Catholic Relief Services, 2010 Haiti Earthquake Response (DISTRIBUTION: SHELTER/HYGIENE/WATER SANITATION SUPPLIES)

HAITI HEALTH CLUSTER BULLETIN #14 – PAGE 7 - 1/14/11:

Dr Armand Rakoto and Joliette Pierre from CRS Health team went on a field trip in the Artibonite and North departments (from 10-14 January 2011) to conduct BCC Training-of-Trainers sessions for Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Nursing staff. Target communes were: Milot, Limbé, Pilate, Gros Morne. CHWs from the sites (Hopital Sacré Coeur, Hopital Saint Jean de Limbé and Hopital Esperance de Pilate, Hopital Alma Mater) will organize community-level sensitization activities starting next week.

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CRS staff has unloaded 120 containers (2100 metric tons) of vegetable oil and grains from the U.S. government which will be taken to their warehouse and then distributed to the growing number of camps. CRS has been asked by the United Nations to lead the response at one of the first formally organized camps, located at a golf course, where as many as 50,000 people are sleeping every night. It has arranged to supply the camp with water, food, and plastic sheeting for shelter, which continue to be trucked in from CRS warehouses in the neighboring Dominican Republic, where volunteers are working continuously to keep additional relief supplies coming.

Six medical teams have been formed to provide health care at shelters and area hospitals and CRS teams have already distributed medical supplies and drugs. In addition, Project C.U.R.E. has donated 3000 pounds of additional medical supplies that are en route. Three operating rooms at St. Francois de Sales Hospital—which withstood the quake — are now running, and surgeries are being performed on the most critically injured patients. Food, water and medical supplies have also been provided to the hospital. An AIDSRelief site, this is one of Haiti's oldest hospitals and one that CRS helped build. Its mission is to provide free care and treatment for the poor.

CRS is increasing its original $5 funding commitment and is planning an emergency response with an expectation of raising $25 million from its generous supporters for its relief effort.

Donations: https://secure.crs.org/site/Donation2?df_id=3181&3181.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=qxn84h0yi1.app44b

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CRS History in Haiti

Due to years of political and social instability, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Decades of poor governance, corruption and exploitation have left the country destitute of social, environmental and financial resources. Meanwhile, instability and the threat of kidnapping and other crimes have hampered the provision of basic services and the distribution of humanitarian services. The enormous gap in income distribution between the rich and poor, which ranks second in the world, makes reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth even more of a challenge. Haiti's other significant challenges include limited access to food, high malnutrition rates, and poor health and education services.

Catholic Relief Services began working in Haiti in 1954 after Hurricane Hazel devastated the country and killed upward of 1,000 people. High population density, severe deforestation and decaying infrastructure make Haiti particularly vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods.

In the beginning, CRS' work centered on responding to the massive loss of lives and physical destruction caused by the hurricane. However, since 1954 CRS Haiti has grown to include both emergency relief activities and long-term development work. CRS Haiti now focuses not only on emergency response, but on spurring economic growth for Haiti's poorest citizens through agriculture, natural resource management, and microfinance/small-business development. We also help Haitians by providing much-needed programs in education and health. CRS Haiti continues to support "safety net," or social welfare, centers such as children's homes and centers for the aged and dying.

Today, CRS Haiti has two offices, one in the capital of Port-au-Prince and a regional office in Les Cayes. There are approximately 240 CRS Haiti employees.

Catholic Relief Services partners in Haiti:

http://crs.org/haiti/partners.cfm

U.S. Agency for International Development

In March 2008, Catholic Relief Services Haiti began a five-year program with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Food for Peace. As in the past, CRS makes use of USAID support to spur economic growth, provide access to quality health and education services, and to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and other risks in southern Haiti. CRS Haiti also provides antiretroviral drug therapy, testing and counseling to people living with HIV or AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Caritas Haiti

Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social-service organizations worldwide. Caritas Haiti was created in 1975 by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Haiti to build a more solid and just society in Haiti. CRS has worked closely with Caritas Haiti over the past 30 years in implementing numerous emergency response and development programs — notably in agriculture — that serve the poorest Haitians.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Global Fund was created to dramatically increase resources to fight three of the world's most devastating diseases, and to direct those resources to areas of greatest need. CRS uses money from the Global Fund to offer services to 1,000 orphaned and vulnerable children in the Nippes department of Haiti.

UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund)

In Haiti, CRS partners with UNICEF in the areas of education and child protection. CRS and UNICEF work together to improve the quality of education in schools. We provide teacher and director training, distribute school materials, form and support parent-teacher associations, and provide training on health, hygiene and nutrition. In addition, CRS collaborates with UNICEF to combat child trafficking in the north by providing training to parents and communities on the risks, and by supporting those who have been victims of trafficking.