Haiti earthquake - your questions answered

What happened?

On the evening of Tuesday 12 January 2010, a major earthquake hit Haiti, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake struck just 10 miles south-west of the bustling capital Port-au-Prince and was so strong that many buildings including the national palace, the cathedral and the headquarters of the UN peacekeepers collapsed. It is believed that more than 230,000 people died. This was the strongest earthquake that Haiti has experienced in more than 200 years.

What are the humanitarian needs?

Three years after the earthquake, the majority of camps for people who lost their homes have been closed. However, many people are still living in tents or in ramshackle temporary shelters, and more work needs to be done to provide permanent homes and safer communities. Other pressing needs include ensuring that people have opportunities to make a living, especially displaced people outside of Port-au-Prince; continuing to improve water and sanitation provision, linked with health promotion campaigns; and treatment centres to contain a major cholera outbreak. Natural disasters, including Tropical Storm Isaac and Hurricane Sandy, have added to the crisis, destroying crops as well as people’s homes.

How did CAFOD respond to the earthquake?

In response to our Haiti earthquake appeal, CAFOD supporters raised a remarkable £5.3 million. We have provided:

As soon as the earthquake struck…

• Tents, shelters or emergency kits for 11,000 people who lost their homes
• Shower blocks, latrines and safe water supplies for more than 50,000 people living in five camps
• Protection and food for vulnerable children “Child-friendly spaces” in camps to make sure children stayed safe, and supplementary food to prevent children becoming malnourished

Rebuilding homes…

• Permanent, disaster-proof housing for people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, as well as in Jacmel in the south of Haiti and in the Gressier district. We have trained local engineers to carry out the reconstruction work.

Controlling the spread of disease…

• Latrines and safe water supplies for more than 50,000 people moving back into more permanent shelters.
• New cholera units in seven hospitals and specialist water systems to prevent the spread of disease
• Training on water, sanitation and how to prevent disease spreading in camps, schools and villages

Preparing for the future…

• Disaster planning and preparedness projects to make sure people are better prepared for future disasters. For example, we have trained farmers to create natural barriers that reduce the risk of landslides in future earthquakes.
• Supporting new businesses for people who lost everything, helping to ensure that they no longer rely on handouts
• Support for local Church organisations We have helped our local Church partners to rebuild their offices and operate once again, so that they can lead their country’s recovery
• Immediate support in new emergencies When a major Tropical Storm hit last August, we provided food, fixed roofs, paid people who needed support to clear the damage, and ensured children could stay in school.

Who are your partners?

Our emergency response in Haiti was co-ordinated with Caritas Haiti and the Caritas International Federation – a group of Catholic Church agencies from around the world. Our principal local partner is Caritas Haiti, which has a presence in every community, parish and diocese of the country. We have worked closely with our international sister agencies Catholic Relief Services from the US and Caritas Switzerland, who had existing programmes in Haiti and who were well positioned to respond to this crisis. We are also working with Progressio, a faith-based organisation, as well as Service des Jesuits pour les Refugiées et les Migrants (SJRM), who are working with displaced and resettled communities to ensure community integration. We are providing support to local partners such as the Diocesan Education Office in Port au Prince and the Centre d’Appui Pedagogique, who are teaching children and teachers in 89 schools across Port-au-Prince about how to react in the event of a future earthquake or hurricane.

How will you help the people of Haiti to rebuild in the long term and to be better prepared for another emergency?

We are working to provide permanent housing that is resistant to earthquakes and hurricanes, and funding the training of many teams of local engineers to help with the construction process. Our local partners are also implementing Disaster Risk Reduction projects, which will ensure a stronger capacity for communities and organisations to ‘bounce back’ from future disasters.

How do you involve the local authorities in the reconstruction effort?

We are working with strong local partners in the field. These local organisations are working directly with the Haitian authorities. Local authorities are present in the needs assessment, planning and implementation of activities.

How is CAFOD responding to the cholera outbreak?

We continue to support projects engaged in the prevention and response to cholera as it has become endemic in the country. These include support to cholera treatment centres as well as the provision of water and sanitation services and health education which should break the spread of the disease. 

How long have you been working in Haiti and what have you been doing?

We have worked in Haiti since 1970. During that time we have supported a wide range of development projects including work on literacy, agriculture, women’s organisations and legal aid. We have a lot of experience in supporting emergency response programmes through our partners in Haiti, including the relief efforts following Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna in 2008.

How much of my donation went directly to people in Haiti?

One hundred per cent of donations received, together with any gift aid recovered, were credited to the Haiti Appeal Fund. From this, 88p in every pound has been spent directly on the work of our partners in Haiti and the programme costs of our humanitarian response. A further 10p in every pound was used to cover the costs of existing staff from across CAFOD working on supporting the response, and 2p is used to raise money for the people of Haiti.

Pray for the people of Haiti>>