Haiti Earthquake

SCIAF is working with local partners and the Caritas Internationalis network to get emergency aid to devastated communities in Haiti.

A massive earthquake - the worst to hit the country is over 200 years – struck on Janurary 12, completely destroying large parts of the Hatian capital, Port-au-Prince. Up to a quarter of a million people were killed and three million left homeless.

In the immediate aftermath our partner, Caritas Haiti, began handing out tents and supplies of food which they already had in stock.

The following day, an international Caritas emergency response team made its way to Haiti. Since then, supplies have been arriving from Caritas partners around the world.

Teams of staff and volunteers are distributing aid through local parishes and at temporary camps for the homeless.

Today, over a hundred thousand people living in 20 small and one major makeshift camp are receiving food, water, tents and blankets, cooking equipment, hygiene kits, first aid, medical supplies and fuel.

Within the first two days of the earthquake, two operating theatres in one of the main hospitals – which was 70% destroyed – had been repaired, equipped with medical supplies and fuel, and were working round the clock. Six mobile Caritas clinics are caring for thousands of injured at sites across the city and hand washing stations have been set up to improve sanitation at hospitals and camps.

Caritas has also started a ‘cash-for-work’ programme, employing local people to help rebuild the country. They are helping to unload trucks of food and supplies, hand out aid and dig latrines at temporary camps, and clear debris from the streets so that new homes can be built.