Oxfam's Haiti response
13th Feb 10 at 13:40Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
Oxfam's Ian Bray reports from Haiti, one month since the earthquake hit. (Recorded 12 Feb)
Today's a day of mourning in Haiti. It's exactly one month since the catastrophic event, the earthquake, happened on the 12th of January. Nearly a quarter of a million people were killed in that event. It was supposed to be a cause to mourn, and many Haitians of course are mourning and pausing. But Haitians don't really pause all that much, for example our driver came into work today. His daughter is in the hospital with broken legs and also broken arms. He's lost his sister, his house is destroyed, yet he still turned up to work.
The aid effort is also a month on. And it has moved mountains in that time, but it's still got more mountains to shift. 1.6 million people have been given food - an enormous logistical effort. Nearly a million people now have safe clean water, no mean achievement either. In one month here the aid effort is really gearing up, but it still has a lot to do. The big challenge is getting emergency shelter to people - plastic sheeting, tents, but mainly plastic sheeting. And also getting safe, clean sanitation to people - if they don't have sanitation, then public health can be at risk. People need to wash their hands of course. We're always told as children to wash our hands, and there are real reasons why you have to do that. It's very dangerous, especially when a lot of human waste is not being disposed of. And the race is on because it will be rainy season in 6 weeks time. Yesterday morning it rained just before dawn. It lasted only half an hour, but it showed what a tropical downpour can do. Today Oxfam has a team in one of the camps, it's repairing one of the toilet blocks that it put up. Just that short burst of rain had damaged part of that toilet block and they're now shoring up the sides, making sure it's safe. Oxfam have been setting up toilet blocks in more than 10 camps around Port-au-Prince, but it is a race against time - six weeks till the rains come.
The aid effort has been remarkable in overcoming all the obstacles it has faced - destroyed infrastructure, offices destroyed, warehouses destroyed, and the UN losing 90 of its people. And there's a lot more to do. But thanks to the generous support of the public, and more importantly, the hard work and the resilience of the Haitian people, we are getting there. It's slow, it's painful, it's heartbreaking, and it still has a long way to go, but it's getting there. This is Ian Bray of Oxfam in Haiti. Thank you very much.
Today's a day of mourning in Haiti. It's exactly one month since the catastrophic event, the earthquake, happened on the 12th of January. Nearly a quarter of a million people were killed in that event. It was supposed to be a cause to mourn, and many Haitians of course are mourning and pausing. But Haitians don't really pause all that much, for example our driver came into work today. His daughter is in the hospital with broken legs and also broken arms. He's lost his sister, his house is destroyed, yet he still turned up to work.
The aid effort is also a month on. And it has moved mountains in that time, but it's still got more mountains to shift. 1.6 million people have been given food - an enormous logistical effort. Nearly a million people now have safe clean water, no mean achievement either. In one month here the aid effort is really gearing up, but it still has a lot to do. The big challenge is getting emergency shelter to people - plastic sheeting, tents, but mainly plastic sheeting. And also getting safe, clean sanitation to people - if they don't have sanitation, then public health can be at risk. People need to wash their hands of course. We're always told as children to wash our hands, and there are real reasons why you have to do that. It's very dangerous, especially when a lot of human waste is not being disposed of. And the race is on because it will be rainy season in 6 weeks time. Yesterday morning it rained just before dawn. It lasted only half an hour, but it showed what a tropical downpour can do. Today Oxfam has a team in one of the camps, it's repairing one of the toilet blocks that it put up. Just that short burst of rain had damaged part of that toilet block and they're now shoring up the sides, making sure it's safe. Oxfam have been setting up toilet blocks in more than 10 camps around Port-au-Prince, but it is a race against time - six weeks till the rains come.
The aid effort has been remarkable in overcoming all the obstacles it has faced - destroyed infrastructure, offices destroyed, warehouses destroyed, and the UN losing 90 of its people. And there's a lot more to do. But thanks to the generous support of the public, and more importantly, the hard work and the resilience of the Haitian people, we are getting there. It's slow, it's painful, it's heartbreaking, and it still has a long way to go, but it's getting there. This is Ian Bray of Oxfam in Haiti. Thank you very much.
Short URL: http://ipad.io/GUm
2nd Feb 10 at 09:52Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
This is Mark Fried from Oxfam calling from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
On Sunday I had the chance to visit the Petitionville golf course and at first glance when you arrive it looks like any golf course in any town, anywhere in the world. The entrance is a high, ornate gate; you come through the round driveway with the fine stone clubhouse with a terrace that overlooks the course. Then the first difference becomes apparent. The clubhouse has become the living quarters for the US Marines. A couple of hundred of them it seems. Lounging about on the cots, reading and drinking sodas, some of them are working out on exercise machines. They’ve set up a nice little medical clinic on the clubhouse lawn and there is a line-up of patients, most of them women and children, stretched all around the big tent housing the clinic.
From the clubhouse and the lawn on the hill, you can look down on the nine-hole course and though you can see where the golf course was, you can see it’s not a golf course any more. Nearly every open space is filled with make-shift shelters made of bed sheets and cardboard, wood and bits of plastic. There are 50,000 people squeezed into these twenty-seven hectares.
