ADRA-UK News Update

(Photo Credit: ADRA International)

SILVER SPRING, Md.—Child survivors of the recent earthquake in Haiti continue to suffer from physical and psychological injuries caused by the ongoing crisis, making recovery for the nation’s youngest citizens even more difficult. In response, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has opened a Children’s Center that is helping Haiti’s children begin to heal.

Of the three million Haitians affected by the quake, more than one million are children, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Due to the severity of the traumatic events they have experienced, many of these children are currently suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), an illness that can cripple a person’s emotional and mental health, causing a wide range of problems, including depression, an inability to sleep, emotional numbing, violent behavior, and delayed development.

“For these children who have lost so much, so quickly, they need a place where they can feel safe, and free to express the emotions they are experiencing, if they are to heal from the psychological damages that they have sustained,” said Patricia Muller, Post-Traumatic Stress Program Coordinator for ADRA International.

To help these children, ADRA’s Post-Trauma Recovery Children’s Center, which is open five days a week, is targeting 4,000 children, or the entire population of children currently residing at the internally displaced persons camp (IDPs) located on the campus of the Adventist University of Haiti, in Carrefour. Nearly 100 volunteers are staffing the center, many of which are teachers from the local university and primary schools.

The center is divided into designated areas for the participating children, with no physical rooms due to the fear of closed spaces. One tent has been set aside for individual counseling and treatment. Participants are involved in rotating stations of various activities, including sports and recreational games, art therapy, and individual psychosocial counseling and treatment sessions, which are conducted by trained professionals.

These various activities help the children to relieve some of the stresses of their environment, and confront their experiences, which are activities essential to their long-term health. They also attend general education and health education classes, which will not only give them the skills they need to adjust to the new challenges brought on by the earthquake, but also help them to restore a sense of normalcy in their lives.

“Since the school system is not yet up and running, the children have had no organized activities,” shared Muller. “This will help to fill the gap right now, occupying their hands and minds.”

In addition, ADRA is working with unaccompanied children who are currently residing in the temporary camp, to determine whether they have been orphaned by the disaster or have simply become separated from their families.

Once their status is determined, ADRA will work with UNICEF, to determine what the next step will be for the children, explained Muller. “We want to make sure that this very vulnerable population of children receives the protection that they desperately need,” she continued.

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Source: ADRA International

(Photo Credit: Michelle Oetman/ADRA Haiti)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—The little yellow box clutched in the man’s hand could have been mistaken for a small suitcase. Despite its bright but rugged exterior, what it held inside had become, in the last two weeks, as valuable as a rare jewel.

No sooner had he jumped into the row of seats behind the two pilots, the box tucked beside him, the helicopter roared to life. Lifting from the ground of the ADRA Haiti compound in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Carrefour, the craft surged toward its destination. Every member of the team understood the urgency of delivering the box. If you didn’t know what was inside, it almost seemed ironic that all the power and expense of a helicopter had been focused just to deliver the box.

The destination of the box was the Saint Ard Hospital, a remote hospital in the mountains of Haiti. Since the earthquake several weeks ago, the staff, patients, and nearby community members had been in dire need of the pumps and tubes that were inside the yellow box. All that time they had been living without clean water. And inside the yellow box, carried so urgently and carefully in the helicopter, was a mobile water purification device, especially designed for use in difficult to reach areas. This water purifier is an efficient piece of hardware: it can run off of the energy drawn from a cigarette lighter or a car battery. Once set up, the contents of the little yellow box have the capacity to provide sufficient clean water for 330 people every eight hours.

After quickly training a local team on the maintenance and operation of the system in order to ensure its continued long-term usage, the man hopped back into the chopper to make it back to Port-au-Prince before nightfall.

Using a helicopter is not the typical method that ADRA uses to deliver aid; it was a unique gift, in fact, from Bild, a German newspaper whose aid agency, Ein Herz für Kinder, or, A Heart for Children, had contracted the helicopter to Haiti to support the work of German non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As such, in partnership with ADRA Germany, it provided free transport of humanitarian aid from ADRA to orphanages, hospitals and other isolated communities.

