ACT News Update

Haiti 03/04

Relief from ACT members reaches flood survivors in Haiti

Geneva, June 8, 2004--In spite of transportation difficulties and destroyed roadways, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) – Haiti, a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, continues to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by the floods and mudslides that have occurred as a result of heavy rains in the last three weeks.

In Haiti, more than 2,000 people have died, and, according to the Haitian Civil Protection Department and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 1,600 are still missing–nearly all of them in the town of Mapou, some 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

LWF delivered emergency food aid and non-food items to the Mapou and Thiotte areas by helicopter last week. LWF has an office and carries out long-term development work in Thiotte and was able to reach the area by road on June 3.

According to Michael Kuehn, LWF representative in Haiti, staff of LWF local partner Concern Worldwide reported that they were able to distribute the material aid to 180 families in Thiotte on June 1 and 2 and hope to be able to provide aid to another 200 families in the coming days with the assistance of local LWF staff and local partner FOPLAB.

The food items that were distributed included corn, rice, beans, oil, sugar, salt and milk powder. The non-food items included clothing, 200 mattresses, medicine, including eight relief kits and ten medicine boxes from ACT member Church World Service (CWS), kitchen implements, 250 plastic sheets, and 1,000 water containers (5 gallons each) and 1,000 water bags from LWF.

Because of possibilities to stock food and non-food items for the entire department where Thiotte is located, the village will be a central distribution area for LWF, as more flood survivors are making their way to Thiotte from the surrounding areas rather than Mapou. Kuehn reports that the World Food Program has also approached LWF to be the lead agency for food distribution in the Thiotte area.

Kuehn said local partners and the local Civil Protection Committee continue to play a key role in assessing the situation and gathering information for a future response in the area. LWF staff and others worked on an assessment through the weekend, Kuehn said.

ACT has provided LWF with US$50,000 in Rapid Response Funds, and LWF has received an additional US$82,700 from other partners around the world. With the assistance of staff from CWS, LWF is in the process of preparing an appeal to the ACT alliance, which is expected this week. The appeal will assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase, which will include housing, rehabilitation of agricultural activities and other infrastructure, education and psychological support.

In the neighboring Dominican Republic, officials are reporting that more than 400 people have been killed, almost all in Jimani, near the border with Haiti, where the flood damage was worst. Another 300 people are missing in and around the town. The local ACT member there, Social Service of the Dominican Churches (SSID), reported that the floods affected many other communities as well. ACT member Norwegian Church Aid sent US$150,000 as part of the ACT response to support SSID’s initial activities.

SSID will continue distributing relief items in the area through its local partners. It reported that it will continue assessing the situation to prepare a plan to support the affected communities in the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase.

ACT Home Latest news Other Datelines Photos from Emergencies