We walked down the path and came to a checkpoint asking people coming onto the course what their business was, and someone from the camp security committee was asking the same thing of the people heading the other way. They weren’t harassing anyone, past that point, there were no military to be seen, thought people told us that soldiers has kindly provided generators for the Oxfam latrines and bathing areas.
It was Sunday, so most people were relaxing, but a number of them were making the campsite a little more level using hoes and their hands. I saw people lining up for water at the Oxfam bladder, and the Oxfam latrines and bathing areas were getting steady use. Each customer got information from the volunteer monitor about keeping it clean and washing your hands.
It’s become like a small town or a city. People have set up small businesses in their shelters, there’s a barber, a hairdresser, a corner-store. There’s a shelter with a generator where you can charge your telephone. There’s even a market area where on Sunday at least, vendors are selling fruits and vegetables; cigarettes and candy; rice and candles and charcoal. It’s a city sprung up on a golf course. Happily, it’s now fairly clean of human waste, thanks to Oxfam having helped the residents build the latrines which are now dotted throughout the community, while some of them collect the trash.
You can still see where the tee-off area must have been. I asked one fellow if he had ever been on the course before the quake. His laughter was like an explosion.
“No,” he said. “It cost money.”
Nobody here had ever set foot in the place. They only got in because the earthquake knocked the wall down. I guess it was rather exclusive.
One hut had a number hanging on the front sheet: Fifty-two. There were no other numbers, so I asked the young man and he just smiled and said: “I just like the number fifty-two.”
It was a form of decoration. A way for his friends to identify the hut when they wanted to find him.
One area was left wide open and it was obvious why. What community is a community without a soccer field for the children? There was a fast and elegant game under way on a quarter-sized pitch. On the other side of the field, other children were flying kites they had made out of plastic bags, sticks and string. They were works of art, these kites, and they flew. It all seemed so pleasant and relaxed.
I asked people how long they thought they’d live there. They just shrugged their shoulders.
“My house is rubble,” was the common answer, but it always came with a smile.
These people may be suffering; their lives turned upside down; grieving for lost family members. But I didn’t see fear for the future in their faces, at least not on that sunny Sunday afternoon where for the survivors on the golf course, at least something was going right.
This is Mark Fried, from Oxfam. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
On Sunday I had the chance to visit the Petitionville golf course and at first glance when you arrive it looks like any golf course in any town, anywhere in the world. The entrance is a high, ornate gate; you come through the round driveway with the fine stone clubhouse with a terrace that overlooks the course. Then the first difference becomes apparent. The clubhouse has become the living quarters for the US Marines. A couple of hundred of them it seems. Lounging about on the cots, reading and drinking sodas, some of them are working out on exercise machines. They’ve set up a nice little medical clinic on the clubhouse lawn and there is a line-up of patients, most of them women and children, stretched all around the big tent housing the clinic.
From the clubhouse and the lawn on the hill, you can look down on the nine-hole course and though you can see where the golf course was, you can see it’s not a golf course any more. Nearly every open space is filled with make-shift shelters made of bed sheets and cardboard, wood and bits of plastic. There are 50,000 people squeezed into these twenty-seven hectares.
We walked down the path and came to a checkpoint asking people coming onto the course what their business was, and someone from the camp security committee was asking the same thing of the people heading the other way. They weren’t harassing anyone, past that point, there were no military to be seen, thought people told us that soldiers has kindly provided generators for the Oxfam latrines and bathing areas.
It was Sunday, so most people were relaxing, but a number of them were making the campsite a little more level using hoes and their hands. I saw people lining up for water at the Oxfam bladder, and the Oxfam latrines and bathing areas were getting steady use. Each customer got information from the volunteer monitor about keeping it clean and washing your hands.
It’s become like a small town or a city. People have set up small businesses in their shelters, there’s a barber, a hairdresser, a corner-store. There’s a shelter with a generator where you can charge your telephone. There’s even a market area where on Sunday at least, vendors are selling fruits and vegetables; cigarettes and candy; rice and candles and charcoal. It’s a city sprung up on a golf course. Happily, it’s now fairly clean of human waste, thanks to Oxfam having helped the residents build the latrines which are now dotted throughout the community, while some of them collect the trash.
You can still see where the tee-off area must have been. I asked one fellow if he had ever been on the course before the quake. His laughter was like an explosion.
“No,” he said. “It cost money.”
Nobody here had ever set foot in the place. They only got in because the earthquake knocked the wall down. I guess it was rather exclusive.
One hut had a number hanging on the front sheet: Fifty-two. There were no other numbers, so I asked the young man and he just smiled and said: “I just like the number fifty-two.”
It was a form of decoration. A way for his friends to identify the hut when they wanted to find him.
One area was left wide open and it was obvious why. What community is a community without a soccer field for the children? There was a fast and elegant game under way on a quarter-sized pitch. On the other side of the field, other children were flying kites they had made out of plastic bags, sticks and string. They were works of art, these kites, and they flew. It all seemed so pleasant and relaxed.
I asked people how long they thought they’d live there. They just shrugged their shoulders.
“My house is rubble,” was the common answer, but it always came with a smile.
