Haiti

Latin America & Caribbean

In Haiti and Jamaica, Hurricane Dean brought torrential rain and strong winds leaving behind large-scale devastation. The August storm displaced thousands to temporary shelters and, in addition to the human toll, communities lost their homes, crops, livelihoods and livestock.

As part of the response, young people in the assisted communities – trained following Hurricane Ivan – played an integral role in helping with the distribution of non-food items to those most in need. While the response was delayed due to a series of subsequent hurricanes and storms, ACT members also addressed other needs through food support, agricultural assistance, housing rehabilitation, livelihood development, psychosocial care and community-based disaster preparedness training.

Also in Haiti, ACT worked to rehabilitate water distribution systems damaged by two tropical storms in order to prevent the spread of life-threatening diseases. Working together with the community, the costs for the project could be reduced because a local Roman Catholic priest, Father Samedi, stored the project construction materials free of charge in his parishes.

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