While visiting completed T shelters at camp CC in Port au Prince earlier in the week, an old man on hearing my Irish accent surprised me by asking, ‘what was the disaster in your country’? What do you mean, I asked. Well he said, ‘ there is USD$6 billion pledged by the international community for Earth Quake reconstruction in Haiti, and the EU/IMF have just sanctioned usd 85 billion for Ireland, it must have been some disaster’!
It’s odd how events in Haiti and events in Ireland often appear to move in tandem with one another. Haiti in the last 12 months has been devastated by an earthquake, hit by a hurricane, suffered a cholera epidemic and is currently at the tail end of a long chaotic and troublesome presidential election campaign. Ireland has just suffered its coldest winter in 65 years resulting in havoc on our roads and broken pipes all across the country. The country has been devastated by the collapse in the economy, Irish bank losses amount to roughly €100 billion, to American ears that’s USD$ 10 trillion. At current rates that’s enough to consume every penny of Irish taxes for the next three years. The saga that has been our recent political crisis ended in collapse of the Government and a call for early elections.
It’s almost impossible for us Irish to comprehend the enormous tragedy and suffering suffered by Haitians during January’s force 7 earthquake. The loss of 230,000 people with another 1.5 million made homeless is a catastrophe of biblical proportions and Haven hearts go out to the on going suffering of ordinary people on a daily basis. I know it is all relative however, despite recent turmoil in Ireland we don’t know how lucky we have it. Both disasters are extremely different, incomparable perhaps, but either way the people of Ireland and the people of Haiti are both struggling to make the best of the situations in which they now find themselves in.
Haiti is considered a ‘fragile state’, referring to a reflection of the internal dynamics of the society or it may reflect external factors such as natural disaster or conflict. Three main characteristics point to a country being labelled with fragile state status, the country suffers deficit in governance that hinder development; conditions there are too unstable for long-term planning and investment; and the society focusing on near-term coping strategies to secure basic needs.
Geldof and the Rats once sang about Ireland as a ‘Banana Republic’, a politically unstable country dependent upon limited agriculture and ruled by small, self-elected, wealthy, corrupt politico-economic elite. Recently there is revived talk of a return of the ‘Banana Republic of Ireland’ only now we are so broke we can’t even afford the bananas.
The Irish and the Haitians know about suffering, it is in our history, we have grown to accept that ours is a challenging existence, we have learned once again the hard way not to become complacent when things are looking up. The recent civil unrest in Haiti after the chaotic first round elections was frustration building for some time. Many commentators are astonished that there has not been whole scale rioting on the streets of Dublin in protest at how our politicians handled the economic crisis. I guess we have grown to accept our lot, in a sense this defines our strength of character, the fighting Irish the resilient Haitians.
It is always a bonus to witness something special amongst all the misery in the displaced peoples camps. A new Haven Transitional Shelter at Camp CC will be a welcome transition for baby Jean Francois born under the adjacent tarpaulin on 16th February. A banana republic and a failed state together in humanity, how bad!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
One of the things I miss most about being based overseas is being able to follow the Irish sport particularly the Rugby. As I write this I am tuned into Ireland v France at Lansdowne Road, what a start for Ireland…
Since returning to Haiti in January it’s been extremely busy. The earthquake anniversary generated huge interest and the many visiting journalists gave Haiti and Haven excellent coverage.
Since returning to Haiti in January it’s been extremely busy. The earthquake anniversary generated huge interest and the many visiting journalists gave Haiti and Haven excellent coverage.
The opening of the Digicel funded Iron Market was a particularly proud moment for us Irish, it’s not every day an American President lauds praise on a fellow country man. It was a special moment for Haven as the Irish man receiving the praise is one of our board members, well done Denis O Brien.
President Clinton referred to the renovation of the Iron market as a beacon of hope and an example of what can be done, this is the type of encouragement we need. Returning visitors to Haiti often comment that very little appears to have been done however, those of us based here full time putting in huge efforts would disagree. A recent IOM report indicates that the number of IDP's living in camps has reduced from 1.3 m to around 800,000, this indicated good progress.
Haven’s Transitional shelter programme is gathering great steam. We now have over 150 shelters complete. The project design stage is crucially important and is often unnoticed, our new arrivals, joining the Shelter Team, John and Siobhan are doing great and the final implementation stage is really moving ahead.
Haven is now looking to transition from shelter into permanent housing. We are developing a great database of design and various implementation approaches; this knowledge is being developed into permanent housing proposals which we will submit to relevant donors with requests for funding. Finding new donors is now a priority for us for our Shelter, water and sanitation, and choler mitigation programmes.