In recent days, the helicopter has given ADRA access to vulnerable populations in Haiti, unreachable by ground vehicles that have received little assistance particularly in places like Gonâve, an island located some 30 miles (48 km) off the coastline of Port-au-Prince. The earthquake halted transportation and commerce between the island and the Haitian mainland effectively ending the islanders’ access to outside food and work. This week the chopper has made deliveries to distressed Haitians in Gonâve, delivering 1.5 metric tons of goods such as rice, oil, sugar, corn soy blend, hygiene materials, and toilet paper to a children’s hospital in the island.

Following the extensive destruction of the capital Port-au-Prince, thousands fled into the mountains, many headed toward the southern city of Jacmel on the other side. Due to the damage of the quake, landslides and collapsed bridges, many roads that had been used for the transport of supplies became impassable for anything but donkeys. When an ADRA team first flew over the area last week, it found two large groups of displaced Haitians, approximately 500 people each, sitting on the banks of a dry river, with no supplies or support. As soon as the people saw the helicopter, they began to wave and call for help. Over the course of three airlift drops, ADRA was able to provide initial supplies amounting to approximately 2.5 metric tons of food, enough to provide them with the necessary energy to continue their journey.

The helicopter has also contributed toward the rapid transport of supplies to Petit-Goâve, a town located nearly two hours west of Port-au-Prince, by road. Aid has included rice, beans, hygiene kits, and a 1,000-gallon (3,785 liters) water tank that is being used in conjunction with a water purification system that ADRA installed at the local community hospital. All together, ADRA has brought six airlift loads to the area, totaling 4.5 metric tons of relief supplies.

This transport has worked especially well, as the helicopter can land within the ADRA compound, right in front of the warehouse, where supplies can be quickly loaded.

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Source: ADRA International

(Photo Credit: ADRA International)

The possibility of an outbreak of deadly diseases in quake-affected Haiti is growing, making the need for clean water and basic sanitation even more critical, reported the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

The number of temporary shelters, already a staple in Haiti, has increased dramatically in the aftermath of the earthquake, resulting in internally displaced people (IDPs) clustering together in open spaces, creating IDP camps that have populations reaching into the tens of thousands.

“With so many people sleeping in the streets, and impromptu temporary camps, the threat of a possible epidemic increases daily,” said Ulrick Beaussejour, sanitation coordinator for ADRA Haiti. “ADRA is providing appropriate access to clean water, and basic hygiene and sanitation facilities, to constantly improve the living environment for survivors.”

On the campus of the Adventist University of Haiti, where an estimated 15,000 survivors are currently residing, ADRA has installed 60 bathing stations for personal hygiene and 80 latrines with hundreds more in process. Beneficiaries have also received training on how to keep latrines clean and operable, adding to the sustainability of the project.

ADRA is also running a trash collection campaign at the site of the IDP camp, implementing a cash–for-work program that utilizes local volunteers to clean up the campus grounds. The first phase of this project is funded by the Florida Adventist Community Services and the Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and will run for one month. Currently, ADRA expects to run the campaign for at least three months.

“Our biggest concerns, [for the temporary camp] are to control the spread of communicable diseases,” said Sandra Golles, health coordinator for ADRA Haiti. “Providing adequate sanitation facilities and clean water is crucial in our effort to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.”

ADRA, through its partnership with Global Medic, has already distributed more than 4 million water purification tablets, which are used to prevent the use of contaminated water, for survivors, as well as oral rehydration salts, water bottles, and other water supplies. This is in addition to the 12 water points that ADRA has installed, providing clean water for approximately 55,000 Haitians.

Also, through the work of partners, such as ADRA Germany and ADRA Portugal, hundreds of thousands of survivors are also receiving access to clean water through the utilization of several water purification units, the largest of which can provide 17 gallons (or 64 liters) of water per minute.

In total, ADRA is reaching nearly 500,000 people a day with clean water.

To learn more about ADRA’s work to provide water for survivors, click here.

Preventing diseases and creating a healthy population is critical to the long-term survival of the displaced communities. In collaboration with the U.S. Public Health Service, ADRA has launched a campaign that is providing free immunization for residents of the temporary camp. The campaign seeks to provide access to vaccinations that will protect adults against tetanus and diptheria, and prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as measles, rubella, diptheria, tetanus and pertussis, also known as whooping cough, among children. Vitamin A, which helps regulate the immune system, will also be available for children, and anti-parasitic medications.

