CARE: Life Hanging by a Thread
01/23/2010
Teaching water purification techniques to earthquake survivors
Jan. 22 Turning Mud into Water
Jan. 21 Life Hanging By a Thread
Jan. 20 Experts, Local Staff and Community Make for Success
Jan. 20 Partnering with Communities to Ensure Delivery of Aid
Jan. 18 Working with Women to Keep Disease at Bay
Jan. 17 Desperation at Our Gates
Jan. 15 People are Desperate for Help
Jan. 15 Crossing the Border
Jan. 14 I don't know what I'm going to find
Jan. 13 Everything is Urgent
Support CARE's Work in Haiti
Turning Mud into Water
Jan. 22, 2010
Blondine Jean-Baptiste demonstrates the use of water purification powder to provide survivors with clean water. Photo courtesy of CARE
Blondine Jean-Baptiste wielded a large kitchen spoon like a magic wand. And indeed, it was magic - the filthy, brown water was turning sparkling clear before her, as the sludge gathered into a clump at the bottom of the white, 20-liter plastic bucket. Her colleague Edline Cothière read aloud simple instructions from an information sheet, in Haitian Creole.
The two nurses are volunteering at the ruins of the Adventist Auditorium in central Port-au-Prince, where some 600 homeless and injured people have gathered. The local Community Civil Protection Committee is doing its best to see to their needs.
A crowd, mostly women, watched - relieved at the prospect that the limited supply of water in a cistern on the ground would be safe to drink.
Dr. Franck Geneus, CARE Haiti's health program coordinator, watched the women working. Minutes before, he had given them a crash course in water purification, using the very simple method: small packets of powder, each of which can purify 10 liters of water.
"CARE staff train local volunteers, so they in turn can teach others and distribute the packets according to a careful inventory of families at the site - to be sure it reaches those most in need," he explained. "It's the quickest way to reach the most people."
Safe water is crucial for every survivor of the horrific quake - but especially for pregnant women, new mothers, and small children, he said. "We are concerned that women may stop breastfeeding because they do not have enough food or water themselves. That poses a huge risk to newborns."
Even in the best of times, expectant mothers in Haiti are at huge risk - 670 of 100,000 die in the course of pregnancy and childbirth, more than 60 times the rate in industrialized countries like the United States. Now, with urgent treatment of trauma cases taking top priority, prenatal care, and even safe delivery, is a luxury that few women here can find.
Life Hanging By a Thread
Jan. 21, 2010
Loetitia Raymond, one of CARE's media officers writes:
At the fragile moment in time when a life enters the world, when a child leaves the warm, protective cocoon of her mother's womb, one gesture can change everything. It can transform what could have been a happy occasion into the saddest of all.
Wadneicia may never know how lucky she was to open her eyes on Jan. 20 in Saint Pierre Square, on the ground, lying on old packing boxes. It was 9 am when Joane Kerez, 20 years old, gave birth to her first child under a cloth tarpaulin with only her mother assisting her.
Joane Kerez, holds her newborn baby Wadneica. Joane gave birth to her daughter two days earlier in a tent in Place Saint Pierre, a public square where some 6,000 refugees have taken shelter after Haiti's devastating earthquake. Joane gave birth on cardboard with her mother's help. The umbilical cord was cut with a razor and there was no soap and no clean water during the delivery. Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/CARE
All around, people went about their business, though curious onlookers crowded the small space just six feet square in size. "I would have rather been somewhere else, in a cleaner place without all those people looking at my body," says Kerez, embarrassed at the lack of modesty.
At least 6,000 people live in this crowded area where every square inch of land is occupied by earthquake victims. Children play amidst the garbage and wash themselves in street ditches; women cook in the stench due to the lack of toilet facilities. Joane's mother cut the umbilical cord with a non-sterile razor blade.
The only water available was a tank that CARE had installed the day before. More than 1,000 gallons of water was supplied to help meet the victims' needs. "Thankfully CARE had installed the tank, otherwise I would have to have used water that comes out of the pipe at the end of the road," said Kerez.
No soap, no clean towel, no disinfectant, no doctor, not even minimal medical equipment in case of complications. And yet Joane's childbirth story is not extraordinary in Haiti. Since Jan. 13, hundreds of other Haitian women have given birth among the rubble in the streets of Port-au-Prince.
To improve living conditions for the homeless, CARE has begun to distribute wheelbarrows, shovels and brooms so people can start to clear away the garbage. "Removing garbage is the absolute minimal requirement for limiting risks of disease," says Franck Géneus, CARE's health director in Port-au-Prince. "We are going to set up a network of volunteers among the people living in the area to transmit hygiene awareness-raising messages. We can limit the risks considerably by providing everyone with information about this crucial and fundamental issue."