Haven’s permanent housing projects in Gonaives, Cabaret and Ti Riviere are progressing well. Cathal an Irish architect and Sasi a Sri Lankan engineer are now on board and we are pushing ahead with numerous different implementation approaches. I am particularly interested in seeing how our ‘owner driven’ pilot project for 10 permanent houses at Cabaret develops.
Cabaret is 20 kilometers north of Port au Prince. We have committed to build 50 houses in the area, 24 of which have already been completed. But for 10 of these houses we are working more closely than ever with the beneficiary family and Fonkoze, a micro credit agency, to give the finance directly to the household in installments. Haven then works with the family in the design and building process. This way the family is encouraged to take ownership of the changes being made to their home, while still retaining the support and expertise from Haven.
Havens third core activity area is Community Development. Heather Hegarty, a community development expert from Cork, is with us in Port au Prince at the moment, evaluating our various Community Development activities.
Community Development is a learning process often as much for the NGO as it is for the beneficiary! We are continuing to learn and putting our beneficiaries at the head of all our activities is certainly helping Haven build stronger communities.
The political situation in Haiti has stabilised with the announcement that ex first lady Mirlande Manigat will face Michel (Sweet Micky) Martelly in the Presidential runoff next March.
However, the situation here is always uncertain. Haitian officials recently issued a diplomatic passport for Jean Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected President. He is one of the country’s most popular and divisive figures. His reappearance would represent a second stunning return for Haiti, following Jean Claude Duvalier, the dictator known as Baby Doc, who was overthrown in 1986, who also returned just three weeks ago.
Build it Week is fast approaching and we are still looking for volunteers to take part. We need to keep a close eye on how the elections develop, and make sure that political activities don’t interfere or threaten the trip. Never a dull moment in Haiti!
Its full time in Lansdowne Road, and the internet signal in Port au Prince has served me well, and stayed strong for the full 80 minutes. What a shame the same could not have been said for our pack on the pitch.
Best Regards,
John
President Clinton referred to the renovation of the Iron market as a beacon of hope and an example of what can be done, this is the type of encouragement we need. Returning visitors to Haiti often comment that very little appears to have been done however, those of us based here full time putting in huge efforts would disagree. A recent IOM report indicates that the number of IDP's living in camps has reduced from 1.3 m to around 800,000, this indicated good progress.
Haven’s Transitional shelter programme is gathering great steam. We now have over 150 shelters complete. The project design stage is crucially important and is often unnoticed, our new arrivals, joining the Shelter Team, John and Siobhan are doing great and the final implementation stage is really moving ahead.
Haven is now looking to transition from shelter into permanent housing. We are developing a great database of design and various implementation approaches; this knowledge is being developed into permanent housing proposals which we will submit to relevant donors with requests for funding. Finding new donors is now a priority for us for our Shelter, water and sanitation, and choler mitigation programmes.
Haven’s permanent housing projects in Gonaives, Cabaret and Ti Riviere are progressing well. Cathal an Irish architect and Sasi a Sri Lankan engineer are now on board and we are pushing ahead with numerous different implementation approaches. I am particularly interested in seeing how our ‘owner driven’ pilot project for 10 permanent houses at Cabaret develops.
Cabaret is 20 kilometers north of Port au Prince. We have committed to build 50 houses in the area, 24 of which have already been completed. But for 10 of these houses we are working more closely than ever with the beneficiary family and Fonkoze, a micro credit agency, to give the finance directly to the household in installments. Haven then works with the family in the design and building process. This way the family is encouraged to take ownership of the changes being made to their home, while still retaining the support and expertise from Haven.
Havens third core activity area is Community Development. Heather Hegarty, a community development expert from Cork, is with us in Port au Prince at the moment, evaluating our various Community Development activities.
Community Development is a learning process often as much for the NGO as it is for the beneficiary! We are continuing to learn and putting our beneficiaries at the head of all our activities is certainly helping Haven build stronger communities.
The political situation in Haiti has stabilised with the announcement that ex first lady Mirlande Manigat will face Michel (Sweet Micky) Martelly in the Presidential runoff next March.
However, the situation here is always uncertain. Haitian officials recently issued a diplomatic passport for Jean Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected President. He is one of the country’s most popular and divisive figures. His reappearance would represent a second stunning return for Haiti, following Jean Claude Duvalier, the dictator known as Baby Doc, who was overthrown in 1986, who also returned just three weeks ago.
