Haiti earthquake - your questions answered

Staff from our partner, Caritas Haiti distribute emergency supplies. [Caritas]

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?

Two years after the earthquake, the majority of camps for displaced people have been closed. Some camps still remain, however, and more work needs to be done to provide permanent homes and safer communities. Other pressing problems include developing livelihood opportunities, especially for displaced people outside of Port au Prince; continuing to support and improve water and sanitation provision linked with health promotion campaigns; and treatment centres to contain the outbreak of cholera.

Who are your partners?

CAFOD’s 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 are working with Caritas Haiti at national and diocesan level in the most affected areas. We have also worked closely with our international sister agencies Catholic Relief Services from the US and Caritas Switzerland. They both had existing programmes in Haiti and have been 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?

At CAFOD we stay with communities for the long term to help them rebuild after an emergency. Although we are now two years on from the earthquake, the scale of the impact means that there is still much to do. At the same time as responding to basic needs, we are also working on reconstruction and recovery. 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 (Government of Haiti) in the reconstruction effort?

CAFOD is 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?

CAFOD continues 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. These efforts have ensured that infection rates remain lower than feared.

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 will go directly to people in Haiti?

One hundred per cent of donations received, together with any gift aid recovered, will be credited to the Haiti Appeal Fund. From this, 88p in every pound will be spent directly on the work of our partners in Haiti and the programme costs of our humanitarian response. A further 10p in every pound will be 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.

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