In a situation this difficult, pregnant women and infants are even more vulnerable. CARE is distributing basic goods and helping to strengthen the thread of life during a women's childbirth and the child's first steps.
Experts, Local Staff and Community Make for Success
January 21, 2010
From Steve Hollingworth, CARE USA's COO and EVP for Global Operations writes:
I wanted to say a few words about our staff here in Haiti.
Sophie Perez is the country director. She is from France but she has a deep commitment to Haiti. She has lived here for nine years, and has in-depth knowledge of the country, the people and the customs. Her knowledge, sensitivity and experience here are invaluable. She has been joined by David Gazashvili. David is an expert in emergency response - ready to leave home at a moments notice. He comes from the Republic of Georgia and is now living in the state of Georgia. David came to set up our response team. This group is now in place, and includes 20 experts in logistics, water and sanitation, health, shelter, procurement, security and information technology. These are experts who work with CARE all over the world. It's a bit like a high school reunion here, with everyone's shared experiences from Banda Aceh, Pakistan, Darfur and other emergencies.
I can not emphasize how important this group is to CARE. They are experts in their field. But they know that the success of our response depends on them meshing with our Haitian staff - listening to their advice and direction, and following their lead on the best ways to work with the communities, local authorities, mayors and the Haitian civil defense.
Time and again, in the way CARE is successful in responding to emergencies, we find that we need to work alongside communities. They have resources. They have expertise and contacts to address their needs. Women play key role in CARE's relief efforts. Right now, you know that we've distributing PUR water purification sachets. The communities are receiving these sachets have identified women to train and motivate their neighbors to use the sachets correctly. Once, we put our water bladders in place, local committees take responsibility for the maintenance and refilling of them.
Involving the local community in emergency relief efforts - no matter where disaster strikes - allows people the chance to take back power and control of their lives. And that is one of the keys to successful relief and recovery efforts.
PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE SAFE DELIVERY OF AID
Jan. 20, 2010
CARE is working with community leaders in Haiti to facilitate delivery of aid. At its hub in Leogane, CARE met with the town's leadership and logistics committees to finalize the distribution plan.
"The community wanted to be involved, and they came to the table with a plan," says Patrick Solomon, senior vice president of CARE's global support services, who is in Leogane. "It was inspiring to see the community - and even local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts - come together with CARE to distribute aid to their neighbors impacted by the earthquake."
In Leogane, aid distribution took place in the driveway of a telecommunications building, which is temporally occupied by the municipal authorities whose building was destroyed in the quake. The community leaders gave out vouchers to individuals, who when called were escorted by Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to collect their items before being guided to the exit.
"The distribution in Leogane is an excellent example of how CARE works with communities to safely and successfully distribute much-needed supplies to those who need it most," says Solomon. Distributions are calm and orderly despite security challenges, broken infrastructure, logistical roadblocks, and the severe aftershock that rocked Port-au-Prince in the early morning hours today.
CARE has brought clean water and water purification powder to some 14,000 people. CARE has distributed high-protein biscuits, 1,500 collapsible water containers and 1,200 hygiene kits, targeting women, including pregnant women left particularly vulnerable. CARE has procured 5,000 mattresses that will be handed out soon. Shipments of PUR water purification powder, tents, first aid kits, hygiene kits and blankets are scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince today, with generators and more blankets scheduled to arrive later this week. These efforts will ramp up in the days to come.
The humanitarian supply chain is getting stronger by the day, and distribution hubs have been established in the neighboring Dominican Republic and Panama, where supplies can be transferred over land or by plane. That has allowed for faster delivery of an increasing supply of aid, and despite its limited capacity the airport has handled more than 600 aircraft in the last week. CARE has three logisticians to ensure CARE shipments of aid arrive safely in Port-au-Prince and are quickly loaded onto trucks for swift distribution.
Working With Women to Keep Disease at Bay
Jan. 18, 2010
Edline Cothiere, a nurse with one of CARE Haiti's local partners, explains how to use water purification packets that CARE is distributing at the Adventist Auditorium in Port-au-Prince. CARE distributed enough packets to clean water for 600 displaced people staying at the church compound. Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/CARE
CARE's disaster-response teams race against time, coaching survivors how to purify contaminated water and preparing hygiene kits to help prevent a secondary crisis: the outbreak of disease. The massive quake ruptured water lines, creating a formula for the spread of water-borne disease, particularly as those left homeless are forced into close quarters with limited options for sanitation.