Build it Week is fast approaching and we are still looking for volunteers to take part. We need to keep a close eye on how the elections develop, and make sure that political activities don’t interfere or threaten the trip. Never a dull moment in Haiti!
Its full time in Lansdowne Road, and the internet signal in Port au Prince has served me well, and stayed strong for the full 80 minutes. What a shame the same could not have been said for our pack on the pitch.
Best Regards,
John
Friday, December 17, 2010
Christmas Blog
Week ending 17th. December
This week was a busy one as Leslie Buckley, Haven’s Founder came out to Port au Prince to visit our projects and get an update on what is happening around the country.
Ciara, Leslie and I went driving around the city, and the greater Port au Prince area showing him what we have been up to since his last trip to the area.
First we went to Croix de Bouquet to see our Transitional Shelter project, funded by Plan International. While we were there we were able to hand over 20 houses to families. Haven have almost completed 100 T Shelters here in Croix De Bouquet. The families living here used to live on a campsite, under weather beaten tarpaulins, sleeping on blankets spread upon the bare earth.
Haiti is a tough place to be at the best of times, but these are the days that make the hard days worthwhile. And there are plenty more of them to come, with Haven having a further 600 shelters left to complete in and around PaP.
We then moved on to visit one of our water and sanitation (WASH) programmes, which we are constructing with UNICEF funding in 13 schools across the capital. We met with the school’s Principal, and also with Kone from Unicef, whom we have partnered with to carry out this project, bringing a clean water supply, hygiene promotion workshops and latrines to these 200 school children aged from four to 18. Leslie and I got plenty of feedback on how the project is working, what we have done really well to date and what still needs to be improved. We are learning every step of the way.
We then moved on to Camp Crise, one of the 57 campsites in which we are working. Here we met our Community Development Workers, who were in the middle of doing a Hygiene Promotion demonstration. These workshops have been a key part of our workload since the earthquake struck; but since the Cholera broke it is even more important. Haven’s message is simple but incredibly important. It incorporates 6 basic principles:
• Always use latrines, never defecate in the open
• Always wash your hands after toileting, before handling food, after changing diapers, before and after collecting water, before going to sleep at night and first thing on waking
• Never drink untreated water
• Keep prepared food covered at all times
• Full body washes with soap and clean water daily
• Never walk barefoot – always wear washable shoes or sandals
We also brought Leslie to see the Gabion rubble House. The Haven team have termed this the rubble house, as it is literally built using the rubble from the toppled buildings. Rubble is used every step of the way from the foundation through to the plaster! We are particularly proud of this project as we are the first organisation to pilot the method, and we are attracting a lot of attention as a result.
After Leslie left I took a visit to see the Iron Market - the Haitian version of the IFSC! This area was also demolished by the earthquake which Irish businessman and Haven Board member Denis O’Brien, invested in to get this district up and running again. It has now reached completion. It was due to be officially opened this week, but the ceremony had to be postponed because of the political protests. The opening date is now rescheduled for mid January which is a relief to the project team there as recent unrest has caused some delays.
Tonight we are having our final team meeting with our entire staff, both local and expat, based in Haiti. We will give each other updates on what is happening across the country on all of Haven’s sites, covering all topics, from community development, to cholera, shelter, and of course our diminishing budgets!
Once all that is done we will kick back for a little bit of a Christmas party in the Haven house. Haitian Jackson, who was due to perform for our volunteers in October finally gets a gig and it promises to be great craic. Come Saturday our group will disperse, some bound for rural Haiti, Dublin, Longford, Galway and of course the Republic of Cork.
Gerry and Gareth will hold the fort until we return, needless to say there will be plenty of excitement waiting for us on our return in 2011.
Happy Christmas to all.
John.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Politics and more politics..
Hi all,
I spent a lot of time in Gonaives this week and have been paying close attention to the news keeping myself updated on what is happening in the Presidential Election.
It was announced this week that government protégé Jude Celestin and former first lady Mirlande Manigat were the top two candidates who were to advance to a second round run-off in presidential elections, scheduled for January 16th.
By early morning all hell had broken loose, furious supporters of eliminated candidates set fires and put up barricades in the streets of PaP after hearing the outcome. The results were immediately questioned in country and abroad, threatening more unrest for poor Haiti already wracked by the cholera epidemic and still recovering from the devastating earthquake. Popular carnival singer Michel "Sweet Mickey" Martelly trailed Mr Celestin by about 6,800 votes - less than 1%, according to the results released by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council.
Despite the madness in PaP, Gonaives remained relatively calm and we were able to carry on with a normal working day. The project in Gonaives is progressing well and the 80 new houses should be to wall plate level by the end of January.
