♦ Two months after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, President Preval and President Obama met in Washington, DC. President Obama said the situation on the ground in Haiti “remains dire.”
♦ More than 220,000 people are confirmed dead. More than 300,000 are injured. More than 280,000 homes were destroyed, leaving well over 1 million people displaced. Estimates are that 25 million cubic yards of debris will have to be cleared. The emergency response has been hailed largely successful by the international community. Significant work remains to be done.
♦ Around 650,000 people have been served with temporary shelter—meeting around 56% of the overall need, according to a UN report last week. Particularly with the rains increasing, the necessity of shelter remains a primary focus.
♦ Around 1.2 million people are benefiting from daily water rations. According to the UN OCHA, about 50 percent of people in the disaster affected areas are in need of food assistance. In the temporary settlements the number jumps to around 70 percent.
♦ Getting children back in school continues to be a challenge. Even before the earthquake, only around half of Haiti’s children were enrolled in school.
Park Street Mission Trip to Haiti
April 19-25 we are sending a small group to Port au Prince. This opportunity is open to Medical Professionals (Doctors, Nurses, Physical and Occupational Therapists.) We also need a civil enginer or architect. To apply missions[at]parkstreet.org.
World Relief Report from Haiti
Give
♦ With your generous donations you are supplying food, clean water, medical care, and living needs for those who have been left devastated by the earthquake. Click below to support Park Street’s outreach effort to Haiti.
Food
♦ We have begun further food distributions, providing rice, oil and peas to some of Haiti’s most vulnerable families in Delmas and Lakou Mouzin.
♦ This week we have provided food to 1,700 family units, around 8,500 people.
Water
♦ We have distributed water to 2,240 families—11,200 people—in Cite Soleil this week. Each family receives about five gallons of water.
♦ To date, we have distributed an estimated 328,000 gallons of water. We plan to continue to distribute water until permanent water sources are available.
Wells
♦ Six well sites have been identified, including churches, orphanages and schools. These wells will provide ongoing potable water to the community. We are helping to facilitate the formation of community water committees to manage wells on a long-term basis and create ownership.
♦ Four wells have been drilled to date. Two wells are already fully-functional with hand pumps, allowing churches and hospitals to meet tangible needs of patients, congregants, vulnerable children and others in their community.
♦ Hand pumps yield about 175 gallons per hour and submersible pumps give approximately 10 gallons per minute or 600 gallons per hour.
Shelter
♦ We distributed 3,600 tarps to ensure protection for 900 families primarily in Cite Soleil. We are working in partnership with 66 pastors to register neediest in their communities. Thousands people are currently living on the streets with inadequate shelter. Each family receives 2 high quality overhead tarps and two ground tarps.
♦ This week a distribution happened in Cite Soleil to more than 700 families through 21 church partners. An additional distribution occurred in Petite Place Cazeau.
♦ To date, we have provided approximately 18,600 individuals with temporary shelter.
Agriculture: Partnership with Plant with a Purpose
♦ World Relief is forging a partnership with Plant with a Purpose, a local NGO working in agriculture, to assist in the upcoming planting season in Leogane. We will provide thousands of farmers with high quality seed to replenish supplies diminished by food insecurity. New seeds will ensure they are able to plant during the current planting season and harvest what they need long-term.
♦ Jobs will also be provided for a reforestation program—with plans to plant 350,000 trees in an area largely stripped of vegetation.
♦ This partnership aims to both provide short term jobs as well as promote sustainable agriculture and development in Leogane.
Hygiene
♦ In partnership with Church of the Prophetie, 243 families received hygiene kits. 791 adults and 24 children were trained with basic hygiene lessons. Hygiene training will continue in the coming weeks.
♦ More than 1,500 hygiene kits were packaged in Atlanta, Georgia, and shipped to Haiti for distribution. Included in the kits were toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and other hygiene supplies.
Orphans and Vulnerable Children
♦ On Thursday, the Orphan and Vulnerable Children staff provided a post-traumatic stress training to a group of pastors. This will focus on training and equipping pastors in post-traumatic stress recognition and response to their congregations in how to care for and meet the needs of the vulnerable children in their sphere.
Volunteer
CauseUP is a social networking site that matches volunteers with opportunities to serve. To sign up and receive updates about volunteer opportunities click here.
Leila's Story
Leila Hepp, one of our young adults at Park Street Church, just returned from Haiti where she volunteered with Partners in Health. Here are some excerpts from her journal. Please note that the content is extremely graphic and for an adult audience. Click Here to see Leila's story.