Safe water is crucial for every survivor of Tuesday's quake - but especially for pregnant women, new mothers and small children, said Dr. Franck Geneus, coordinator of CARE's health program in Haiti. Some 37,000 pregnant women in the disaster zone are in desperate need of food, clean drinking water and/or access to health care. "We are concerned that women may stop breastfeeding because they do not have enough food or water themselves," Geneus said. "That poses a huge risk to newborns."
Dr. Geneus and other CARE staffers demonstrate how to using the 600,000 water-purification packets CARE is distributing in Port-au-Prince. CARE shows them how to empty the powder into buckets, wait for solids to form and strain the clumps out with cloth. In minutes, filthy brown water turns sparkling clear. Each packet can purify 10 liters (nearly three gallons) of water, enough for someone to drink safely for four days.
"CARE staff train local volunteers, so they can teach others and distribute the packets according to a careful inventory of families at the site - to be sure it reaches those most in need," he explained. "It's the quickest way to reach the most people."
But to use the powder, called Pur, requires two five-gallon containers - one for dirty water, the other for clean. And many here don't even have a bucket to their name, said Sophie Perez, CARE's country director in Haiti.
"We will distribute the Pur along with hygiene kits in the coming days, packed into large buckets that people can use," Perez said. "The kits will also contain crucial items, from soap to sanitary napkins, to help survivors stay healthy under these appalling conditions."
Mounting garbage adds to the risk, Perez said from the edge of Port-au-Prince, in Pétionville. There, overflowing garbage trucks stand idle and the gutters are clogged with plastic bags, bottles and trash of all kinds. People tie handkerchiefs over their faces, desperately trying to stem the overwhelming stench. "We urgently need to address the waste disposal issue," Perez said. "If that garbage keeps accumulating, it will certainly spread disease."
CARE has been working in Haiti since 1954. CARE's more than 130 staff in Haiti includes emergency personnel who were part of the response to the devastating Hurricane Hanna in 2008. In Haiti, CARE's programs focus on governance, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, maternal and child health, education, food security, and water and sanitation.
CARE knows that in emergencies like this, women and girls are at increased risk of sexual violence, exploitation and abuse when seeking food and other services. CARE and its partners will address gender-specific needs in Haiti. We are working out the particulars of this now.
CARE has launched a $10 million appeal for a three-year emergency relief and recovery program for the affected population.
Desperation at Our Gates
Jan. 17, 2010
Port-au-Prince residents wait for a dstribution of high protein biscuits by the World Food Program. Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/CARE
Rick Perera reports from Port-au-Prince:
If charity begins at home, CARE is in the right place. Just outside our Haiti headquarters, many hundreds, perhaps thousands - no one has counted them - of newly homeless people are camped out in the main square of Pétionville, a near suburb of Port au Prince. They wait patiently in the hot sun, but their desperation grows by the hour. At night, groups of people can be heard clapping and chanting. Some have hung banners, painted on bedsheets, with messages like "We need help!" in English and Creole.
As CARE Haiti Country Director Sophie Perez and I walk by, we pass many pedestrians with handkerchiefs tied around their noses and mouths against the overwhelming stench. Waste of all kinds is piling up in the streets around the square. An overflowing garbage truck stands idle. The gutters are clogged with plastic bags, bottles, and objects beyond description. Perez shakes her head when she sees the growing piles. "We urgently need to address the waste disposal issue," she says. "If that garbage keeps accumulating it will certainly spread disease."
Over the past few days CARE has been focusing on distributing water purification packets, containing a powder called Pur. It's highly effective, and can make almost any water safe to drink. But to use it requires two five-gallon (about 20 L) containers - one for dirty water, the other for clean - and the worst-off here don't even have a bucket to their name. So for many, the magic powder isn't enough.
"We will distribute the Pur along with hygiene kits in the coming days, packed into large buckets that people can use," says Perez. The kits will also contain crucial items, from soap to sanitary napkins, to help survivors stay healthy under these appalling conditions.
In the meantime, CARE is working to arrange for a tanker truck to bring water to the square outside our gates, and a huge rubber "bladder" to store it. There's so much to do everywhere in this city, but we won't forget to serve our neighbors in need.
People are Desperate for Help
Jan. 15, 2010 - 9 am local time
Hauke Hoops, CARE's regional emergency coordinator reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Photo by: Reuters/Kena Betancur, courtesy http://www.alertnet.org and CARE
This is one of the biggest disasters I've ever seen, and it is a huge logistical challenge. Everything has to come in by plane or boat, but the port is destroyed. The airport is overstretched, overcrowded with flights.
