Mary’s Meals is helping victims of the Haiti earthquake in Cite Soleil, a slum outside Port au Prince, and in schools and an orphanage in the country’s central region.
Mary’s Meals has been working in Haiti since 2006 and, at the time of the earthquake, was providing over 12,000 children with a daily meal in school.
We are working with Hands Together, our friends and partners in Haiti to support those affected by the earthquake, rebuilding schools, restarting school feeding projects and extending support to those in need, for example by providing displaced people in Delmas, Leogane and Cite Soleil with immediate relief in the form of food aid, fresh water and tents.
Read our Six Months On update and Communications from the field and see Chris Leslie’s photo gallery.
Doug Campbell, our partner in Haiti, explains the scale of the task ahead: “Recovery will take years,” he says. “but every gift we’ve received will contribute to the painstaking rebuilding of our schools and pr
ogrammes.”
Mary’s Meals’ first priority is to provide children with a meal a day in their place of education. In the midst of continuing chaos, school remains a place of safety and stability where pupils know they will receive education and something nutritious to eat.
Some of the schools where Mary’s Meals operated before the earthquake have re-opened, and pupils, such as those at St Margaret’s and St Joseph’s, are receiving a daily meal of rice and stew. On other sites there remains a lot of work to do, but pupils whose schools have not re-opened are being accommodated elsewhere.
The large St Francois de Sales campus was one of the most severely affected by the earthquake, suffering serious structural damage. Though repairing the building will be a long term job, the space that was once a basketball court has been put to good use in the meantime, serving as the site for temporary classrooms/dining rooms.
Our approach to rebuilding in Cite Soleil relies on the contribution of local people, and the community benefits from the employment opportunities, as well as the end result. “Much of the work and recovery, we feel, should remain in the hands of the people most damaged,” explains Doug.
“We will not deny Haitian residents the chance to earn income and rebuild their own homes and neighbourhoods. We use local workers in all our projects.”
Because schools play such a central role in the community, they have become the base for outreach work that benefits adults as well. Clinics have been operating from school sites and our school kitchens also provide daily meals for more than 2,000 elderly people, many of whom miss out on the help provided by other aid organisations.
Health care remains an urgent need in Haiti, with many of the injuries caused by the earthquake still requiring treatment. The unsanitary conditions in the tent cities add to risks that were considerable even before.
Mary’s Meals has supported medical care from the start of the emergency, supplying plane-loads of equipment for hospitals and clinics. As travelling to hospital for treatment is difficult or impossible for many people, we have bought a ‘mobile medical bus’ which means care can be taken to right to those who need it.
From the proceeds of coffee mornings, concerts and sponsored runs, to personal donations, pocket money and birthday gifts, we were able begin working in Haiti thanks to the generosity of our supporters, and our work only continues because of your ongoing efforts to help. On behalf of our friends in Haiti, thank you.
What we are doing
● Providing a meal a day in school (in temporary classrooms in some cases) for thousands of children.
● Helping to construct temporary classrooms so that education can continue while long-term rebuilding takes place.
● Making regular deliveries of clean water to the people of Cite Soleil.
● Providing parcels of food to vulnerable elderly people in Cite Soleil and the tent cities around Port au Prince.
● Providing employment and resources to help Haitians who are rebuilding schools.
● Funding a mobile clinic based in Cite Soleil.
● Providing simple shelters for those who have no home.
● Providing transport for those who are delivering aid.
● Sending school backpacks full of resources to help children to access education.
What we have done
● Provided food, clothing and hygiene kits for families who fled to Hinche from Port au Prince.
● Helped 500 displaced people in Hinche to relocate to their home town.
● Delivered urgently needed medical supplies to Hinche hospital
● Delivered urgently needed medical supplies to a clinic in Cite Soleil, Port au Prince.
What we hope to do
● Rebuild damaged school buildings so that they are strong, safe and secure.
● Provide more children in Haiti with a meal a day in their place of education.
Magnus’s visit to Cite Soleil on 7 July 2010
