Brighter Way Haiti Choir Haiti Relief Fund

Project Update: Field Report from April 2010

The distribution of immediate relief has received much attention from media around the world, and indeed we are proud of the work we have done in this first phase. But there are also the daily activities, rarely seen by the outside world, that touch just as many people in a gentle and humane fashion. I’m thinking of the counseling and encouragement for pregnant women living in the camps in terrible conditions; of our teams building links with orphanages; and of those who promote hygiene and behavior change for better health.

Along with those who work directly with beneficiaries, other crucial teams provide the administrative, logistical and financial support without which we could not function. CARE Haiti has increased its workload more than fivefold since the earthquake – and I am proud to say that all of our team members have performed with grace and dedication.

We must not forget that most of CARE’s staff have themselves lost loved ones, homes and mementoes; many are living with their families in tents or under tarps, with little comfort and privacy. In fact, the entire Haitian people are facing their immense challenges with a dignity and creativity that never cease to amaze me. Somehow this image was captured for me by a small boy I met, who proudly showed me the little house he’d built out of cardboard, lit from the inside with a Christmas tree bulb connected to a cell phone battery. His is the generation that will inherit a new Haiti – rebuilt with spirit and innovation – and I am proud that we are standing with them.

Phase III: Rehabilitation (January 2011 – 2015)

Even as team members begin working towards their Phase II goals, CARE is developing a long-term strategy for Haiti’s reconstruction and focusing on working in partnership with the Haitian government, civil society organizations and other NGOs. The CARE team has already conducted close to 80 interviews with key stakeholders within and outside of Haiti to better define their role in rebuilding Haiti. As the roadmap to Haiti’s recovery continues to develop, the CARE team looks forward to sharing more updates on their work and the rebuilding effort.

-Nicole Schneidman, Citizen Effect Project Development Associate

Watch the Brighter Way Video

Losing Home

I've just returned from one of the most heartbreaking visits of my two weeks here: to meet the family of Dr. Franck Geneus, CARE's gentle, dedicated health program director. Their homes destroyed, his extended family of 30 is packed into Franck's brother's tiny house and yard -- from the littlest niece, five-month-old Joelle, to grandmother Inosie, who says she's 94.

Franck's father Ovanier, 64, and mother, Marie, 61, sit idly in the yard, restless and frustrated. Hardworking, middle-class Haitians, they've lost not only their home but their livelihoods: the grocery store on the ground floor run by Marie; upstairs, the private school where Ovanier employed eight teachers and

taught 100 pupils.

Franck takes us to see the modest, tidy, pink-stucco villa, its three stories hanging precariously over the crushed basement, on the verge of crashing into the rubble-choked lane.

Photos: 2010 Rick Perera/CARE

He was born in this house, grew up here, was married here. He intended to move his young family in when he returned to Haiti, full of hope at the prospect of running CARE's efforts to improve the country's struggling health care system. That was just two weeks before January 12. We all know what came next.

"It's my first time back here since the earthquake," Franck says, shaking his head. "I'm in shock."

He points through a huge gash in the facade that's spilling the guts of the house, including a large, wooden cabinet, battered and coated with dust. "My father and I built that cupboard, ten years ago," he says, his voice trailing off.

Funny how such small details can catch the heart of someone whose life has been forever changed by disaster.

And yet Franck is not destroyed. He is plunging into his work, readying CARE's strategy to manage camps for displaced people, address the threat of violence against women and sexual assault, and take on the daunting challenge of meeting the health needs of women and infants.

Photos: 2010 Rick Perera/CARE

This unassuming man, just 37, is not only a Haitian. He is first and foremost a healer, deeply devoted to his family, his country, and his people. CARE is so fortunate to have him.

-Nicole Schneidman, Citizen Effect Project Development Associate

CARE Reaches 50,000 With Plans to Impact 120,000

Like all of the distributions CARE has offered since the earthquake, CARE’s recent distributions with the WFP have been implemented in an orderly and calm manner. CARE is working closely with local communities to ensure that every survivor’s needs are met, especially pregnant women, children, the elderly and disabled. Only women are allowed into the WFP distribution sites, although CARE is also working with local community leaders so that men in need are not forgotten.

