Haiti – No. 13/2010

Geneva, 19 April 2010

General situation

In the evening of 15 April, the Senate passed a bill (already ratified by the Chamber of Deputies in March) extending by 18 months the post-earthquake State of Emergency and the establishment of the Interim Committee for the Reconstruction of Haiti (CIRH).

The country is currently experiencing a fuel shortage following an incident at the port of embarkation of Antigua. This might hamper delivery of emergency assistance.

From OCHA Sitrep 12 April

• There are 1373 settlement sites identified in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Leogane, Petit and Grande Goave, which is higher than initial estimates. Of these identified, only 289 had camp management agencies present, registering an overall coverage rate of 21%. Some 411,090 households (2,090,877 individuals) are estimated to be displaced.

• The shelter cluster remains on target for delivering two tarpaulins per family by 01 May. Cluster members have reached over 90% of the known caseload of 1.5 million people needing emergency shelter materials.

• As of 5 April, 1,857,372 beneficiaries had received assistance by WFP through the general food

distribution (GFD) since 6 March, reaching a total of 16,345 metric tonnes (MT).

• FAO and partners have distributed seeds and tools to over 9000 farming families in the earthquake affected communes of Leogane, Petit Goave, Grand Goave, Gressier, Jacmel, Cayes Jacmel and

Marigot.

• The official date for the reopening of schools in the areas most affected by the earthquake in the

West Department was 5 April. The reopening is being done progressively with UNICEF supporting the Ministry of Education to reopen a first phase of 611 priority schools benefiting 200,000 children.

• Health partners are reporting an increase in suspected malaria. In view of the rainy season, long lasting bed nets are required for 1.4 million people. About 937,000 have been ordered and

distributions are ongoing.

Information on ACT members by sectors:

Psychosocial: In Leogane, the LWF psychosocial program conducted three day training sessions for 25 young people to create awareness on psychosocial symptoms and how these can be dealt with. In another FCA/LWF workshop, 65 teachers from three schools were trained on psychosocial awareness. More than 100 families attended an awareness session in Darbone, on how to give special attention to their children following the earthquake. NCA psychosocial team conducted training of the Viva Rio Brigade in Child Protection. Topics included trafficking, child abductions, selling of children and related issues. The team also conducted training of the Brigade in Sexual Gender Based Violence.

Staff care: The staff officer is an external resource available for all ACT members, with the objective of giving psychological support, assessing the need for further staff care and helping build up internal structures for staff care. Meetings have taken place with some of the ACT members. Further work is planned with, amongst others: Service Chrétien d’Haiti, NCA, MOFECS, CA, LWF and Viva Rio. Staff care support consists of counselling session with the Staff Care officer, in groups or individually, group activities raising awareness off stress, trauma, reactions and coping mechanisms. Activities for the children of LWF staff were conducted last Saturday at the beach, a follow up will take place the 1  May. Networking with Haitian psychologists is being carried out in order to find places for referral.

Quality and Accountability: ICCO&KIA and Christian Aid have contacted the HAP team to organize a one-day training for three partners. LWF new staff will also join a HAP training. NCA and its partners Viva Rio, MISSEH and MOFEC will have a three-day program with the HAP team, which will include an introductory training and a project visit leading to feed-back and recommendation.

Communication: Maria Halava is now in Haiti to work as a Communication/Advocacy advisor. She will meet with ACT members in next Forum meeting to discuss needs and expectations and develop a work plan for her three month stay.

Specific Reports from ACT Members and Partners

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)

CRWRC has continued its focus on towns / communities in the Leogane area.

Surveying and Community Relations

• The towns of Masson, Luitor, Flon (the area around the ICTA school) and Macombe have been surveyed in order to construct distribution lists and provide information on people and families living there. Information includes housing, occupations, schooling and the food situation before and after the earthquake and will be used for the delivery of the program objectives.
• Advisory Community Committees have been formed in each town and will work closely with the CRWRC team in delivering the program. They have been essential in providing advice and assistance in all aspects of the project. Members of the town have been organized and have volunteered many hours to complete surveys and distributions.

