Haiti: Relief and Recovery

Haitians left homeless after the earthquake camp out in a Port-au-Prince park. Photo: Photo: Reuters/STR New, courtesy http://www.alertnet.org Nearly two months after the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti, Mercy Corps’ team of emergency response experts is working to meet the immediate needs of survivors. At the same time, our team is laying the groundwork for longer-term recovery, drawing upon Mercy Corps’ three decades of experience helping disaster-struck communities transition from receiving aid to carrying out their own recovery. Haitian authorities estimate that more than 230,000 people died in the earthquake and that three-quarters of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, will have to be rebuilt. At least one million people have been displaced. The Mercy Corps team is coordinating with the United Nations and other aid groups on the ground to ensure the most efficient response. Team of Experts Just hours after the earthquake struck, Mercy Corps deployed an A-team of humanitarian first responders. These experts from around the world have collective experience that includes responses to the China earthquake, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, and Hurricane Katrina. Learn more about our Haiti Response Team Right Now: Water, Trauma Support, Jobs The Mercy Corps response is currently focused on immediate humanitarian needs: food to beleaguered hospitals, water and sanitation, trauma support for children and job creation.

Five days after the quake, this woman and her baby need water first, then food and shelter. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

Earthquake survivors like this little girl are living in parks and vacant lots around Port-au-Prince. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps Clean Water and Sanitation Our water and sanitation team has conducted assessments at 14 separate sites in Port-au-Prince with plans to secure clean water systems and at least 500 safe latrines for more than 42,000 people. Earlier this month, our team installed a water filtration unit at a local hospital. Job Creation and Economic Recovery To jumpstart the decimated economy and begin rebuilding efforts in earthquake-affected areas, Mercy Corps has initiated a cash-for-work program that pays earthquake survivors a daily wage to clear debris, restore buildings and repair basic infrastructure. We plan to employ more than 8,000 workers in some of Port-au-Prince's poorest and most-devastated neighborhoods. Through the cash-for-work approach, survivors carry out their own recovery efforts. Employing survivors gives them the dignity of earning an income they can then spend on the supplies they need for their families. Their purchases in turn help restart local commerce. Trauma Support for Children When the earthquake struck, all schools in Port-au-Prince collapsed. Haitian children who survived the earthquake experienced trauma that could negatively affect them for life. To help restore children’s sense of well-being, Mercy Corps is providing post-trauma help using Comfort for Kids. This counseling methodology was first developed in New York by Mercy Corps and Bright Horizons, a global workplace childcare provider, to help children recover from the trauma of 9/11. Subsequently, Mercy Corps has used Comfort for Kids to help children recover from the China and Peru earthquakes and Hurricane Katrina. Mercy Corps recently announced a partnership with Haiti's First Lady, Elisabeth Delacourt Préval, to implement Comfort for Kids trainings for adult caregivers. The First Lady and UNICEF will organize “safe spaces” in camps to run arts, sports and music activities for children, while Mercy Corps will run simultaneous sessions — in French and Creole — to educate parents and caregivers about child symptoms of trauma and how they can be addressed. Next Steps Mercy Corps will focus on supporting the creation of jobs, especially in the provinces around Port-au-Prince, in sectors such as agriculture, tourism and apparel manufacturing. Mercy Corps also expects to use cash grants to help people rebuild assets like small businesses, fishing boats, food carts. In addition, Mercy Corps is exploring options with microfinance provider FONKOZE and other partners to help small- and mid-size businesses grow using remittances and microfinance. In the coming weeks and months, Mercy Corps plans to expand its work to include the provinces surrounding Port-au-Prince, particularly the Central Plateau area where approximately 500,000 people fled after the earthquake. The agency is striving to make these areas economically viable and provide critical resources to displaced families who have settled there. A Long Track Record of Helping Recovery The earthquake in Haiti left three million people in need of aid, exacerbating the dire humanitarian situation in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The Caribbean nation suffers extreme hunger and political instability, and this disaster only increases the needs of thousands of impoverished Haitian families. Mercy Corps has a long track record of helping people living in the world’s toughest conditions to recover and rebuild after natural disasters and conflict. The agency has special expertise in disaster response that establishes a foundation for, and leads directly to, self-sufficiency. HOW TO HELP Mercy Corps is accepting donations toward our earthquake response. Public support thus far has been strong, and corporations such as Amazon.com, ITT Corporation, Best Buy, Western Union, Gap, Nike, and Trilogy/Voilà have generously contributed to our efforts.