At the new program’s first distribution, pregnant women and disabled survivors received the first supplies with CARE’s assistance. Sadly, staff noticed that there were a few men outside of the cordoned off site who seemed frustrated by the lack of unrest. Several men were also on hand to help the women carry the bags "home." On the second day of distributions, some of the rice was provided in 50 kilogram bags so women will have to divide each bag.

In addition, on January 30^th, CARE had reached more than 50,000 survivors through the distribution of food, clean water and water purification packets, jerry cans, hygiene kits, mattresses and blankets and the installation of water storage systems. This figure does not include the WFP distributions.

CARE’s distributions have thus far provided:

· High energy biscuits to displaced families in Jérémie, which will provide enough calories per person for four days;

· PUR® water purification packets;

· Hygiene kits, with a special focus on the needs of women (each kit includes: toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, detergent, shampoo, a comb, towels, safety pins, clothes line, sanitary napkins and toilet paper);

· Mattresses were distributed, with priority given to families of pregnant women and women with children;

· Blankets; and

· Delivery kits to pregnant women to help them deliver safer in emergency situations (each kit includes plastic sheeting, gloves, a razor and gauze).

CARE has also installed five water storage bladders in Léogâne and Pétionville, thereby providing potable water to 7,600 people daily through CARE water tanker deliveries.

CARE is continuing to develop a long-term strategy to assist reconstruction efforts in Haiti. During the disaster’s relief phase, which began immediately after the earthquake struck on January 12^th and will continue through April of this year, CARE is concentrating on the immediate needs of the 3 million people affected by the disaster. Efforts are focused on helping survivors access clean water, nutritious food and emergency supplies.

Beginning in March 2010 and lasting through January 2011, CARE will institute the transition phase in its emergency relief efforts. CARE staff will focus on strengthening health programming, creating economic opportunities, providing Haitians with temporary or transitional shelter, distributing school kits and furniture, and raising awareness to prevent gender-based violence.

Once the transition phase is complete, CARE will begin the recovery effort’s rehabilitation phase that will continue until January 2015. During those four years, CARE will address affected communities' long-term issues. Staff will dedicate their energies to facilitating earthquake-resistant construction and preparedness, rehabilitating Haiti’s water systems, and reconstructing schools and health systems.

-Nicole Schneidman, Citizen Effect Project Development Associate

Life Hanging by a Thread: Field Notes from a CARE Team Member

“Life Hanging by a Thread”

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 January 20 in Saint Pierre Square, on the ground, lying on old packing boxes. It was 9:00 am when Joane Kerez, 20 years old, gave birth to her first child under a cloth tarpaulin with only her mother assisting her. All around, people went about their business. Curious onlookers crowded around the small space just two meters square in size, making it hard for the young pregnant woman to breathe.

"There were people all around watching me. I would have rather been somewhere else, in a cleaner place without all those people looking at my body," she says, embarrassed at the lack of modesty. At least 6,000 people "live" in this crowded square 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 pestilential stench since everyone urinates right in the camp 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. Five thousand litres 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."

Photo: 2010 Evelyn Hockstein/CARE

No soap, no clean towel, no disinfectant, no doctor, not even minimal medical equipment in case of complications. No western woman could imagine even for an instant giving birth in conditions like these! And yet Joane's childbirth story is not extraordinary. Since January 13, hundreds of other Haitian women have given birth among garbage cans 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," explains 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."

Saluka Francia's child was born a month ago in a hospital. But since the family has had to move to this camp, the little boy’s health has deteriorated. "His tummy hurts, he has diarrhea and has caught a cold," his mother explains to me. I look at the abnormally small infant and can only worry because of the sad and sickly face that looks back at me. The baby winces and his appearance betrays his precarious health. When I ask the mother if he has been examined by a doctor, or if he is under medical care, I already know the answer: "No."