Non Food Items and Emergency Shelter

• Tarps have been distributed to Masson, Luitor/ICTA and Macombe.
• Cash grants of $100/family of five for household and hygiene items will occur once payment arrangements have been verified.

Shelter – Transitional Housing and Housing Assessments

• The houses in the above towns will be assessed by a house inspection team and followed up with an engineer inspection for some of the identified homes. This inspection has already been carried out in Masson and will continue in Luitor and Flon this week with Macombe to follow. The inspected houses in Masson will be color coded: Green – no repair; Yellow – some repair but liveable; Orange – major repair/not liveable; and Red – totally destroyed.
• Rubble clearing has begun by the beneficiaries using a tool loaning system organized by the Masson Advisory Committee which is made up of members of two CBOs active in Masson.  Tools provided by CRWRC include wheel-barrows, pickaxes, sledge hammers, shovels, work gloves and masks.
• Transitional houses are currently being constructed by Maxima according to CRWRC specifications. The installation of these homes in Masson to identified beneficiaries will be undertaken by our construction team lead along with students from the ICTA campus and local masons and carpenters.

Water and Sanitation

• WASH projects include the completion of three temporary latrines and five wells. Permanent latrines are currently being constructed with toilets and washing facilities for both men and women.
• Four wells have been completed and are currently being tested as to quality. The WASH team will extend the pump concrete slap for more efficient use of villagers. A local committee will be trained in the care of both latrines and wells.

Food Distribution

• Masson has received two food distributions and Luitor/ICTA has received one food distribution so far. A food distribution is anticipated in Macombe in the next week or two with funding provided by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank

Church World Service (CWS)

Direct Services, Capacity Building and Advocacy for the inclusion of Peoples with Disabilities:

Direct Services: 236 new beneficiaries have been enrolled in the program from Port-au-Prince, Petion-Ville, Delmas, Tabarre, Cité Soleil and Croix de Bouquet, totalling 341 beneficiaries to date of a target of 600 for this semester. Target expected to be met by the end of April. Among the 236 new beneficiaries, 117 are men and 119 women, with 71 beneficiaries who became handicapped after the earthquake. Beneficiaries will receive case management and cash for a total of six months. Out of the first 105 cases admitted in March, there are reported cases of beneficiaries – especially women- using part of the cash voucher to start small commerce.

Quick Livelihood Recovery: CWS and partner SCH are finalizing the terms of reference and guidelines for the “Tools and Support for Quick Economic Recovery” component of the program, consisting in small grants to eligible PWD and/or a family member who lost all or part of their tools and working capital because of the January 12 earthquake.

Education: With the beginning of the school year, and in coordination with the Government of Haiti´s Secretary of State for the Disabled People, 1000 CWS school stationery kits will be distributed in local schools and centers.

Local Capacity Building: The first two training sessions of the course on sign language were held for the 18 program field staff and volunteers. Future training opportunities on a variety of topics will be open to ACT Alliance members and partners, the Secretary of State for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities and representatives of Haitian PWD NGOs. So far, program monitors have received training on psychosocial, physiotherapy and rehabilitation and the Code of Conduct.

Advocacy and Awareness raising: In recognition of the work done since January 12, partner SCH was invited and attended the first Government of Haiti-sponsored meeting with Haitian PWD organizations to discuss their needs, challenges and explore collaboration opportunities and coordination needs in view of the massive reconstruction efforts going on in the country.

The program´s staff team and some beneficiaries met with and received encouragement from members of the pastoral accompaniment team of the United Church of Canada.

Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH)

As of April 6, DKH had completed the distribution of tents and NFI sets to a total of 700 families in the town of Jacmel (zones 3 and 4) and to 1197 families in the commune of Bainet.

In order to lead the discussions in the Shelter Cluster in Jacmel towards permanent housing options DKH has constructed two model houses – one wooden structure (25m2), one concrete block structure (23m2). Both feature earthquake and hurricane resistant construction techniques. By the end of April the construction of 134 houses in rural section of the Commune Bainet will start. A third model house for urban settings will be constructed during the month of April in collaboration with DKH partner organization Paz y Esperanza from Peru. In parallel 134 houses are being rehabilitated in Bainet.