These people may be suffering; their lives turned upside down; grieving for lost family members. But I didn’t see fear for the future in their faces, at least not on that sunny Sunday afternoon where for the survivors on the golf course, at least something was going right.
This is Mark Fried, from Oxfam. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Short URL: http://ipad.io/GHm
29th Jan 10 at 14:59Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
Hello this is Mark Fried of Oxfam calling from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I left off my last pod with the tantalising news that I would report next on my visit to the handicapped access latrine that Oxfam built at Petionville club golf course where there are about 50,000 people camped out on the fairway. Sadly I've not been able to get there to see it yet, but it's been described to me. It's like every other latrine except for two simple innovations. First, the door is wide enough for two people to come in, the handicapped person and the helper, and second, there are poles to hang onto and steady yourself. It's simple enough, but no one thought to do it until we asked the camp... You see so many people lost limbs in the quake that it's really needed.
What I'd like to talk about to you today is rain. A few drops fell the other night, no more than a smattering, but its got many of us wondering what would happen if we got a steady downpour. There are 100,000s of people living out of doors who have no more roof than a cotton sheet, and there's no question it would make for more misery - just think of the wet mattresses.
I asked the Oxfam public health experts and they think we have a breathing space before there are any dire consequences. The real rainy season doesn't begin until April or May, and at the rate we hope to be handing out plastic sheeting for shelter, Oxfam and the other agencies should have a decent, if temporary roof over everyone's head by then. If we fail, of course, there's likely to be a lot of diarrhea, colds and flu, and malaria - all very serious problems in a country as poor and malnourished as Haiti. Speaking of malaria, the mosquitos here are nothing like we have in Canada. They're tiny and skittish and very hard to flap. Besides malaria, cholera is another thing people thought about, but we don't think it will be such a problem because few people drink from surface water or wells which can get contaminated when rains wash human waste into the system. That's why we've concetrated first on drinking water and latrines. The people here are actually very aware of the need for water to be clean. At one site where Oxfam set up a water bladder, particularly for washing because there was another source of water on the site for drinking, people refused to drink the washing water, even though we assured that that it had been treated and was safe, because they just wanted to be sure the water was safe. People are aware of it and know what shouldn't be drunk.
Now another potential problem with the April rains is flooding. The lower reaches of the sea flood in the best of times, and now there's rubble blocking many of the national drainage channels like the roads. So clearing the rubble is a high priority for the next few months. Last night I was thinking about the rains and the dangers they might cause when I looked up, and there on the rise, an enormous fire, a mountainside burning bright in the clear night. Golly, and I thought, there is the real danger, not water but fire. Imagine these crowded camps with people cooking on open charcoal fires. Each makeshift home utterly flamable. People need decent shelter and they need it very soon. This is Mark Fried of Oxfam in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
What I'd like to talk about to you today is rain. A few drops fell the other night, no more than a smattering, but its got many of us wondering what would happen if we got a steady downpour. There are 100,000s of people living out of doors who have no more roof than a cotton sheet, and there's no question it would make for more misery - just think of the wet mattresses.
I asked the Oxfam public health experts and they think we have a breathing space before there are any dire consequences. The real rainy season doesn't begin until April or May, and at the rate we hope to be handing out plastic sheeting for shelter, Oxfam and the other agencies should have a decent, if temporary roof over everyone's head by then. If we fail, of course, there's likely to be a lot of diarrhea, colds and flu, and malaria - all very serious problems in a country as poor and malnourished as Haiti. Speaking of malaria, the mosquitos here are nothing like we have in Canada. They're tiny and skittish and very hard to flap. Besides malaria, cholera is another thing people thought about, but we don't think it will be such a problem because few people drink from surface water or wells which can get contaminated when rains wash human waste into the system. That's why we've concetrated first on drinking water and latrines. The people here are actually very aware of the need for water to be clean. At one site where Oxfam set up a water bladder, particularly for washing because there was another source of water on the site for drinking, people refused to drink the washing water, even though we assured that that it had been treated and was safe, because they just wanted to be sure the water was safe. People are aware of it and know what shouldn't be drunk.
Now another potential problem with the April rains is flooding. The lower reaches of the sea flood in the best of times, and now there's rubble blocking many of the national drainage channels like the roads. So clearing the rubble is a high priority for the next few months. Last night I was thinking about the rains and the dangers they might cause when I looked up, and there on the rise, an enormous fire, a mountainside burning bright in the clear night. Golly, and I thought, there is the real danger, not water but fire. Imagine these crowded camps with people cooking on open charcoal fires. Each makeshift home utterly flamable. People need decent shelter and they need it very soon. This is Mark Fried of Oxfam in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Short URL: http://ipad.io/GBG
26th Jan 10 at 15:35 | 2 commentsOxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
This is Mark Fried from Oxfam calling from Port-au-Prince in Haiti. I apologise for the noise but the city is noisy in the morning. As grim as things are, in the week that I've been here I guess there's been a bit of improvement. Now Oxfam is delivering clean water and sanitation to about 80,000 people and soon we're gonna reach 100,000 and people really appreciate it. Yesterday I went to visit the general hospital where Oxfam has installed a water bladder to service the kitchen, the laundry and the morgue. There are a lot of foreign personnel medical personnel there thousands of patients, thousands plus patients in tents outside. It's quite a scene but these people seem to be getting good care from the from the many medical personnel there. Unfortunately, although there were clean smocks and clean sheets now, they didn't have water. When Oxfam first arrived there a week ago there simply was nowhere to wash and nowhere to clean up at the morgue. The stench of death is still there around the morgue where bodies were piled, not yesterday, but they had been piled. The people working there were absolutely delighted to have a way to clean it up. You have no idea of how much better it is. The paving stones there are still greasy - you can see it from the piles of bodies that had been there in the sun, but the workers insist that it's just a small residue of what it was before.