Viergemène Jean who is beginning her 8th month of pregnancy has not seen a doctor since the beginning of December, even though she complains of fatigue. "I feel tired, during the day I'm too hot, at night I am cold because we don't have anything to cover up with and I am discouraged."

For good reason – like Joane, she doesn't know how she is going to give birth and she is worried. "The hospitals have been destroyed, there are many people who are injured, I know there isn't enough place for everyone." Thus, the birth of a child, which should be a source of joy, is rather a time of worry and fear for these women.

Beside her, her friend Marie-Michel Blanc, 32 years old, is expecting her third child. We would imagine she would be more confident since she has already given birth. But her apprehension is not any less, and for good reason: her second childbirth didn't go well and she had to undergo a Caesarean section. Marie-Michel knows that option won't be available to her if she experiences complications this time. "My stomach hurts and I feel something is wrong, I don't know what is happening," she says in a worried tone. I am not a doctor... but I am a woman. So I put my hands on her abdomen, I touch the warm ball in which the child is growing. I quickly understand that the child that is due in less than 15 days is breech. What should I do? Worry her more even though I know there is no doctor that could help her? I encourage her to find a midwife in the camp, I tell her there are women who know what to do, who can assist her and maybe turn the baby around. Maybe ...

Everyone complains of the lack of space and the suffocating heat that burns the little ones' skin when the sun is at its zenith. So they wrap up the babies in cloth and towels to protect them. The children are certainly too hot, and we know that when there is no water, dehydration is a real threat. Thankfully, our teams have distributed water purification tablets.

Photo: 2010 Evelyn Hockstein/CARE

Life is also made up of miracles, like the arrival of little Sarah, who was born the morning of the catastrophe. Mother and child were in a hospital that was partially destroyed, however they both escaped unscathed. "Everything was shaking, my bed was moving. I was very afraid. I heard noise and then people started to scream. I hugged Sarah tightly in my arms, I was sure we were going to die."

As she holds Sarah, her third child, Emy Merci has a blissful smile. Her face shows her gratitude for being alive. She talks of the same difficulties that the others have, but seems to be ready to endure it all because she has her baby by her side. Emy is even more thankful because today CARE gave her a hygiene kit with soap, toilet paper, tooth brushes, toothpaste, laundry soap, sanitary napkins and other products that will ensure better hygiene. "Thanks to this, I will be able to wash Sarah and wash her diaper. I didn't have any laundry soap and her clothes weren't clean. This will change everything," she says. Joane, Saluka, Marie-Michel and 1,000 other women received the same products and express the same gratitude.

In a situation this difficult, pregnant women and infants are even more vulnerable. In seeing these women, life seems more fragile than ever, hanging by a thread that could break any second. Sometimes just the infinitely small things make it easier for mothers and children. That is why we will continue to distribute these basic goods and help strengthen the thread of life during the women's childbirth and the children's first steps.

-May Yu, Citizen Effect Project Manager

January 25th Update: CARE Impacts 31,000

Haiti's government has declared the search and rescue phase of the disaster relief over and on Sunday, estimated the earthquake’s death toll at 112,250 dead with another 194,000 injured. Since tragedy struck, CARE has targeted two of Haiti’s affected areas: Léogâne and Pétion-ville. The Haitian government has encouraged survivors to leave Port-au-Prince. CARE sub-offices report that at least 2,000 people have arrived Jéremie and another 6,000 in Grand Anse.

One of CARE’s team members recently offered a description of the bleak living conditions facing those displaced by the earthquake: “Shelter is makeshift. A subject of common prayer: "We hope that rain does not fall!" The big majority of the shelters set up so far assure essentially a symbolic role of limitation of territory guaranteeing a minimum of security and of intimacy. That means that the existing shelters do not protect against anything at all, if that would be wind, sun, cold, heat and even less against rain.”