Haven is preparing a Cholera mitigation proposal to cover our beneficiary areas of Mount Blanc, Jubalee, Raboto and Latanere. A WASH cluster has been established in the area. This is a group of NGO’s (UN, Red Cross, Government of Haiti) looking after Water and Sanitation in the Gonaives area. They have welcomed our Havens presence as we have a good reputation for building and Gonaives badly needs latrines.
This morning at 6 am, Security gave me the all clear to return to Port au Prince as it was raining and the barricades were being abandoned. Worst luck, it had stopped raining by the time we hit the outskirts of the City and true to form the ‘manifestations’ had started again in earnest. Getting back to the safety of the house was greeted with a huge sigh of relief.
The Haven team are now on ‘lock down’ once again, we are all hoping the unrest will come to an end now that Haiti's Electoral Council (CEP) has just released a note to the press saying that a special recount for the first 3 candidates for President of Haiti: Michel Martelly, Mirlande Manigat, and Jude Celestin is being considered.
In the meanwhile we have plenty to keep us constructively occupied finalising project proposals for Phase 2 Rubble housing, permanent housing submissions to the Haiti Reconstruction Commission (HRC), Cholera proposals for IA, CGI reports and other such fun stuff you never really get around to on a normal day.
Joe Grealy just called from Quanaminthe to let me know we have our first suspected case of Cholera in Bas Dilaire. We made contact with our partners Plan International and they are providing super support.
Now, if only I had stocked the fridge with a few beers before heading to Gonaives! Ah well, roll on the Christmas party………..
Regards,
JW.
I spent a lot of time in Gonaives this week and have been paying close attention to the news keeping myself updated on what is happening in the Presidential Election.
It was announced this week that government protégé Jude Celestin and former first lady Mirlande Manigat were the top two candidates who were to advance to a second round run-off in presidential elections, scheduled for January 16th.
By early morning all hell had broken loose, furious supporters of eliminated candidates set fires and put up barricades in the streets of PaP after hearing the outcome. The results were immediately questioned in country and abroad, threatening more unrest for poor Haiti already wracked by the cholera epidemic and still recovering from the devastating earthquake. Popular carnival singer Michel "Sweet Mickey" Martelly trailed Mr Celestin by about 6,800 votes - less than 1%, according to the results released by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council.
Despite the madness in PaP, Gonaives remained relatively calm and we were able to carry on with a normal working day. The project in Gonaives is progressing well and the 80 new houses should be to wall plate level by the end of January.
Haven is preparing a Cholera mitigation proposal to cover our beneficiary areas of Mount Blanc, Jubalee, Raboto and Latanere. A WASH cluster has been established in the area. This is a group of NGO’s (UN, Red Cross, Government of Haiti) looking after Water and Sanitation in the Gonaives area. They have welcomed our Havens presence as we have a good reputation for building and Gonaives badly needs latrines.
This morning at 6 am, Security gave me the all clear to return to Port au Prince as it was raining and the barricades were being abandoned. Worst luck, it had stopped raining by the time we hit the outskirts of the City and true to form the ‘manifestations’ had started again in earnest. Getting back to the safety of the house was greeted with a huge sigh of relief.
The Haven team are now on ‘lock down’ once again, we are all hoping the unrest will come to an end now that Haiti's Electoral Council (CEP) has just released a note to the press saying that a special recount for the first 3 candidates for President of Haiti: Michel Martelly, Mirlande Manigat, and Jude Celestin is being considered.
In the meanwhile we have plenty to keep us constructively occupied finalising project proposals for Phase 2 Rubble housing, permanent housing submissions to the Haiti Reconstruction Commission (HRC), Cholera proposals for IA, CGI reports and other such fun stuff you never really get around to on a normal day.
Joe Grealy just called from Quanaminthe to let me know we have our first suspected case of Cholera in Bas Dilaire. We made contact with our partners Plan International and they are providing super support.
Now, if only I had stocked the fridge with a few beers before heading to Gonaives! Ah well, roll on the Christmas party………..
Regards,
JW.
Friday, December 3, 2010
We dont have snow but we do have politics...
PaP, 03rd. December
Hello from a scorching Haiti,
Ireland and Haiti have something in common this week; it’s definitely not the weather but rather that both country's political future is hanging in the balance.
On 28th November, the election took place for the next President of Haiti. A successor to Rene Preval has yet to be announced. Despite numerous allegations of vote rigging, the various organisations monitoring and observing the election seem happy with how the day proceeded and are confident that the result will be fair and valid.