One other bit of news that I'd like to share, Oxfam built a set of 30 latrines up at the golf course. There's a golf course called Petionville Club where about 45,000 to 50,000 people are camped out. We built a set of 30 latrines and one of them is specially designed for handicapped access, and I'm going to go and visit that today and will report back on that later.
For now, this is Mark Fried for Oxfam in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
One other bit of news that I'd like to share, Oxfam built a set of 30 latrines up at the golf course. There's a golf course called Petionville Club where about 45,000 to 50,000 people are camped out. We built a set of 30 latrines and one of them is specially designed for handicapped access, and I'm going to go and visit that today and will report back on that later.
For now, this is Mark Fried for Oxfam in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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24th Jan 10 at 18:06Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
This is Caroline Gluck from Oxfam in Port-au-Prince in Haiti. The Government have now officially announced that it's an end to the search for survivors of the earthquake which happened over a week ago. But ironically on the very day that the announcement was made, the news channels reported that a man was actually pulled alive out of the rubble of a hotel where he'd been living, buried by debris and collapsed building, for the past 11 days. We believe that a stage of this disaster is over - it's an end for search and rescue, and the priority now has to be one of relief and recovery, providing essential aid to the people who survived this devastating tragedy. Giving help to the survivors, people who are sleeping in vast camps outside in parks and on the streets. People who have very little shelter, maybe just a tent or a plastic sheeting for cover, people who are having trouble accessing safe, clean, drinking water, and people who are finding it very difficult to get any food. One problem has been that people don't have any money, they left their money in the houses which collapsed, or they're too scared to enter, or money is in the banks. And actually, today, going to work, we saw huge queues outside many of the banks in Port-au-Prince. The government had announced that banks would be re-opening. People were clearly very eager to get some money out and start to be able to pay for things - a lot of people must have taken out loans just to be able to get by in the last week or so, so a lot of banks opening. And people were going to be restricted to getting $2,500 dollars maximum per person.
Oxfam is continuing to step up its efforts to provide help. We're now targeting around 80,000 people in 7 camps across the city. We are distributing drinking water to people. We are very concerned that people who don't have access to clean drinking water are resorting to other measures - drinking water that isn't safe, which makes them prone to disease. We're also looking, and we've started installing, latrines in many of the camps. Waste management is clearly a serious issue. When I visited Petionville club for example, I saw people openly, in the middle of the field, go and use the toilet, in the open air a woman hitched up her skirt and croached down to urinate. I was quite shocked at this. On other occasions, women have been stripped down to their knickers taking a bucket shower. Oxfam believes that it's really essential to provide latrines and some kind of covered area where people can bathe. They can have some protection and they can have some dignity which is really essential for people, especially women, security and protection issues.
In other work we're, for example, Oxfam Quebec has been today distributing bottled water, rice and some first aid kits. We're looking at distributing some bedding this weekend and next week they're going to be issuing kitchen kits to some of the displaced communities. We're also looking at starting some quite exciting work, cash-for-work - giving money to people so that they can help to rebuild their own communities. For example, paying people to remove some of the rubble, clearing some of the market spaces, helping to dig some of the latrines, so that not only it improves the community in which they're working, but they get some money and some dignity, can start planning their future a bit more than they have been able to do at the moment.
Today was also a day of reflection for many of our staff. They went to attend the funeral of one of the Oxfam colleagues who was sadly killed in the quake. Taking buses with his family to his home town which is about 4 hours outside the capital. They haven't returned yet, but I'm sure they'll be very reflective and in quite a somber mood. Sad to say that we lost Oxfam workers in this disaster, and staff have experienced losses of homes, losses of friends and family. So while they're out and about helping people on a day-to-day basis, they're also nursing private grief and are among those suffering from the results of the quake.
So I think that's pretty much a round up of what's been going on today. Hope to join you in the future, in the coming days. This is Caroline Gluck in Port-au-Prince saying goodbye.
Oxfam is continuing to step up its efforts to provide help. We're now targeting around 80,000 people in 7 camps across the city. We are distributing drinking water to people. We are very concerned that people who don't have access to clean drinking water are resorting to other measures - drinking water that isn't safe, which makes them prone to disease. We're also looking, and we've started installing, latrines in many of the camps. Waste management is clearly a serious issue. When I visited Petionville club for example, I saw people openly, in the middle of the field, go and use the toilet, in the open air a woman hitched up her skirt and croached down to urinate. I was quite shocked at this. On other occasions, women have been stripped down to their knickers taking a bucket shower. Oxfam believes that it's really essential to provide latrines and some kind of covered area where people can bathe. They can have some protection and they can have some dignity which is really essential for people, especially women, security and protection issues.