-May Yu, Citizen Effect Project Manager

January 21st Update: CARE Distributes Hygiene Kits

Patrick Solomon, CARE’s USA VSP, described the distribution process in his field notes from Thursday:

“The distribution was a joint effort between the local police, the municipality and CARE. It went flawless. The process was ordered and the recipients were so glad to receive the kits. This was especially gratifying not only because CARE was able to deliver, but the fact that needs were being met…There was a woman, who gave birth the day of the earthquake, and came this morning with her newborn in hand to receive a hygiene kit. Another women, who gave birth two days ago, and thus, could not registered yesterday received the kit directly from CARE staff instead of having to stand in line.”

CARE’s response effort in Haiti is continuing to gain momentum as the flow of aid materials arriving in Haiti steadily increases. On January 20^th, a CARE shipment of tents, hygiene kits, first aid kits and blankets arrived in Port-au-Prince, along with additional water purification supplies. Trucks, warehouses, and fuel are also becoming more available, which will ensure that CARE’s distribution of water and hygiene kits continues. CARE staff are expecting a large shipment of high-energy food to arrive next week.

-May Yu, Citizen Effect Project Manager

Field Notes from a CARE Team Member

Steve Hollingworth's field notes for Tuesday, January 19th:

11:00 a.m.

We have 21 staff moving out in four SUVs and a large truck...An advance car will approach the community to meet the mayor and other officials to see if they have followed our directions on notifying the local people setting up a way to register people for assistance. The trucks with the supplies will wait on the outskirts of town in order for the advance group to confirm that all is in order.

11:41 a.m.

The smell of dust, urine, feces and decaying bodies is oppressive. We have passed eight or more corpses on the roadside and many more are still buried under the rubble.

The road is a mess in this area as we head to epicenter of some of the most affected communities. We're driving over and around cracks, fissures and landslides on the main road, causing us to roll along at a slow pace…

12:24 p.m.

Every house in this area was destroyed. People are camping in open fields, in the colleges. Children are sleeping in broken down cars. We're approaching the mayor's office. They have taken our suggestions. Police are present. Area laid out for receiving people. Table set for registration. Notice has gone out to people that the distribution will happen.

There are 20,000 displaced families living in camps in town and another 15 camps are set up outside of town. Local authorities have taken good steps with renovating some boreholes and digging latrines. Good progress at organizing camps. But they will need sustained distribution…

5:50 p.m.

We are traveling back from today's distribution site. We're in the part of town where the main commercial warehouses are located. The warehouses are being emptied in a hurry with line of men tossing boxes onto trucks. People move between the rubble looking for goods to take and warehouses to enter. They are carrying boxes on their head. The police are here making a show of force and also protecting the line of men. There is a real sense of panic and people are scrambling to defend their warehouses.

There is a huge mess at the airport. I went to the airport to check on CARE shipments and how they would be handled. We expect a plane of donated goods from the Church of the Latter Day Saints that UPS is air shipping to us free of charge. The path is clear for the shipment to arrive.

Clearly, there is a huge incoming volume of goods. I am so pleased that our distribution went so well today. Smooth distribution is the real key for the future – establishing a dependable pipeline and building the trust of the communities.

It's so important to have good quality distributions, and poorly-managed distributions cause big problems. People get upset when their expectations aren't fulfilled, and frustrated recipients may react violently. In addition, there is always the risk of disruption from criminals.

So going to a community beforehand and explaining what is coming, and that the local authorities play their role in organizing people is a huge help. And keeping our word is the way to make it successful.

Yesterday, our staff went to meet a local community outside of Port-au-Prince. CARE asked them about their needs and they confirmed that it is water. We also met with the mayor of the canton, and explained what we would do and how we would do it. We committed to return today with water bladders, hygiene kits and jerrycans. And we did. The community was very orderly and had organized a water management committee consisting of three women and three men. The distribution all went extremely well in a very congested location that could have been extremely tense. I think the community was satisfied as well.