The latest update put the musician Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly and the former first lady Mirlande Manigat at 39% and 31% respectively, with the preferred candidate the previous president René Préval, Jude Celestin, on 12%.
Despite some protests, both peaceful and otherwise in the run up to polling day, the event itself passed off in relative calm. Any anger or frustration was primarily directed at the Minustah, the UN stabilisation mission that has been blamed for various problems - from heavy-handed tactics to causing the cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of 1,800 men, women and children, since mid October.
The count is currenlty ongoing, with a final result expected on 20th December. Meanwhile the people wait with baited breath.
Haven’s operations were unfortunately affected by security concerns due to the political tensions. The UN and various embassies sent regular updates warning us of potential flashpoints.
Our projects in Gonaives and Ouanaminthe have been particularly affected. The Haven expat team were on ‘lock-down’ for three days at the end of November. This has been totally frustrating for us, as our work plans and schedules seem now to be constantly disrupted due to these pockets of violence and tension which seem to start very easily.
We also have to bear in mind the safety of our national staff when demonstrations get out of hand. If we feel that our staff is under threat or in danger, we send them home until the situation returns to normal. This results in hours and days of productivity being lost as well as putting all of the team on edge.
Not only are the team on edge but our families also. This week my wife, Sinead and I decided that Port au Prince was no longer a safe place for the family to live. Unfortunately she and my two boys Reuben and Louie, left Haiti’s capital, late last week, bound for county Cork via New York and Bornacoola, Leitrim.
Despite all of the dramatics Haven is still ploughing ahead on our Transitional Shelter projects which are funded by American Red Cross, Plan international and Oxfam America. To date we have 100 T-Shelters completed, and another 600 to go. The pressure is on big time to try and increase production to 100 units per month by the end of January.
Housing construction and upgrades continue at Gonaives, Cabaret and Ti Riviere. Last big push before a well deserved Christmas holiday. Bring on the Turkey!
Our cholera mitigation programme is on-going, distributing hygiene kits, oral rehydration sachets, and holding hygiene promotion sessions in the campsites and schools in which we are working, as well as with beneficiaries in Ouanaminthe and Gonaives.
The PAHO has estimated that a massive 400,000 lives will be lost within 12 months of the epidemic taking hold. However they also stated that the rate of deaths from the infection has now slowed to 2.3%, down from 9%.
It may be dim, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
Until next week!
JW.
Hello from a scorching Haiti,
Ireland and Haiti have something in common this week; it’s definitely not the weather but rather that both country's political future is hanging in the balance.
On 28th November, the election took place for the next President of Haiti. A successor to Rene Preval has yet to be announced. Despite numerous allegations of vote rigging, the various organisations monitoring and observing the election seem happy with how the day proceeded and are confident that the result will be fair and valid.
The latest update put the musician Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly and the former first lady Mirlande Manigat at 39% and 31% respectively, with the preferred candidate the previous president René Préval, Jude Celestin, on 12%.
Despite some protests, both peaceful and otherwise in the run up to polling day, the event itself passed off in relative calm. Any anger or frustration was primarily directed at the Minustah, the UN stabilisation mission that has been blamed for various problems - from heavy-handed tactics to causing the cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of 1,800 men, women and children, since mid October.
The count is currenlty ongoing, with a final result expected on 20th December. Meanwhile the people wait with baited breath.
Haven’s operations were unfortunately affected by security concerns due to the political tensions. The UN and various embassies sent regular updates warning us of potential flashpoints.
Our projects in Gonaives and Ouanaminthe have been particularly affected. The Haven expat team were on ‘lock-down’ for three days at the end of November. This has been totally frustrating for us, as our work plans and schedules seem now to be constantly disrupted due to these pockets of violence and tension which seem to start very easily.
We also have to bear in mind the safety of our national staff when demonstrations get out of hand. If we feel that our staff is under threat or in danger, we send them home until the situation returns to normal. This results in hours and days of productivity being lost as well as putting all of the team on edge.
Not only are the team on edge but our families also. This week my wife, Sinead and I decided that Port au Prince was no longer a safe place for the family to live. Unfortunately she and my two boys Reuben and Louie, left Haiti’s capital, late last week, bound for county Cork via New York and Bornacoola, Leitrim.
Despite all of the dramatics Haven is still ploughing ahead on our Transitional Shelter projects which are funded by American Red Cross, Plan international and Oxfam America. To date we have 100 T-Shelters completed, and another 600 to go. The pressure is on big time to try and increase production to 100 units per month by the end of January.