In other work we're, for example, Oxfam Quebec has been today distributing bottled water, rice and some first aid kits. We're looking at distributing some bedding this weekend and next week they're going to be issuing kitchen kits to some of the displaced communities. We're also looking at starting some quite exciting work, cash-for-work - giving money to people so that they can help to rebuild their own communities. For example, paying people to remove some of the rubble, clearing some of the market spaces, helping to dig some of the latrines, so that not only it improves the community in which they're working, but they get some money and some dignity, can start planning their future a bit more than they have been able to do at the moment.
Today was also a day of reflection for many of our staff. They went to attend the funeral of one of the Oxfam colleagues who was sadly killed in the quake. Taking buses with his family to his home town which is about 4 hours outside the capital. They haven't returned yet, but I'm sure they'll be very reflective and in quite a somber mood. Sad to say that we lost Oxfam workers in this disaster, and staff have experienced losses of homes, losses of friends and family. So while they're out and about helping people on a day-to-day basis, they're also nursing private grief and are among those suffering from the results of the quake.
So I think that's pretty much a round up of what's been going on today. Hope to join you in the future, in the coming days. This is Caroline Gluck in Port-au-Prince saying goodbye.
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22nd Jan 10 at 09:00Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
Louis Belanger, Oxfam spokesperson. This is more of a personal podcast. I came to the general hospital in Port-au-Prince to do a quick TV interview, and I just took the occasion to walk around the hospital. I don't think I've ever seen this in my life, I mean there's hundreds of people in hospital beds with all kinds of injuries - old, young, mothers... There's quite a few visitors. I think they're trying to control that part of it. There's a lot of broken feet, a lot of people have knee(?) injuries - so either rubble fell on their legs, or they sort of ran away and stepped on something they shouldn't have. There's something to cover them, but that's pretty much it. People have a few bedsheets to cover themselves... And just a lot of people in pain. A lot of amputations that I've seen. I've seen maybe two dozens of amputations. I'm looking at a little boy now who must be, I don't know, 2 years old, with a broken arm, and his mother is feeding him. There was also people with the Red Cross who were taking a young girl away and she just held on to the doctor so that he wouldn't go away just because she really needed medical treatment. So she must have been, I don't know, 14 years old. I think both her legs were broken. I've seen a lot of newborns as well. Mothers just come to the hospital to give birth just because they didn't want to do it at home. Some are injured, but some are okay, and I'm looking at a little baby here, maybe a day or two old... The mother seems to be pretty pleased with him paying attention to her and smiling so that's good. But it's pretty heartbreaking to see people sleeping on mattresses with broken bones, and really in pain like this. There's a lot of doctors, probably not enough, and nurses that are treating people. But as soon as they see a foreigner, they think that they are doctors and they call for you to come and look at them. It seems today has been the first analysis of all of them, you know they've been looked at at least once, they all have a sheet or two of paper to have a follow up and an assessment of where the treatment has been. So, yeah, it's a difficult sight to see. The US military are at the gates, making sure that not too many people come in so that people and doctors can... so they're trying to manage visitors. You know people have one or two people next to them maximum, so it's probably their mother or their wife, or brother or sister, to try and bring them some comfort, bring them some food. So there's a huge queue outside. People seem to be a little unhappy and you can understand that, they want to bring some help to their loved ones.
So that's my podcast. Just wanted to update you. Oxfam does not provide first aid care per se, we provide water, sanitation, so it is related. These are people with serious wounds... Nonetheless I wanted to update you for today, so this is my podcast from Port-au-Prince's main hospital. Thanks.
So that's my podcast. Just wanted to update you. Oxfam does not provide first aid care per se, we provide water, sanitation, so it is related. These are people with serious wounds... Nonetheless I wanted to update you for today, so this is my podcast from Port-au-Prince's main hospital. Thanks.
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21st Jan 10 at 16:06Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
Louis Belanger, Oxfam spokesperson here in Port-au-Prince. So today we're continuing our water distribution in five sites - five sites in Port-au-Prince. By the end of this week we expect to be able to reach [around 80,000 people]... so that's good in terms of the increase of our distribution. We're continuing to assess and look at other sites to distribute water, but for now there's five main sites and work is going very well on that front.
This morning we're going to be digging latrines, so basically trenches where people can go to the toilet so that human waste is not spread all over the place so that it's contained, and we've identified sites to do that so that's what we're doing. Ideally, I think two sites, that's what we have in mind. We're working with communities in order to manage these latrines properly, so that human waste is contained and that they're being taken care of. So there's two sites that we would provide toilets to 25,000 people. You know these things are also to give privacy to people. In times of crisis I think human dignity is also very important to keep in mind.
Also what we're going to be looking at doing over the next couple of days is cash-for-work programmes. So basically organising with the local community on things that we can start doing, whether it's clearing rubbish, clearing rubble, clearing the market so that the local economy can start again - that's what we're looking at doing. So it's about 200 Gourdes per person, per day, which is more or less $5. So we're going to go and talk to the community, establish what are the needs, so whether it's rubble, whether it's clearing the markets, we're going to be busy doing that.