7:10 p.m.

...Staff are very elated by the success of the day. Again, the consultation with local authorities, and the organization of the distribution space, meant that there was no frustration. The expectations of the community were fulfilled. They have trust and confidence in us. And they have been treated with dignity and respect. The recipients were not intimidated by a large security presence. They had a central role in the distribution and the local authorities were respected and in charge.

These are lessons we have learned from emergencies all over the world. This has also come from our years of working with local communities in all of our long-term work.

-May Yu, Citizen Effect Project Manager

January 20th CARE Update from the Ground

According to the latest CARE update, “Logistical constraints, such as damaged roads, limited fuel, curfews and insecurity, are hampering distributions. Tremendous numbers of people are turning up for distributions and, given their great need and desperation, the situation is high risk from a security standpoint.

The United Nations now estimates at least 80,000 people are dead (government sources estimate up to 200,000); with 250,000 people injured and 3 million in need of assistance. People continue to leave the capital city to move in with family members in outlying areas. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and most often families do not have the extra food to provide for dozens of extended relatives or neighbors seeking refuge. CARE has active programs in many of these places, and we're working with our partners to get aid to people even as they leave the disaster zone.

As reported, all the [CARE] Port-au-Prince staff are accounted for, and Haitian colleagues have been arriving from other offices to help. Additional local staff is being hired, and CARE staff with expertise in emergencies, shelter, water and sanitation, logistics, human resources, security, and finance/contract management are en route to Haiti now.”

CARE is also in the process of acquiring and transporting additional supplies, including jerry cans for storing water, tents, temporary warehouse structures, generators and high-energy food from places such as Dubai, Karachi and Nairobi. Constraints at the airport, damage to the port and limited cash flow in the devastated region have all complicated this effort. However, progress is being made. The port is soon expected to be operational and 40 banks were scheduled to reopen on January 19^th. The CARE Haiti team has begun planning for the long-term process of reconstructing affected areas as communication systems have improved. In the short-term, this plan will likely involve rebuilding homes and implementing a cash-for-work program for people to help clear debris.

-May Yu, Citizen Effect Project Manager

January 18th Update: CARE Targets Women and Children

Sanitary issues are quickly becoming a priority for aid organizations as they work to reach the 250,000 people who the Haitian Minister of the Interior estimates urgently need assistance. Garbage piles and gutters are already so overfilled that people are tying cloths over their faces to cope with the stench. As homeless survivors are forced to share the limited shelter still standing, health conditions will likely worsen. CARE Haiti Country Director Sophia Perez has announced, "We urgently need to address the waste disposal issue. If that garbage keeps accumulating, it will certainly spread disease."

Responding to these conditions, however, means overcoming logistical challenges. Aid workers are already struggling to secure and distribute supplies as a result of severely impacted staff, damage to the capital’s airport and port, and security concerns. The electric and water systems have been cut off in Port-au-Prince, fuel supplies are low, and the few medical centers still standing are overwhelmed with treating those injured in the earthquake.

Amidst this, CARE’s estimates there are 37,000 pregnant women who are in urgent need of assistance. With limited or no access to health facilities, pregnant women are at an even greater risk of complications and death. "There are a lot of pregnant women in the streets, and mothers breastfeeding new babies," reported Perez. "There are also women giving birth in the street, directly in the street. The situation is very critical. Women try to reach the nearest hospital, but as most of the hospitals are full, it's very difficult for them to receive the appropriate care. "

On January 16^th, CARE set up at three hospitals and began distributing an eight-day supply of water purification packets to 12,000 people. The distributions target women and children, who are susceptible to water-borne illness such as diarrhea. Dr. Frank Geneus, coordinator of CARE’s health program in Haiti, urged, “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.” In addition to addressing the urgent need for water, CARE will soon begin distributing food rations, tents, mattresses, basic hygiene kits, and infant kits for mothers with newborns and young babies. The hygiene kits will include not only basic items such as soap and toothpaste, but also sanitary napkins and panties for women. Team members are also working with partner organizations to determine how best to procure and distribute kits to women and health centers to ensure safer, cleaner deliveries as well as ready-to-eat meals, plastic sheeting, blankets, mosquito nets, and kitchen kits.

