Helping Children Recover in Storm-Ravaged Haiti

WESTPORT, Conn. (Sept.10, 2008) Save the Children is assisting children in areas throughout Haiti where four recent tropical storms have affected more than 250,000 people.

Haiti was struck by Tropical Storm Fay on 15 -16 August, by Hurricane Gustav on 26 August, by Tropical Storm Hanna on 1 September and by Hurricane Ike on 6 - 7 September. Widespread flooding has displaced families across a broad swath of the country, including in the cities of Jacmel, Gonaïves and Hinche, where Save the Children provides programs. More than 60,000 people are in shelters. Many have lost their homes, crops and means of making a living. An estimated 50 schools supported by Save the Children have been damaged.

Save the Children's assessment teams report that many smaller villages have washed away — as have critical roads and bridges, which is hampering attempts to provide relief. Large numbers of people are moving through the floodwaters in search of shelter and dry ground. One particularly hard-hit village immediately targeted by Save the Children relief efforts lost 60 residents in flood waters that swept through the area early last Sunday morning. In Cabaret, north of the capital of Port-au-Prince, a three-day supply of water and food is being supplied to 12 shelters housing 5,000 displaced victims.

"Children are in a very precarious situation. They have lost their homes, schools and all that is familiar to them. They lack food and shelter – and face enormous risks from the environment," said Ned Olney, who heads Save the Children's humanitarian response unit. "They are also quite afraid, and their entire world has been turned upside down."

Save the Children is working to assist displaced children residing in shelters in Gonaïves and Jacmel. The agency is establishing child-friendly spaces to help address children's emotional and educational needs and to provide a protective environment while their families wait for the waters to recede.

"We are working to ensure that children are protected, engaged and have the time and space to be children while the adults in their lives work to recover from this ongoing disaster," said Olney. Save the Children also will work to ensure that children do not miss out on their education. The start of Haitian school year — originally to have begun 8 September — has been delayed until early October. The agency works directly with almost 200 schools in the storm-affected areas, and one-fourth of them are reporting structural damage. Many other schools are being used as shelters.

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1985.

How to help

If you wish to help children recover in Haiti, please contact your national Save the Children organisation.

Media Contacts

For more information please contact Kate Conradt on 01 202-640-6631.