Security is a huge concern. The jail collapsed, and there are 5,000 inmates on the loose. This has caused a lot of fear. It is very dangerous, with repeated aftershocks, and the escaped people from the jail. There are rising tensions. We need to distribute as quickly as possible, but this is a difficult situation to guarantee safety and organize distribution. People have been without food for two days now, and they are starting to get desperate. In this situation, people will do anything to get food and water for their families.
We have 133 staff already working in Haiti, but our staff in Port-au-Prince lost everything - their houses, their families, everything. Staff are totally traumatized. They're trying to help, but we need to bring in additional staff from across the country and international teams. We've seen this before, where staff have lost family members, they are trying to control their own emotions, take care of their families, and at the same time, respond to a massive disaster. You can imagine how difficult this is, if you've lost your children, but there is so much work to do and everyone needs help. It's a nightmare.
There are lots of people in the streets trying to find relief. There is rubble everywhere. Buildings collapsed like a house of cards. I see many people trying to find people in the rubble, underneath the buildings. There are many search and rescue teams coming in, but it's not enough. The people are doing a lot of the rescue by themselves, pulling at the rubble with their bare hands or with shovels. They are listening to see if they can hear people yelling for help. There are fewer people yelling for help now. There are so many places to look, so many houses collapsed, but the search and rescue teams can't be everywhere at once.
There are bodies on the street, bodies everywhere. I passed by bodies in the streets. People are walking by them, it's as if they are sleeping. It's scary. There are dead bodies lined up in rows. Our main priority now is to clear the bodies. There is a fear of outbreak of disease because of the open wounds being left untreated, and lack of sanitation. There is rubbish everywhere.
People need clean drinking water. The water system wasn't completely destroyed. Pipes were broken in the earthquake, but there is some water coming out. People are lining up at the areas where water is coming out. So there is some access but it's not clean water, the pipes have been contaminated. Water purification tablets are very important. CARE has a shipment of water purification tablets that arrived last night, and we need to distribute these right away. We need more water purification tablets.
There is still production of electricity, but they can't turn the power back on because the power lines are down, there are electrical wires in the streets, and people are stepping over them. If they turn the electricity back on now, people might be electrocuted or injured.
There is an issue of access. We can't reach all areas by road. It is difficult to get any trucks; either they are without fuel because the gas stations are empty. There is nothing available here.
There is a huge amount of people in need, but my fear is now how we're going to get to them all. Also we have to do this quickly, to organize with other aid agencies and the government to reach people faster. People are desperate for help, for food, for water.
Crossing the Border to Haiti
Jan. 15, 2010 - 7 am local time
CARE's Rick Perera trying to cross the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
We're crossing the border at Jimeni, between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Things are moving fairly quickly at least on the Dominican Republic side. We're seeing supplies crossing the border including search and explore teams with dogs, many large tanker trucks with water, backhoes and other construction equipment, mobile kitchens from the Dominican Republic, and many journalists.
We still have cell phone access on the Dominican Republic side, but once inside Haiti I'm told we may be able to send only text messages. We will try to get the sat phone going. I've received endless messages from friends and family expressing deep concern for the Haitian people and wanting to help in any way, but with the communications being so bad, I guess those messages will stop soon.
We stayed overnight in Barahona, a resort town on the coast in Dominican Republic. It was quite surreal staying in a resort hotel with a swimming pool and signs that say ‘Remember to ask for your beach towel ticket'.
We're not seeing anyone coming out of Haiti, but the Dominican Republic guards are operating a gate, and the border is clearly secured. The road was fairly clear up until we hit the border crossing itself. There are about 20-25 trucks waiting. It took about 10 hours to get here to the border, which is a lot longer than we expected. We're told it's only 60 km from here to Port-au-Prince. Our driver is just telling us now that it's not a long distance, but it may take a long time because of the damage heading into the city.
Last night we spoke to a group of firefighters from the Dominican Republic who were going in with excavation equipment. They were young, dedicated, eager to help - an example of the kind of experts from around the world coming into Haiti to help.
We're also hearing stories about what to expect when we cross over into Haiti. When I was last in Port-au-Prince five years ago, I stayed at the Hotel Villa Creole near the CARE office. From what I hear now it's overrun with desperate people, aid workers and countless journalists packed six to a room, with more people sleeping on the lawn. But the hotel is staying open, doing whatever they can to help the people affected by the disaster.
I don't Know what I'm Going to Find
Jan. 14, 2010
Hauke Hoops, CARE's regional emergency coordinator, flew from Panama to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, just after midnight Jan. 13. He shared his experience while at the airport in Santo Domingo Jan. 14 at 6 am local time, as he was preparing to board a humanitarian flight to Port-au-Prince.