Housing construction and upgrades continue at Gonaives, Cabaret and Ti Riviere. Last big push before a well deserved Christmas holiday. Bring on the Turkey!
Our cholera mitigation programme is on-going, distributing hygiene kits, oral rehydration sachets, and holding hygiene promotion sessions in the campsites and schools in which we are working, as well as with beneficiaries in Ouanaminthe and Gonaives.
The PAHO has estimated that a massive 400,000 lives will be lost within 12 months of the epidemic taking hold. However they also stated that the rate of deaths from the infection has now slowed to 2.3%, down from 9%.
It may be dim, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
Until next week!
JW.
Friday, November 19, 2010
John Wain, Country Director, Port au Prince
Hi all,
Just a note on yet another eventful week in Haiti.
Official figures we have at the moment, as of the last report published by the UN, is that 16,799 people have now been hospitalized, and 1,039 people have lost their lives.
Again I must stress however that Dr Jim Wilson of Haiti Epidemic Advisory System (HEAS) believes that there is serious issue regarding under –reporting. It is estimated that that current official figures that have been clinically confirmed only represent a quarter of the true situation.
In Port au Prince where I am based, fear of the unknown is starting to set in. Distress is spreading among the population of the capital. People are now becoming aware of the dangers of Cholera, and are hearing about the growing death toll from the infection which originated in the Artibonite/Central Plateau region of Haiti.
The community’s of Port-au-Prince: Carrefour, Cite Soleil, Delmas, Kenscoff, Petion Ville, and Tabarre have seen increased numbers of case of cholera in recent days. As Port-au-Prince braces itself for a potential full-blown outbreak in the campsites, there is now significant air-time given to health advisory notices about prevention and treatment in advance.
People no longer shake hands when they meet and the subject of cholera is widely spoken about with anxiety among the estimated one million homeless still living in tents, ten months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti.
Medcin sans Frontiers (MSF) expect that they will soon run out of space to treat cholera patients in Port-au-Prince and are anticipating having to treat patients on the pavements, on the side of the road. Many may lose their lives as a result. Some people are fearful about having Cholera Treatment Centres located in their vicinity, while at the same time many realise that this can be of great benefit if you require treatment rapidly.
International NGO's and Haitian NGO's are all working together to treat those affected. These NGO's, have established lines of communications from extremely rural locations using online groups to request medical assistance simply just by using Blackberrys and iphones.
Thanks to these modern means of communications an SOS message can be sent and received within seconds, requesting, for example, medical staff, IV Fluids, antibiotics and re-hydration salts. These messages are reaching a community of hundreds of experienced people who are ready and willing to help with supplies, contacts and advice.
The approaching election is without doubt causing tension on the streets. You can see it on people’s faces when you meet them in the street. There has been some media coverage of the protesters who took to the streets in Cap Haitien on Monday last, setting fire to two buses used to block the main road across the main bridge into Cap Haitien.
Medical teams, and indeed Haven staff were evacuated from the region as riots broke out targeting the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and UN personnel. Of course these evacuations ultimately impact on the administration of much needed medical supplies, as staff we were no longer available to treat the sick.
I cannot over state how the full extent of this epidemic has yet to be realised.
Today a case has been confirmed in the Dominican Republic. Due to the problem of suspected official under-reporting and the rate of spread of the outbreak throughout seven departments, cholera has got a choke-hold on Haiti, and perhaps the entire island of Hispaniola.
Until next week,
Regards,
John
Just a note on yet another eventful week in Haiti.
Official figures we have at the moment, as of the last report published by the UN, is that 16,799 people have now been hospitalized, and 1,039 people have lost their lives.
Again I must stress however that Dr Jim Wilson of Haiti Epidemic Advisory System (HEAS) believes that there is serious issue regarding under –reporting. It is estimated that that current official figures that have been clinically confirmed only represent a quarter of the true situation.
In Port au Prince where I am based, fear of the unknown is starting to set in. Distress is spreading among the population of the capital. People are now becoming aware of the dangers of Cholera, and are hearing about the growing death toll from the infection which originated in the Artibonite/Central Plateau region of Haiti.
The community’s of Port-au-Prince: Carrefour, Cite Soleil, Delmas, Kenscoff, Petion Ville, and Tabarre have seen increased numbers of case of cholera in recent days. As Port-au-Prince braces itself for a potential full-blown outbreak in the campsites, there is now significant air-time given to health advisory notices about prevention and treatment in advance.
People no longer shake hands when they meet and the subject of cholera is widely spoken about with anxiety among the estimated one million homeless still living in tents, ten months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti.
