|
Setting up Safe Areas for Sheltered Children in Haiti
Nearly 50 Save the Children Schools Damaged by Storms — Areas Provide Protection, Place to Play While Start of School is Delayed
WESTPORT, Conn. (Sept. 15, 2008) — With tens of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged and a delay in the start of school, Haitian children may face a more lengthy stay in temporary shelters putting them at risk. Save the Children is moving quickly to set up child-friendly spaces for displaced Haitian children living in temporary shelters following a series of damaging storms that swept the country over the past month.
"While the full extent of the storm damage is not yet known, it is likely that children may be in temporary shelters for some time," said Ned Olney, head of Save the Children's humanitarian response unit. "Shelters can be frightening and chaotic places for children. Save the Children is establishing a safe area at these locations where children can play and engage in structured activities while their parents try to get their lives back on track."
The global humanitarian group today put in place a safe place for 250 children at a shelter in Jacmel in Southeast Department, and plans to establish five additional sites reaching 1,500 more children over the next few days. Child-friendly spaces provide an opportunity for children to interact with new friends, play sports and express themselves in a structured and protective environment while their parents or caretakers tend to the duties of rebuilding their lives.
Working with partners and the government, Save the Children is assessing other shelters in Gonaives and Jacmel where safe spaces may be needed, as well as programs to help trace children who were separated from their families during the storms.
Four tropical storms and hurricanes have brutally battered Haiti over the past month. Widespread flooding has displaced families across a broad swath of the country, including in the cities of Jacmel, Gonaives and Hinche, where Save the Children works. According to the Haitan government, more than 337 people have died, more than 35,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged, and more than 170,000 people have been displaced from their homes. Nearly a quarter of the displaced population is living in shelters in Gonaives.
To date, Save the Children has provided life-saving supplies, including food aid and water, to 6,500 people sheltering in Hanna and Cabaret, an area north of the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Due to the severity of the storm destruction, the government has delayed the opening of the school year until October. Save the Children supports almost 200 schools in storm-affected areas, and nearly 50 of these schools are damaged. Many schools throughout the region are sheltering displaced families.
Over the past year, Haiti has already faced critical food shortages and escalating food prices, preventing many young children from eating a proper diet and leaving them malnourished. The recent rash of storms has destroyed crops, swept away livestock and tore out irrigation and agricultural infrastructure, increasing the threat to children's health and well-being.
"The food crisis and its effect on young Haitian children have gone from bad to worse," said Olney. "Save the Children is looking at how to meet the immediate nutritional needs of children and also the long-term food security needs that were there before the storms hit."
Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1985, primarily in the Central Plateau region and the capital city of Port-au-Prince, providing health, education, protection and food security programs to vulnerable children.
Read more about Save the Children's response.
