to "recurrent emergencies in the country: flooding and drought. This plan was used in 2008 when four storms, including hurricanes, crossed the country in August and September of that year.

CARE's work in emergencies and times of crisis goes back to our founding in the aftermath of World War II to deliver food and supplies to war-torn Europe by means of the famous "CARE Packages®." In the decades since, we have responded to hundreds of humanitarian disasters worldwide – from earthquakes, to floods, to the consequences of armed conflict. Today, CARE reaches some 11.7 million people each year with immediate relief and long-term assistance coping with, preparing for and preventing disasters.

Find out more about our work in Haiti.

DELTA AIR LINES PARTNERSHIP

Delta Air Lines, a long time CARE partner, is providing transportation support for Atlanta-based CARE staff into Haiti to support our Haiti Country Office team on the ground with emergency relief. Click here to donate your Delta SkyMiles to CARE through Delta's SkyWish program.

Blogs from the Field

BLOGS FROM THE FIELD AVAILABLE ON WE.CARE.ORG

• The situation here in Artibonite is all but reassuring
• "My dream is to be a doctor"
• Today, I met Rosette
• CARE visits Haitian town flooded by hurricane
• Why this? Why us? Why again?
• "We are exceptionally strong; we can stand up again"

To read all of our blogs on Haiti, please click here.

What Do You Think? Submit Your Opinion Today

Press and Media Coverage

MEDIA CONTACTS
For more information or to arrange interviews with staff in Haiti:

• Brian Feagans (in Atlanta): +1 404-457-4644, bfeagans@care.org
• Melanie Brooks (in Geneva): +41.79.590.30.47, brooks@careinternational.org

CARE REPORTS

• CARE Haiti's Earthquake Response: The First Six Months
• The Way Forward: Haiti Three Months After the Earthquake

CARE HAITI NEWSLETTERS

• No. 8: September 3, 2010
• No. 7: June 2, 2010 (available in French only)
• No. 6: May 21, 2010
• No. 5: May 5, 2010
• No. 4: April 29, 2010
• No. 3: March 26, 2010
• No. 2: March 19, 2010
• No. 1: March 13, 2010

CARE PRESS RELEASES

• CARE Steps Up Haiti Response as Cholera Cases Surge
• CARE Responds to Hurricane Tomas
• CARE Helps Haitians Prepare for Tropical Storm Tomas
• CARE Braces for Potential Spread of Cholera in Haiti
• CARE Brings Shelter, Dignity to Thousands in Haiti: Six Months After Deadly Earthquake, Women Lead Rebuilding, Healing
• Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, CARE and Others Help Provide More Than 13,000 Additional Emergency Shelter Kits for Haiti
• Resettlement of Quake Victims Must Ensure Human Dignity: Agencies Call for Upholding of Standards to Protect Vulnerable People
• Quick Work on Water Has Prevented Disease After Haiti Quake
• CARE Announces Key Recommendations for Haiti's Recovery, Reconstruction and Development Needs
• Food Crisis Looms in Rural Haiti: FAO and CARE collaborate on cash-for-work program in Léogâne
• Race to the Rainy Season in Haiti: CARE Calls for Mass Tarp Distribution and Sanitation Campaign
• CARE Is Working to Prevent Sexual Violence in the Aftermath of Haiti Earthquake
• CARE Calls for Rehabilitation Funding and Debt Relief to Rebuild Haiti
• CARE Distributes Food, Water and Supplies to Haiti's Hardest Hit
• CARE Works with Women in Haiti to Keep Disease at Bay
• Tens of Thousands of Pregnant Women at Risk in Haiti
• CARE Deploys Supplies, More Emergency Team Members to Haiti
• CARE Deploys Additional Emergency Team Members to Haiti
• CARE Readies Operations in Haiti Following Devastating Earthquake

CARE IN THE NEWS

• Click here to read media coverage of CARE's work in Haiti

CARE ACTION NETWORK UPDATE

We asked our supporters to send a message to their elected officials asking them to encourage the IMF and others to forgive Haiti's debt. Thousands of you did, and your efforts will make a difference in the lives of so many:

• CNN – IMF Forgives Haiti's $268 Million Debt to Fund

CARE in the News

Hurricane Thomas, cholera outbreak and six month anniversary coverage:

• Relief Web – Haiti: Hurricane Tomas Update
• CNN – Hurricane Tomas Begins to Lash a Devastated Haiti
• Chicago Sun-Times – Haitian Quake Victims Not Out of Danger Yet
• Channel One News – Haiti: After the Quake (video part 1)
• Channel One News – Haiti: After the Quake (video part 2)
• Channel One News – Haiti: Donations (video)
• California Chronicle – Bringing Hope to Haiti
• ReliefWeb – The Women of Haut Miton: Much Lost, but Not Leadership
• CNN iReport – CARE Helps Make Strong Women in Haiti (with video)
• Media Global – Haiti's Displaced Begin Building on Their Own
• CNN iReport – Nadine's Story (with video)
• Atlanta Business Chronicle – Health-Care Heroes Haiti Service Award: Honoring CARE for Easing Devastation in Haiti

Previous coverage:

• Global Post – Haiti Stands Alone
• Foreign Policy in Focus – Ghosts Threaten to Return to Haiti
• Today's Chicago Woman: CARE President Dr. Helene Gayle Updates TCW on Women in Haiti
• Marketplace – Leaving Haiti to Relief Plan a Challenge (audio and transcript)
• Relief Web – Haiti Aid Marred by Slow United Nations Response
• Associated Press – Haitian Women Become Crime Targets After Quake
• The New York Times – Coupons Ease Chaos in Efforts to Feed Haitians
• PBS – Haiti Scrambles to Find Shelter for Quake Survivors (video, MP3, and transcript)
• CNN – Scout Takes Comfort in Haiti Relief Work
• Ladies Home Journal – Do Good: Haiti Earthquake Survivors Helping Others
• CNN – Massive Food Distribution Begins in Quake-Ravaged Haitian Capital
• The Berkshire Eagle – "Most Intense Two Weeks"
• Tagesschau – Nach dem Erdbeben (CARE interview at 6:54, in German)
• The New York Times – Giving Life in a Land Overflowing With Pain
• Reuters – Haitian Women Lose Out in Post-Quake "Survival of the Strongest"
• BET – BET Networks Presents SOS Saving OurSelves – Help for Haiti Benefit Concert, Feb. 5
• Des Moines Register – Guest Column: International Community, Haitians Must Work Together
• Reuters – Thousands of Pregnant Women in Haiti Face Dangerous Delivery After Earthquake
• CNN – Haitians Helping Each Other (Video features a CARE hygiene kit distribution)
• The Huffington Post – It's the Haitians Who Will Rebuild Their Country
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Haitians' Spirit Remains Strong Amid Ruins
• Fit Pregnancy – Born in Haiti: The Littlest Survivors
• The Washington Post – With Few Resources, Haiti's Women and Children at a Disadvantage
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – In Leogane, Doctors Try To Save Lives and Limbs
• WXIA Atlanta – Local Kids Report for Online Magazine (video: N'Naserri Crew-Johnson, 11, discusses her interview with CARE)
• PC World – Haiti Digs Out From Communications Disaster
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Grinding Poverty Exacerbated by Haiti Earthquake
• CNN – In Haiti's Outlying Areas: "When Will They Come to Help Us?"
• Elle France – L'actu en images Haïti: La Vie Avant Tout (with CARE photos)
• ABC 7 San Francisco – CARE Focuses on Haiti Pregnant Women (video)
• The Columbia Chronicle – Local Businesses Support Earthquake Victims
• CNN – Mental Health Experts Help Volunteers in Haiti (with CARE photos)
• CTV Edmonton – Haiti Ends Search and Rescue (click on video with Rick Perera)
• The New York Times – How Kids Can Help Haiti
• Fox 5 Atlanta – CARE CEO Returns to Atlanta from Haiti
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Hard To Give Away Food
• Scholastic News – How to Give to Help Haiti: CARE Says Do Your Research and Help Educate Others
• CNN – 8 Day After Haiti Quake: More Survivors, 5.9 Aftershock
• Associated Press – Efforts Boosted, but Thousands Wait Unaided
• WAMU Washington, D.C. – The Fate of Haiti (audio)
• The Daily Tell – CARE Helps Haiti Purify Contaminated Water
• CNN – Beyond Survival, Health Crisis Looms
• USA Today – Faucet of Aid Opens in Haiti
• Giving Birth in the Streets: Haiti's Pregnant Women Need Help