So this is a quick summary of what our activities are - water, latrines, and establish cash-for-work programme. Overall, the aid delivery is continuing. The challenge remains a serious one. There's tens of thousands of people out there in sites that we're going - I'm going right now to a hospital which is completely overwhelmed - and in the five sites that I've mentioned in terms of distribution, there's tens of thousands of people that are currently without shelters. So that's one thing that I think the aid community will prioritise in the next couple of days. Not only water, medication, food, but I think shelter will be prioritised.
So it remains a challenge, but as I said, we're doing all we can and Oxfam is boosting its aid effort so we're trying to stay positive and just work as hard as we can. Thank you
This morning we're going to be digging latrines, so basically trenches where people can go to the toilet so that human waste is not spread all over the place so that it's contained, and we've identified sites to do that so that's what we're doing. Ideally, I think two sites, that's what we have in mind. We're working with communities in order to manage these latrines properly, so that human waste is contained and that they're being taken care of. So there's two sites that we would provide toilets to 25,000 people. You know these things are also to give privacy to people. In times of crisis I think human dignity is also very important to keep in mind.
Also what we're going to be looking at doing over the next couple of days is cash-for-work programmes. So basically organising with the local community on things that we can start doing, whether it's clearing rubbish, clearing rubble, clearing the market so that the local economy can start again - that's what we're looking at doing. So it's about 200 Gourdes per person, per day, which is more or less $5. So we're going to go and talk to the community, establish what are the needs, so whether it's rubble, whether it's clearing the markets, we're going to be busy doing that.
So this is a quick summary of what our activities are - water, latrines, and establish cash-for-work programme. Overall, the aid delivery is continuing. The challenge remains a serious one. There's tens of thousands of people out there in sites that we're going - I'm going right now to a hospital which is completely overwhelmed - and in the five sites that I've mentioned in terms of distribution, there's tens of thousands of people that are currently without shelters. So that's one thing that I think the aid community will prioritise in the next couple of days. Not only water, medication, food, but I think shelter will be prioritised.
So it remains a challenge, but as I said, we're doing all we can and Oxfam is boosting its aid effort so we're trying to stay positive and just work as hard as we can. Thank you
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20th Jan 10 at 17:04 | 1 commentOxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
This is Louis Belanger, Oxfam spokesperson here in Port-au-Prince. This morning, you've probably heard, we were woken up by at more or less 6am, a little bit before 6am. The majority of Oxfam staff were sleeping inside, some were outside because it was raining so they came a little bit under the roof or under the patio cause a lot of them don't want to sleep in the house because they are scared of, well exactly, that the roof is going to come down and that another aftershock's going to be strong enough to make the building collapse. So everybody just got up and started running really quickly. Nobody screamed, there was no great feeling of panic, we just made sure that we got out of the house as quickly as possible and went in the small parking lot that we have. Interestingly enough, most of our engineers that have more experience in events like this, they all gathered in the middle of the room, far away from the walls, and stayed calmer than anybody else.
Caroline Gluck, another spokesperson here in Haiti, who was doing an interview live on Canadian television, who was actually reporting live on Canadian television that this was happening. So yes, a little bit of a difficult morning. We were a bit in shock, we were in disbelief, and made sure that quickly that everybody was fine. You could hear neighbours scream to get out of the house, in creole so we couldn't understand, but we made sure the neighbours were fine quickly... Then we went back and started to have breakfast slowly. But it was very frightening. I got out of my bed, mosquito net, as quickly as possible. This is what happened this morning.
Just a small report on last night. It was raining a little bit so we got a bit worried in terms of people that are sleeping outside, what conditions they were in. So we went to bed a little bit worried about the tens of thousands of Haitians that are out there. It stopped, it didn't seem to be a major issue, it's not muddy at all, so that's good news. Oxfam is continuing its water distribution. Today we're probably going to be in 5 sites in Carrefour, in Petionville. So we're going to be doing some more assessments on where and how we can boost our water distribution, as well as installing sanitation equipment such as latrines, and distributing sanitation packages to people, so with buckets and soap etc. So our team is busy, we're working hard, and that's my podcast for today. Thank you.
Caroline Gluck, another spokesperson here in Haiti, who was doing an interview live on Canadian television, who was actually reporting live on Canadian television that this was happening. So yes, a little bit of a difficult morning. We were a bit in shock, we were in disbelief, and made sure that quickly that everybody was fine. You could hear neighbours scream to get out of the house, in creole so we couldn't understand, but we made sure the neighbours were fine quickly... Then we went back and started to have breakfast slowly. But it was very frightening. I got out of my bed, mosquito net, as quickly as possible. This is what happened this morning.
Just a small report on last night. It was raining a little bit so we got a bit worried in terms of people that are sleeping outside, what conditions they were in. So we went to bed a little bit worried about the tens of thousands of Haitians that are out there. It stopped, it didn't seem to be a major issue, it's not muddy at all, so that's good news. Oxfam is continuing its water distribution. Today we're probably going to be in 5 sites in Carrefour, in Petionville. So we're going to be doing some more assessments on where and how we can boost our water distribution, as well as installing sanitation equipment such as latrines, and distributing sanitation packages to people, so with buckets and soap etc. So our team is busy, we're working hard, and that's my podcast for today. Thank you.