ADRA Public Health nurses are implementing the immunization campaign, with the assistance of the U.S. Public Health Service, the U.S. Navy medical teams, as well as senior medical students for the University of Haiti, and U.S. Marines, who are providing security.

The World Health Organization is providing necessary medical supplies, including vaccines, syringes, soap, cotton and other essentials.

To ensure the long-term health of residents, ADRA is also planning to provide residents with health care education, including personal hygiene, food safety, sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV, and infant and child health, building the capacity of the local population to sustain ongoing health efforts as recovery efforts continue.

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Source: ADRA International

On Haiti’s National Day of Mourning, children participate in a parade that led attendees from ADRA’s program out to their new future. Green and white balloons used in the ceremony represent hope and a future.(Michelle L. Oetman/ADRA Haiti)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—“I haven’t had any time to cry,” the young teen confided. “Until now. Today, I will cry.”

She wasn’t the only one with tears. The news carried reports that Haitian President Rene Preval also wept during the national memorial service, despite his black-clad wife’s attempts to console him. “The pain is too heavy - words cannot describe it,” Preval stated.

Many Haitians caught in the drama and trauma of the two earthquakes and multiple aftershocks that stuck last month unleashed a flood of emotions this past weekend. Overnight, Haiti became a nation described as a place, “where everyone has lost someone.” With overwhelming destruction all around them, and the weighty loss of homes, jobs, family and friends within them, it seems that only their determination and a drive for survival has kept them going. But February 12, the one-month anniversary of the earthquake, was Haiti’s National Day of Mourning, a day fashioned by the Haitian government as an opportunity for the nation to grieve and begin to heal.

Pulling onto the streets that morning, I could tell the day was different. Streets in our town, normally crowded with foot traffic and market staffs, were largely empty. People were gathered elsewhere, scattered across the city, spending the day in prayer and mourning.

In a city left decimated by the tragic events of January 12, no space is available for a large gathering. Instead, a small official ceremony was presided over by the President of Haiti and transmitted live through loudspeakers in affected neighborhoods. Others gathered near or on the rubble of their former houses of worship to honor and commemorate the lives claimed by the quake’s destruction. Other events were planned throughout the weekend.

In coordination with the Haiti Adventist University personnel and ADRA’s post-trauma team, a special program was planned that night for the more than 15,000 people living at the impromptu internally displaced persons camp that formed on the University grounds in the Carrefour neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Survivors gathered on a small plot outside the Radio Voix de l’Espérance station which sought to reach additional survivors by broadcasting the program live via radio and the Internet.

“Our program was designed as an opportunity for survivors to stop, reflect on the events of the last month and then turn with hope to the future before them,” stated Patricia Muller, ADRA’s post-tramatic stress project coordinator.

The program included a national hymn, shared experiences from three survivors, a moment of silence, choral music and comments from Marcel Mercier, chaplain of Haiti Adventist University and leader of ADRA’s post-trauma adult and family counseling team for the camp. Following the last prayer, a selection of young children raising green and white balloons symbolizing hope, and a new future, ended the ceremony with a parade that led attendees into their country’s new beginning.

With the Haitian government figures suggesting a death toll of up to 230,000, the quake toll is nearing that of the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed 250,000 people. Added to that are the 300,000 injured and one million left homeless by the quake. With figures like that, a time to mourn is imperative.

Tonight, all is not well. But over the past month, ADRA has sought to bring comfort to those who mourn by providing them with food and hygiene kits, clean drinking water, latrines, shower stations, medical facilities and health care workers.

Nothing can ever erase or replace the loss, but from the energy and faces of those leading mourners from our service, balloons tossing about in the night air, hope is rising.

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Source: ADRA International

As the rainy season in Haiti looms closer, more than 1 million displaced Haitians living in Port-au-Prince and in surrounding areas will face increased hardships unless they have access to suitable shelters, warned the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

“The upcoming torrential rains in Haiti will have a greater impact this year because so many people are living out in the open,” said Frank Teeuwen, bureau chief for Emergency Management at ADRA International. “The humanitarian situation could become exponentially worse if the issue of shelter is not resolved quickly.”

