July 2010
On 12 January, an earthquake the magnitude of 7.0 hit Haiti just 10 miles from its capital Port-au-Prince.
Latest reports suggest that in excess of 220,000 people were killed, making it comparable to the Asian tsunami of 2004.
This is the worst earthquake Haiti has experienced in 200 years, devastating the country’s infrastructure and essential services. An estimated 300,000 people were injured, and 1.5 million are still living in makeshift shelters.
Since the quake struck, Christian Aid has been working with its long-standing partner organisations to respond to the urgent needs of those affected by the disaster.
Working alongside our partners in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and our ACT Alliance colleagues, we continue to meet the needs of the survivors as we move from emergency relief into long-term reconstruction and recovery.
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, donors, and with income from the DEC appeal, we have raised over £10 million for our emergency response in Haiti.
This vital support is allowing us to feed and provide basic relief items to those who lost everything.
So far, working with ACT Alliance partners, we have assisted more than 341,000 people.
Haiti podcast Susan Barry, Christian Aid's communications officer for Haiti, has recently returned from the country. Here she describes what it was like to visit a country so devastated and how our partners in Haiti and in the Domincan Republic are helping:
Ongoing work
Christian Aid’s emergency response is ongoing, with partners providing medical assistance, hygiene supplies, cash, daily meals, basic shelter, fertiliser and seeds to the survivors of the quake.
The effects of the earthquake continue to pose considerable challenges to aid agencies and the sheer scale of the situation has been overwhelming.
The threat of a severe hurricane season remains, and hundreds of families continue to move to different areas of the country in the hope of finding help and support.
However, we can see the success of our united efforts in what has not happened: no massive outbreaks of disease, no nutrition crisis, virtually all displaced people provided with some shelter.
Video: unprecedented response from Dominican Republic
Realities and challenges on the ground
The emergency response is not over yet as many Haitians are still in need of aid and so our partners are continuing to work on this phase of their response.
Recovery and reconstruction is crucial, but only in such a way that includes Haitians. It is important to get this process right and to meet the real needs of the people.
View slideshow: our Haiti staff talk about the challenges facing the country and peoples' hope for the future.
Coordination is vital, and Christian Aid works closely with partners and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and members of ACT Alliance.
Our staff are involved in the United Nations response meetings known as ‘cluster meetings’ and liaise with other international NGOs.
The government of Haiti has to take the lead in managing the emergency and reconstruction. It suffered significant loss in the earthquake: staff, buildings and documentation.
An already weak government has found its capacity challenged but it must now take overall responsibility for Haiti’s recovery and include the needs of Haitian people in the reconstruction.
The international community must commit to long-term assistance, including keeping their promises of aid. The scale of the disaster is massive, and it will take years to reconstruct the country.
Our long-term support
In the months and years ahead, your donations will help us restore people’s livelihoods by providing support for agriculture and income-generation activities to help people feed themselves and make a fresh start.
We will seek to work in rural areas which have received large numbers of internally displaced people, with the aim of helping them reduce their vulnerability to future hazards.
And we will continue to work with experienced partners who are experts in emergency response, many of whom helped communities get back on their feet after devastating hurricane seasons.
Our work will include:
• improving agriculture and livestock techniques for farmers
• small businesses activities for women
• sustainable house-building in line with international standards
• helping communities reduce their vulnerability to future hazards and disasters, including hurricanes.
Further content
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