Medcin sans Frontiers (MSF) expect that they will soon run out of space to treat cholera patients in Port-au-Prince and are anticipating having to treat patients on the pavements, on the side of the road. Many may lose their lives as a result. Some people are fearful about having Cholera Treatment Centres located in their vicinity, while at the same time many realise that this can be of great benefit if you require treatment rapidly.
International NGO's and Haitian NGO's are all working together to treat those affected. These NGO's, have established lines of communications from extremely rural locations using online groups to request medical assistance simply just by using Blackberrys and iphones.
Thanks to these modern means of communications an SOS message can be sent and received within seconds, requesting, for example, medical staff, IV Fluids, antibiotics and re-hydration salts. These messages are reaching a community of hundreds of experienced people who are ready and willing to help with supplies, contacts and advice.
The approaching election is without doubt causing tension on the streets. You can see it on people’s faces when you meet them in the street. There has been some media coverage of the protesters who took to the streets in Cap Haitien on Monday last, setting fire to two buses used to block the main road across the main bridge into Cap Haitien.
Medical teams, and indeed Haven staff were evacuated from the region as riots broke out targeting the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and UN personnel. Of course these evacuations ultimately impact on the administration of much needed medical supplies, as staff we were no longer available to treat the sick.
I cannot over state how the full extent of this epidemic has yet to be realised.
Today a case has been confirmed in the Dominican Republic. Due to the problem of suspected official under-reporting and the rate of spread of the outbreak throughout seven departments, cholera has got a choke-hold on Haiti, and perhaps the entire island of Hispaniola.
Until next week,
Regards,
John
Monday, November 15, 2010
John Wain, Country Director, Port au Prince
Every week in Haiti is a busy one, but this one has been particularly rough.
Cholera is spreading throughout the country rapidly. Every day the numbers are getting higher, now approximately 917 people have lost their lives to the infection and 14,600 are currently battling against it.
But these are just official numbers. I have been speaking with my colleagues based in rural Haiti and they insist that these figures do not even come close to the reality of the situation.
There are murmurings that those that co-ordinated the response effort did not move fast enough, and this infection has been allowed to take hold, and have a far greater impact on the country than what was anticipated just a few weeks ago.
For the last 10 months since the earthquake took place, the aid agencies have been focusing their efforts on Port au Prince, to the detriment it seems to the rest of the country.
But the aid community is now ploughing ahead. The Cholera Inter-Sector Response Strategy for Haiti published just a few days ago by the UN and its partners, anticipates a total of up to 200,000 people expected to show symptoms of cholera. The strategy calls for a total of $163,894,856, or €119,532,727.80 to be provided to fund the response to the outbreak.
On top of that Hurricane Tomas hit just off the west coast of Haiti last week.
Unfortunately Tomas brought heavy rain with him, in the bucket loads. Approximately 21 people lost their lives as a result of the hurricane and over 1,000 people were displaced from their homes, on top of the 1.3 million people already living in crowded camps and under tarps in the capital city for the last 10 months.
Haven have developed three operational sectors namely shelter (temporary & permanent), WASH (water & sanitation) and Community Development (CD) which is an integral component of all our projects.
In Port au Prince we have three major Transitional Shelter projects funded by Plan International, American Red Cross and Oxfam America. Our current target is for 700 T-Shelter units along with supplementary WASH and CD services. During the emergency phase of operations Haven constructed 1,360 latrines in 57 of the 1,300 internally displaced person (IDP) camps.
Haven are currently maintaining these latrines. This is a major task when you consider the fact that they were built with an initial six month lifespan and ten months have now passed.
Thankfully Tomas did little damage to the WASH programmes we have in place in the campsites. This was a huge relief as proper sanitation is now more crucial than ever to prevent cholera from reaching the people in the camps.
The hurricane put our T-Shelters to the test also, and I am glad to report that our projects passed with flying colors! All shelters were able to withstand the pummeling that came with the downpour.
The camps were extremely wet and we had to respond with some flood relief activities, but as usual the camp residents got involved, and a major catastrophe was avoided.
In an effort to mitigate against the spread of Cholera in the IDP camps, Haven have commenced a cholera prevention project. Our Community Development team was immediately dispatched to Gonaives to carry out an immediate ‘good hygiene’ practice exercise and distribute hygiene kits. Additionally, our Hygiene Promoters have been giving workshops in schools to teachers, students and student-peer groups about the dangers, symptoms and methods of prevention of cholera.