"I arrived this morning in Santo Domingo, just after midnight. I haven't slept all night. I stayed a few hours in a hotel that was fully booked with aid workers. The airport was full of aid workers, rescue teams. A lot of different aid agencies are coming into Santo Domingo and trying to get into Port-au-Prince.
"The airport in Santo Domingo is organized, very under control. It's still on the quiet side, because we are some of the first aid workers to fly in through Santo Domingo. It will start to get busier today as more aid workers fly in. It is turning into the humanitarian hub. The government of Dominican Republic is charging ahead at full speed to help. This is a big tourist country, so they have the infrastructure in place to handle so many flights and people coming in.
"At the airport, I met with many other agencies, and we are discussing how to get humanitarian supplies into Port-au-Prince. I don't know what I'm going to find when I get to Port-au-Prince. I haven't been able to reach our staff there by phone today, so I don't know if anyone knows when I arrive. It's far from the airport to CARE's office, and it will not be easy to find transport. Roads are blocked, and fuel will be hard to come by. Electricity is a real problem.
"I brought a hammock and sleeping bag and I am prepared to sleep outside. I don't know where I will be staying because hotels have been destroyed. The houses of our colleagues have been destroyed.
"Reports are that there is no water or food in Port-au-Prince. I'm bringing some water and food, but luggage is limited. That will be CARE's first priority for the emergency response, and I am working with other agencies to find options to procure food and water for the people affected. Maybe from Gonaives, maybe from Dominican Republic. I will know more when I arrive what is available and what is not."
Hauke Hoops is CARE's regional emergency coordinator.
Everything is Urgent
Jan. 13, 2010
Sophie Perez, CARE's country director in Haiti, was in the CARE office in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit at about 5 p.m. local time Jan. 12, 2010. She shared her experience by phone at 6:30 am local time Jan. 13.
"It was terrifying. The quake lasted for more than a minute. We were at the office when it happened, and the whole office was shaking really hard. People were screaming, crying, running. Everything was moving. I saw a building of nine floors completely collapse right in front of me. A bank collapsed. Even if a building isn't totally destroyed, you can't access the area because of the danger.
"Our staff who were with me in the office are safe, but most of their houses are collapsed. I've heard other aid workers from other agencies are still missing. Everyone is trying to find their families. It seems the whole city was affected - to the north, south, everywhere. It was difficult to get through the streets. Buildings have collapsed everywhere, and there is rubble blocking the roads. Many areas you can't go by car. You can only get through by foot, because there is so much debris.
"Last night, people were sleeping outside because they were afraid to go back inside their homes. Many of the houses are destroyed anyway. There were eight aftershocks last night. Thousands of people were sleeping in the streets.
"We're particularly worried about the children, because so many schools seem to have collapsed. In Haiti, children go to school in the afternoon. Children were still in school when the earthquake hit, so there are many children trapped. It's horrifying. The slums on the hills have also completely collapsed. We've heard of landslides, with entire communities being wiped out.
"I've been here for many years, and I've experienced a few small earthquakes. But I've never been through anything this strong. My house is okay, but I spent the night outside by the gate with my children. There were eight aftershocks during the night, and we woke up every time. My children are terrified. Everyone is terrified.
"It is just morning here now, and I can hear helicopters working on the search and rescue. The immediate need is to rescue people trapped in the rubble, then to get people food and water. Everything is urgent."
What CARE is Doing
CARE has launched an international appeal for funds for Haiti, and has allocated an initial $145,000 to immediately start emergency operations. CARE plans to start food distributions using stocks of high-protein biscuits from our warehouses in Haiti. CARE is coordinating with other UN agencies and aid organizations in the joint assessment to gather more detailed information about the damage and the needs on the ground and will rapidly scale up our response. CARE has 133 personnel already on the ground, with extensive experience responding to disasters.
Sophie Perez is the country director of CARE in Haiti.
i sympathized with my brothers and sister in haiti. pls i do not have a .credit card.
— bertrand urama on 2010-01-16
I was moved to tears after reading through the above story and pictures of images of aftermath of the terrible earthquake. Ironically, I have no money to contribute, but I am fervently praying that God will strengthen aid workers and touch the hearts of the haves around the globe to provide resources to rescue or ameliorate the situation.
— ISAIAH ALI on 2010-01-18
I have relevant experience in emergency and humanitarian assistance. I am ready to intervene in HAITI for any job opportunity. I pray God to help our bothers and sisters of Haiti. I call upon international community to allocate enough resources and quickly. thanks
— GIHANZA ANDRE on 2010-01-22