Makeshift camps are among the most vulnerable, as more than 500,000 displaced Haitians are living in often squalid conditions in temporary shelters many of them built after the January 12 earthquake using bed linen, scrap wood and metal sheeting. While access to water and food has improved among displaced populations in recent weeks, rains could negatively impact the precarious state that many families are currently in. “With the rains will come increased health and sanitation concerns,” said Kim Bolduc, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s deputy special representative to MINUSTAH, the UN’s stabilization force in Haiti.

While Haiti’s first rainy season is not officially expected until May, heavy rains could arrive as early as March. A predawn rain in Port-au-Prince yesterday already gave some early indications of the misery that regular daily rainfall could bring. According to reports, the rain soaked bedding and clothing and collapsed cardboard shacks in some areas where displaced Haitians have camped.

As part of an effort to reduce the effects of the upcoming rains, ADRA plans to deliver thousands of tarps and plastic sheeting, items that can be delivered quickly and to large numbers of people, and 900 family tents, which are suitable for accommodating a family of up to six members. These items will be provided throughout various distribution sites, including the largest displaced group that ADRA is assisting, a camp of more than 15,000 people on the campus of the Haiti Adventist University in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Carrefour.

In addition, ADRA will distribute basic household equipment and supplies in order to improve the living conditions of many people who lost their belongings during the quake. This aid includes 6,000 household kits, which comprises light blankets, tarps, a collapsible water container, a cooking pot with hand and lid, plates, spoons and mugs; 6,000 mattress pads; 500 tool kits comprising a wheelbarrow, spades, mattock, hammers and other miscellaneous tools. These will be shared between groups of households in the camps.

At present, it is estimated that between 1.1 million and 1.5 million people in Haiti lack basic shelter, according to the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA). Of that number, approximately 272,000 people have received emergency shelter support, reported the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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Source: ADRA International

As small glimpses of normalcy begin to appear in Haiti’s capital of Port-au- Prince just one month after a devastating earthquake wrecked the city and killed more than 200,000 people, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is looking at the work that will need to take place to bring short and long-term stability to the country.

“For the rebuilding of Haiti to be successful, it is vital that humanitarian organizations such as ADRA commit to being a part of that process for years to come,” says Wally Amudson, director of ADRA’s Emergency Response Center in Haiti. “The Haitian people are resilient, and we will stand with them, providing tangible support as they begin rebuilding their lives.”

Due to the nature of the Haiti quake, which caused massive urban displacement, ADRA expects to focus at first on providing more durable shelters to thousands of people in an effort to establish an increased sense of stability among displaced populations. In addition, ADRA will work to diminish vulnerability through the continued implementation of water and sanitation activities, including the building of latrines and the provision of clean drinking water, and the distribution of household items, such as cooking equipment, mattress pads, jerry cans, and tools.

ADRA’s continued efforts to create sustainable development to Haiti follow the experiences of working with communities in other parts of the world after large-scale disasters.

For several years after the 2004 Asian tsunami destroyed many coastal areas in the Indian Ocean, ADRA partnered with local communities in Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia to create new housing, water sources, income generation programs, and, in some instances, tsunami warning infrastructure. In Myanmar, after Cyclone Nargis leveled much of the Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008, ADRA began to implement projects to restore water catchment systems, housing, roads and local infrastructure, and health services in the areas worst affected.

In the following months, as the short-term initial response begins to shift toward long-term development, ADRA will continue to extend the basic services and aid that thousands of displaced survivors need. This will be crucial during the process of bridging the current emergency situation with the extended development programs that will need to happen in the future, the agency says.

To date, ADRA has distributed more than 300 tones of food, providing some 1.6 million meals. At a camp for displaced persons camp where more than 15,000 people are staying in Port-au-Prince, clean water is available through a system that provides clean water for more than 35,000 people a day. This is in addition to medical care provided at two inflatable mobile clinics, the installation of showers, latrines, and the implementation of organized trash disposal activities.

The possible spread of diseases and lack of permanent shelter continue to be of concern, which could be compounded with the upcoming rainy season. The removal of debris and the fortifying of the buildings that remain standing will be a process that may take years.

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Source: ADRA International