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20th Jan 10 at 08:47Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
Hello this is Louis Belanger, Oxfam spokesperson reporting from Port-au-Prince. So today is Tuesday, we had a good day today for Oxfam compared to yesterday. So we delivered a lot of water, we were active in three main sites across Port-au-Prince - two of them were in Petionville and one in Delmas. So it went really well. We delivered probably over 30,000 litres of water to over 3,000 people. So in the scale of things we understand that it's small, but we're dedicated to boost our water distribution. The quantity of water that we delivered to the population here that's so badly needed now, just as Oxfam, we're a big family and today was a good example of how we work together. I'll just give you an example - Oxfam Spain, so Intermon Spain, delivered the water bladder that we need to store the water, the trucks were provided by Oxfam Quebec, and the engineers, the ones that installed the entire system, were engineers provided by Oxfam Great Britain. So it just shows you how we work together. We had a tough time to start this whole operation, but now it's well underway. And today we continued with assessments - we sent more engineers, more public health officers to have a quick assessment of different sites including the epicentre of this earthquake, a town called Leogane. So we had a quick look and we're going to see if we're going to intervene and if we're going to be active in that city. So that's what our engineer and public health officer were busy doing today, trying to find more sites to make sure that we boost and increase our water delivery as well as sanitation equipment and latrines. So in terms of the aid co-ordination, I think it's improving. Communications is better, we're talking more and more to our partners and allies here in the city. So for instance, yesterday we went to visit a university campus where there's 25,000 displaced people that are currently living there, and we realise that you know, some of the agencies are already there, and providing water, so we moved on, just to give you an idea... So we go to where we think the biggest needs are, and then if other agencies co-ordinate with other agencies then we move on, and that's what we did today.
A lot of people are telling us about how scared they are, they're still frightened by what happened to them a week ago. A lot of them it's the first thing that they talk about. Of course they are hungry, of course many of them need medical assistance, but a lot of them, the first thing they tell us is that they're scared. Scared of what? Scared of going back into their houses, even though the house is still up and only damaged or one of the walls is cracked, they're just so frightened that the same thing will happen to them, whether it was their neighbours, their brother, their sister, who unfortunately didn't make it because their house collapsed. So now slowly but surely people are starting to move back into the house where they live. Unfortunately it's because of security. In these big camps at night it's pretty unsafe. As you can imagine, people are pretty desperate so a lot of people are saying that they're moving back into their houses because of security concerns, not because they feel safe. People are really living on the edge. I have to say that the Haitians, I don't know how they survive, I mean it's very impressive. They are survivors, they are fighters, they are determined to go on. You know, I'm from Canada, I wouldn't know the first thing to do if something like this would happen. But somehow these people, they keep fighting on. You can sense it in the city, you can sense the people that have made it, because there's probably over 100,000 people that didn't make it, but the people that did make it have this sort of desire to just carry on with their lives and they're quite calm. A lot of people talk about insecurity. Yes, there are some scenes of chaos and looting, but generally I think people just try to go on with their daily lives and survive. So yes, it's a homage to the people of Haiti - they're fighters, there's no doubt about that.
And one week after the earthquake, for us at Oxfam it's been difficult. We can say it's been one of the most difficult and challenging weeks in the history of Oxfam. You know we've been around for a long time, since 1942, we started delivering humanitarian assistance, and because of the logistical issues, because of the almost complete collapse of communications, because of the airport being unavailable and out of service for a good 48 hours, and because of the personal impact of this earthquake on Oxfam - we lost two colleagues, the Oxfam Country Director lost her mother, one of our buildings is gone and we lost a lot of equipment... Our spirit was affected in the first 48 hours. So all this put together, the logistical difficulties, communication, the airport not working, and then at the Oxfam level, being victims ourselves of this terrible tragedy, it's been quite a week and it's been difficult. But you know, you continue trying to boost our water delivery and our sanitation equipment as I said, we're tired, we're sleeping open air just like the Haitian people, we have a house where we're about 20-25 people, where we're lacking in electricity, where there's no internet, where the walls are cracked as well. A lot of people are sleeping outside, there's no tents, but we're dedicated people and we're going to continue fighting and working hard to get as much aid to the Haitian people who so desperately need it.
So that's my podcast for today and I will speak to you very soon. Thank you.
A lot of people are telling us about how scared they are, they're still frightened by what happened to them a week ago. A lot of them it's the first thing that they talk about. Of course they are hungry, of course many of them need medical assistance, but a lot of them, the first thing they tell us is that they're scared. Scared of what? Scared of going back into their houses, even though the house is still up and only damaged or one of the walls is cracked, they're just so frightened that the same thing will happen to them, whether it was their neighbours, their brother, their sister, who unfortunately didn't make it because their house collapsed. So now slowly but surely people are starting to move back into the house where they live. Unfortunately it's because of security. In these big camps at night it's pretty unsafe. As you can imagine, people are pretty desperate so a lot of people are saying that they're moving back into their houses because of security concerns, not because they feel safe. People are really living on the edge. I have to say that the Haitians, I don't know how they survive, I mean it's very impressive. They are survivors, they are fighters, they are determined to go on. You know, I'm from Canada, I wouldn't know the first thing to do if something like this would happen. But somehow these people, they keep fighting on. You can sense it in the city, you can sense the people that have made it, because there's probably over 100,000 people that didn't make it, but the people that did make it have this sort of desire to just carry on with their lives and they're quite calm. A lot of people talk about insecurity. Yes, there are some scenes of chaos and looting, but generally I think people just try to go on with their daily lives and survive. So yes, it's a homage to the people of Haiti - they're fighters, there's no doubt about that.