CARE is also aware that in disaster situations, women and girls face an increased risk of sexual violence, exploitation and abuse when searching for food and water. CARE and its partners will address gender-specific needs in Haiti, both as part of their immediate relief effort and as Haiti begins to reconstruct. "Women Impacting Public Policy, the nation's voice for women business owners, is partnering with CARE to help the Haitian people rebuild," said Nancy Audain Allen, a WIPP board member and Haiti native who lives in Miami. "In Haiti, as in most of the world, women are the engine of economic growth."

–Nicole Schneidman, Citizen Effect Project Development Associate

January 16th CARE Update: Distributing Water in Port-au-Prince

Five minutes after one of CARE’s packets is added to five gallons of water, the water can be filtered with any type of cloth and is then safe for consumption. Unfortunately, this straining requires two five-gallon containers and many survivors do not have access to even one bucket. Sophie Perez, CARE Haiti Country Director, explained, "We will distribute the PUR along with hygiene kits in the coming days, packed into large buckets that people can use.” The kits will also contain crucial items, from soap to sanitary napkins, to help survivors stay healthy.

On January 16^th, CARE aid worker and media coordinator Rick Perera travelled with a convoy of three CARE vehicles to deliver PUR packets to three of Port-au-Prince’s medical centers. Perera estimated that it would take approximately three hours for CARE workers to distribute the packets. CARE is also working to arrange for a tanker truck to bring water to the undamaged square outside of their headquarters in Pétionville where survivors have gathered.

These efforts face major obstacles including damaged roads, mounting waste, and an overcrowded airport that limit the aid materials entering Haiti. The situation is additionally challenging because there were few safe water sources available in Haiti prior to the disaster. As a recent Wall Street Journal article noted (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704381604575005333897057438.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines), only about half of Haiti’s population had access to clean water before the earthquake struck. Now with communication systems down and the capital city in ruins, conditions are much worse. In addition, survivors’ growing desperation has made mob violence increasingly likely. Despite this, CARE and other aid agencies are working alongside multinational U.N. troops to reach as many survivors as quickly as possible.

–Nicole Schneidman, Citizen Effect Project Development Associate

Haiti Relief: January 14th CARE Update from the Ground

CARE has not determined if all 133 of its team members survived the earthquake. There are reports that many staff's family members perished in the disaster. Children especially are feared to be among the dead as most were attending school when the earthquake struck, likely killing or trapping many beneath the rubble.

''This is Haiti's darkest day,'' said Joseph Francoeur Jean, CARE's project manager in the nearby Haitian city of Gonaives. ''This was a hard blow for Haiti and our colleagues, some of whom lost children. In addition to the emergency, we also need to think about giving people psychosocial help, and assist them to rebuild their homes and their lives.'' Jean, speaking via Skype, emphasized the immediate needs are first-aid supplies, water purification solution, body bags, and emergency food rations.

Flights into the Port-au-Prince airport have been cancelled. Many aid agencies are flying into the neighboring Dominican Republic to reach Port-au-Prince by land. Hauke Hoops, CARE's Regional Emergency Coordinator, arrived in Santo Domingo just after midnight this morning and spoke before boarding a plane to Port-au-Prince.

''The airport is full of aid workers, rescue teams. It is turning into the humanitarian hub,'' said Hoops, who has already met with other agencies to determine how to best transport supplies to disaster-affected communities in Haiti. ''Reports are that there is no water or food in Port-au-Prince. 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.''

–May Yu, Citizen Effect Project Manager

CARE began working in Haiti in 1954 to provide relief assistance after Hurricane Hazel. Today CARE's work in Haiti includes projects in HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, maternal and child health, education, food security, and water and sanitation.