We are also in the process of implementing additional hygiene awareness training in the Haven camps, engaging the community on hygiene issues, using simple messages like ‘always wash your hands’, ‘never drink untreated water’, or ‘never walk barefoot’.
Our activities have started in 19 camps reaching out to about 35,000 people. This team are receiving $20 per week for two weeks and they will monitor the camps and submit reports to Colin Price, our WASH programme manager based here in Port au Prince.
Country wide Cholera is gaining momentum, and the number of people affected by the epidemic is growing. Haven volunteer, Dr John Morris has sent some grim reports back from Milot hospital, northern Haiti, where he is based, the situation there appears very bad.
Comparatively speaking, Haven is a young and small organisation. We are doing what we can to promote good hygiene and to try and mitigate against this latest scourge to descend on the Haitian people.
Of course, Presidential elections are still scheduled to proceed on 28th November and we are bracing ourselves for possible trouble. Another exciting week in the Caribbean!
Regards,
John.
Cholera is spreading throughout the country rapidly. Every day the numbers are getting higher, now approximately 917 people have lost their lives to the infection and 14,600 are currently battling against it.
But these are just official numbers. I have been speaking with my colleagues based in rural Haiti and they insist that these figures do not even come close to the reality of the situation.
There are murmurings that those that co-ordinated the response effort did not move fast enough, and this infection has been allowed to take hold, and have a far greater impact on the country than what was anticipated just a few weeks ago.
For the last 10 months since the earthquake took place, the aid agencies have been focusing their efforts on Port au Prince, to the detriment it seems to the rest of the country.
But the aid community is now ploughing ahead. The Cholera Inter-Sector Response Strategy for Haiti published just a few days ago by the UN and its partners, anticipates a total of up to 200,000 people expected to show symptoms of cholera. The strategy calls for a total of $163,894,856, or €119,532,727.80 to be provided to fund the response to the outbreak.
On top of that Hurricane Tomas hit just off the west coast of Haiti last week.
Unfortunately Tomas brought heavy rain with him, in the bucket loads. Approximately 21 people lost their lives as a result of the hurricane and over 1,000 people were displaced from their homes, on top of the 1.3 million people already living in crowded camps and under tarps in the capital city for the last 10 months.
Haven have developed three operational sectors namely shelter (temporary & permanent), WASH (water & sanitation) and Community Development (CD) which is an integral component of all our projects.
In Port au Prince we have three major Transitional Shelter projects funded by Plan International, American Red Cross and Oxfam America. Our current target is for 700 T-Shelter units along with supplementary WASH and CD services. During the emergency phase of operations Haven constructed 1,360 latrines in 57 of the 1,300 internally displaced person (IDP) camps.
Haven are currently maintaining these latrines. This is a major task when you consider the fact that they were built with an initial six month lifespan and ten months have now passed.
Thankfully Tomas did little damage to the WASH programmes we have in place in the campsites. This was a huge relief as proper sanitation is now more crucial than ever to prevent cholera from reaching the people in the camps.
The hurricane put our T-Shelters to the test also, and I am glad to report that our projects passed with flying colors! All shelters were able to withstand the pummeling that came with the downpour.
The camps were extremely wet and we had to respond with some flood relief activities, but as usual the camp residents got involved, and a major catastrophe was avoided.
In an effort to mitigate against the spread of Cholera in the IDP camps, Haven have commenced a cholera prevention project. Our Community Development team was immediately dispatched to Gonaives to carry out an immediate ‘good hygiene’ practice exercise and distribute hygiene kits. Additionally, our Hygiene Promoters have been giving workshops in schools to teachers, students and student-peer groups about the dangers, symptoms and methods of prevention of cholera.
We are also in the process of implementing additional hygiene awareness training in the Haven camps, engaging the community on hygiene issues, using simple messages like ‘always wash your hands’, ‘never drink untreated water’, or ‘never walk barefoot’.
Our activities have started in 19 camps reaching out to about 35,000 people. This team are receiving $20 per week for two weeks and they will monitor the camps and submit reports to Colin Price, our WASH programme manager based here in Port au Prince.
Country wide Cholera is gaining momentum, and the number of people affected by the epidemic is growing. Haven volunteer, Dr John Morris has sent some grim reports back from Milot hospital, northern Haiti, where he is based, the situation there appears very bad.
Comparatively speaking, Haven is a young and small organisation. We are doing what we can to promote good hygiene and to try and mitigate against this latest scourge to descend on the Haitian people.
Of course, Presidential elections are still scheduled to proceed on 28th November and we are bracing ourselves for possible trouble. Another exciting week in the Caribbean!
Regards,
John.
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