And one week after the earthquake, for us at Oxfam it's been difficult. We can say it's been one of the most difficult and challenging weeks in the history of Oxfam. You know we've been around for a long time, since 1942, we started delivering humanitarian assistance, and because of the logistical issues, because of the almost complete collapse of communications, because of the airport being unavailable and out of service for a good 48 hours, and because of the personal impact of this earthquake on Oxfam - we lost two colleagues, the Oxfam Country Director lost her mother, one of our buildings is gone and we lost a lot of equipment... Our spirit was affected in the first 48 hours. So all this put together, the logistical difficulties, communication, the airport not working, and then at the Oxfam level, being victims ourselves of this terrible tragedy, it's been quite a week and it's been difficult. But you know, you continue trying to boost our water delivery and our sanitation equipment as I said, we're tired, we're sleeping open air just like the Haitian people, we have a house where we're about 20-25 people, where we're lacking in electricity, where there's no internet, where the walls are cracked as well. A lot of people are sleeping outside, there's no tents, but we're dedicated people and we're going to continue fighting and working hard to get as much aid to the Haitian people who so desperately need it.
So that's my podcast for today and I will speak to you very soon. Thank you.
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19th Jan 10 at 08:42Oxfam International: Oxfam's Haiti response
Hello, Louis Belanger, spokesperson of Oxfam, reporting from Port-au-Prince in Haiti. Today the team of Oxfam continued its assessment in terms of looking for different locations for its water distribution. The team went to several locations just to see place where we can distribute water, where we can build latrines etc. So they went to a few neighbourhoods that were most affected. Unfortunately today Oxfam had to halt its water distributions because of the lack of fuel in Port-au-Prince and the difficulty to get it. Now, we hope to resume as soon as possible, hopefully tomorrow, on Tuesday (19th), but the fuel issue is a real concern, not only for transport because we need to transport our trucks that are full of water to water tanks that are ready to be used. But not only for that, but also for communications because everything is working on generators right now. As you know, communications were very problematic in the first three days, and it's really important that this fuel issue be tackled right away. Now, we've heard that there's a good lifeline between Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in terms of trucking in fuel. That's good news. We hope it continues and it stays that way, it cannot become a problem because you know we've got quite a bit on our hands already. Now, as I said, communication, cellphones, internet, is still pretty shaky, and that's slowing us down quite a bit - it's difficult to quickly call a colleague or an ally, whether it's an Oxfam colleague or someone from the Red Cross or ActionAid, or the UN, communication is still very difficult and people still have problems to reach each other. And that's still an issue. And we hope it resolves itself.
So as I said, Oxfam, you know, we didn't sit on our laurels today, we went out there, assessed quite a few locations, and hopefully we can resume water distributions tomorrow, or even sooner.
So there are reports that there have been some riots, but overall I haven't seen it. Oxfam... (cuts out)our team has been busy looking for(?) good locations so we can provide that water and distribute the water in the most orderly fashion. We don't want to have riots or chaotic scenes, we want to be just as efficient as possible, so that's what we're planning to do. It's still a massive challenge, it's still slow, we understand that, and as I said previously, we share the frustration. We're working hard to tackle all of the problems one by one and to ensure the population of Port-au-Prince and the outskirts get relief as quickly as possible. The airport is still an issue, we heard that aid is still laying at the airport and that the delivery is still being slow. I think this is being tackled. The shipment and the cargo from Oxfam that has arrived in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic will probably be shipped all the way here by land, just because that will be the most efficient way to ship all the humanitarian equipment all the way to Port-au-Prince.
So as I said, Oxfam, you know, we didn't sit on our laurels today, we went out there, assessed quite a few locations, and hopefully we can resume water distributions tomorrow, or even sooner.
So there are reports that there have been some riots, but overall I haven't seen it. Oxfam... (cuts out)our team has been busy looking for(?) good locations so we can provide that water and distribute the water in the most orderly fashion. We don't want to have riots or chaotic scenes, we want to be just as efficient as possible, so that's what we're planning to do. It's still a massive challenge, it's still slow, we understand that, and as I said previously, we share the frustration. We're working hard to tackle all of the problems one by one and to ensure the population of Port-au-Prince and the outskirts get relief as quickly as possible. The airport is still an issue, we heard that aid is still laying at the airport and that the delivery is still being slow. I think this is being tackled. The shipment and the cargo from Oxfam that has arrived in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic will probably be shipped all the way here by land, just because that will be the most efficient way to ship all the humanitarian equipment all the way to Port-au-Prince.
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