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Save the Children Responds to Needs of Children in Storm-Ravaged Haiti
Tropical Storm Hanna Brings Heavy Flooding to Gonaïves and Jacmel, Damages School Buildings, Delays School Year
WESTPORT, Conn. (Sept. 5, 2008) — Save the Children is assisting children and families affected by extreme weather in Haiti, which has seen landfall of three tropical storms since the middle of August.
Haiti was struck by Tropical Storm Fay on Aug.15 and 16; by Hurricane Gustav on Aug. 26; and by Tropical Storm Hanna, which brought additional high winds and rain, beginning Sept. 1. The government of Haiti has announced that approximately 250,000 people have been affected by Tropical Storm Hanna, with 60,000 currently in shelters. This follows the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Gustav, which affected 100,000 people. More than 15,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Extensive heavy flooding was reported in the following cities where Save the Children provides programs: Jacmel, Gonaïves and Hinche. The situation is particularly serious in Gonaïves, where flooding has paralyzed the city. Save the Children is sending a team to Gonaïves this weekend to assess immediate needs and plan for a long-term response.
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Families leave city of Gonaïves after flooding. Sept.3, 2008. REUTERS/Logan Abassi/Minustah |
Save the Children is working to reach displaced children residing in shelters in Gonaïves and Jacmal. The agency will establish 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.
Ned Olney, head of Save the Children's humanitarian response unit said, "In this very uncertain environment, children are at great risk — but their needs are often overlooked in the chaos of the emergency.
He added, "Save the Children will work to ensure that children are protected, engaged and have the space to just be children while their parents go about the business of rebuilding their lives."
Save the Children’s response also will emphasize meeting the educational needs of children. As of close of business on Friday, Sept.5, the Ministry of Education had yet to make a final decision on delaying the school year, which officially begins Monday, Sept.8, as many school buildings have been damaged and are in use as temporary shelters. Authorities in Jacmel have already delayed the start of the school year until early October.
Out of the more than 150 schools that Save the Children works with directly in the storm-affected areas, 16 have reported structural damage. In addition, many parents have lost their means of making a living and lack the funds to pay tuition.
Background
Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1985. Of all the nations in the Western Hemisphere, none faces greater challenges to improve the lives of its children than Haiti. In addition to its poor development indicators, Haiti is the country most affected by HIV/AIDS outside of sub-Saharan Africa, which aggravates the well-being of children whose health is already compromised by poverty and inadequate access to basic health care.