• CNN – Celebrities Help CARE (video)
• Access Atlanta – OutKast's Big Boi Hosts Fundraiser for Haiti (photos)
• CBS Face the Nation – Clinton, Bush on Haiti Relief Fund
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution – AJC Photos from Haiti (images of CARE's work)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution – CARE, Used to the Bad, Says This by Far the Worst
• Fox 5 Atlanta: CARE Providing Relief Supplies in Haiti (video)
• The Wall Street Journal – After Delays, Water-Purification Tablets Arrive
• The Seattle Times – From the Ground: First Person Accounts in Haiti
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution – CARE Relief Workers Distributing Water Purification Packets in Haiti
• Chattanooga Times Free Press – As Aid Pours In, Haiti Struggles to Distribute It
• Fox 5 Atlanta – Size of Tragedy Slows Delivery of Aid
• Global Grind – Party with a Purpose: Atlanta CAREs for Haiti
• CBS Atlanta – Atlanta-Based CARE, City Team Up to Help Haiti
• Bloomberg – U.N. Struggles to Unblock Aid as Haitians Suffer, Wait
• The Wall Street Journal – Rescuers Strain to Get Safe Water to Thirsty
• PBS – In Haiti, the Sights and Sounds of a Sudden Disaster (video, MP3, and transcript)
• Reuters – Haiti: How to Rebuild a Country Already in Crisis?
• Fox 5 Atlanta – There is a Race Against Time in Earthquake-Ravaged Haiti (video)
• Huffington Post – Notes From the Field: Haitians in Desperate Need of Help
• The Wall Street Journal – Aid Efforts Face Obstacles in Quake-Ravaged
• WABE Atlanta – Atlanta-Based CARE Helps Haiti (audio)
• The Washington Post – Theola Labbé-DeBose en Route from the Dominican Republic to Haiti (audio)
• Atlanta Journal Constitution – Baptism by Fire for New CARE Leader
• WXIA Atlanta – Atlanta's CARE Preps for Haiti Relief Mission
• PBS – Global Humanitarian Response Critical to Haiti (video, MP3, and transcript)
• CNN – Money Needed Most in Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts
• WXIA Atlanta– New Web Site Unites Atlanta, CARE for Haiti Relief
• Kaiser Family Foundation – Aid Begins Flowing Into Haiti, Up To 3M May Be Affected
• Reuters – Earthquake Pushes Back Progress in Haiti
• News 24 – Massive, Global Effort Needed in Haiti (from South Africa)
• Marketwire: UPS Donates $1 Million to Haitian Earthquake Relief
• BusinessWire: JPMorgan Chase Reaches Out to Aid Victims of Haitian Earthquake
• Associated Press – Panic, Looting and Triage After Major Haiti Quake
• 20 Minutoes – El terremoto retrasa el progreso en Haití (in Spanish)
• Antara News – Gempa Bumi Memukul Balik Pencapaian Haiti (in Bahasa Indonesian)
• AlterNet – The Disaster of the Century: How to Help Haiti
• The Philadelphia Inquirer – Social Media a Lifeline After Quake Struck
• WGN Chicago – CARE Part of Relief Efforts for Haiti (video)
• WXIA Atlanta – Salvation Army and CARE Moves Quickly for Haitian Relief
• Atlanta Journal Constitution – Haitian Quake Reverberates in Atlanta
• Times Online – Sun Rose over Port-us-Prince To Expose Scenes of Armageddon
• The NonProfit Times – Getting Relief To Quake-Stricken Haiti Is Perilous For Charities
• Global Atlanta – Georgia Groups Rush Help to Haiti
• The New York Times – Panic, Looting and Traige After Major Haiti Quake

Videos

HAITI: SIX MONTHS LATER

An overview of CARE's work in Haiti since the January 12, 2010 earthquake.

SOPHIE PEREZ: CARE IN HAITI COUNTRY DIRECTOR

Sophie discusses the earthquake and the dedication of the CARE staff in Haiti to working on relief projects, despite deep personal losses.

SALLY AUSTIN: HEAD OF EMERGENCY OPERATIONS IN HAITI

Sally discusses the transitional needs of the Haitian people six months after the earthquake.

JIM KENNEDY: SHELTER COORDINATOR IN HAITI

Jim talks about CARE's initial efforts to assist Haitians with emergency shelter and our efforts to help Haitians with transitional housing today.

Featured Photos