In Jacmel a cash for work project is ongoing, targeting the demolition and clearing of rubbles of a total of 250 houses in the zones 3 and 4. Zone 4 is currently prioritized as the space of the camp Wolf I, located in the yard of a school, with a total of 213 families has to be liberated in order to facilitate the restart of the school as soon as possible. So far the spaces of 58 houses have been cleared.

The activities in the context of the ACT appeal are also ongoing. As of now the documentation of property has been received for 216 houses (total target up to 300) and official authorization from the Mayor’s office for the rehabilitation has been given for 84 houses. A total of 15 houses have been completed so far and the families have been invited to move back to their houses. As to the rehabilitation of schools, DKH has received a list from the Department of Education giving the details on the level of damage of the school buildings in the southeast. Currently the technical team is visiting different school buildings to calculate costs for rehabilitation.

ICCO&Kerk in Actie`s coordinates with its regular local partner organizations and with international NGOs, for the early response and rehabilitation phases.

Early response:

Adventist Development and Relief Agency - Since January, ICCO&KiA`s partner has been providing assistance to 6,000 families of the campus of the Haiti Adventist University and the Adventist Hospital of Haiti and its surrounding area, in Carrefour City, Port-au-Prince. It provided food and non food items, water supply, sanitation, hygiene kits, health care and also made available shelters for 1800 of these families.

The Salvation Army - It concentrates its main activities in St Martin area, close to the National Palace in Port-au-Prince. It provided food, water, medical services and general care for 12,000 people and a first kit of 200 family tents.

ICCO&KiA`s local partners – In coordination with other INGOs, the partners affected by the earthquake are being assisted in the recovery of their working capacities: equipments for offices and/or solidarity funds for the staff (ITECA, KORAL, SCH, POZ, POHDH, GARR, GRAMIR, RNDDH, FPH).

Rehabilitation: With its regular local partners, ICCO&KiA concentrates efforts on the analysis and understanding of the changing context in the rural and urban areas and the identification of the needs of the population, affected directly or indirectly by the earthquake. ICCO&KiA partners are identifying interventions in the sectors of food security, human rights, water, sanitation and hygiene, temporary shelter and cash based interventions in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, Jacmel and other rural and semi-urban zones.

International Orthodox Christian Charities

IOCC has dispatched Mark Gruin on April 8^th for a 2-3 month assignment in Port-au-Prince.  He will work closely with the two Orthodox Church communities in Haiti – the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia (ROCOR) and the Greek Orthodox Church (GOC) – to help identify and facilitate capacity building initiatives and long term recovery needs. He will also work closely with ACT Alliance members and local partners to continue IOCC's support to the broader recovery and renewal efforts in Haiti.

Despite serious losses to life amongst their congregations and damage to their facilities in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Jacmel and Les Cayes, the Orthodox Churches in Haiti, with support from IOCC, continue to be active in providing emergency distribution of food, health and hygiene supplies and other critical human needs. The ROCOR school for mentally challenged children in Fontamara serving 150 children, has re-opened in temporary (tents) facilities adjacent to its badly damaged school complex.

IOCC has delivered more than $2.7 million in immediate relief to Haitians since the earthquake. Medicines, medical equipment, water purification and sanitation equipment, tents, hygiene kits, shelter materials, fuel, food, blankets, jerry cans for water and mattresses have been shipped and distributed in Haiti in cooperation with Orthodox Christian partners, ACT Alliance members and other partners.

Lutheran World Federation (LWF)

LWF continues to participate with the Technical Working Groups (TWIG) discussions, especially on Shelter and Advocacy. The development of basic Permanent Shelter models in kit-form is being worked on in consultation with other partners, including ACT Alliance members.

An assessment is being carried out in the two camps of Nerette and St Therese to find out information on possibilities for relocation of the camp residents back to their properties or to a possible new settlement site.

LWF has established a new partnership with ITECA, a local organization working closely with grassroots associations at Ti-Boucan (Gressier). Under the agreement seed distribution has now started to 1550 families. Many of these families are host families to people displaced after the earthquake.

A similar agreement has been signed with CODAB, one of LWF’s longstanding partners, for the distribution of seeds to 900 farmers in the area of Thiotte and Foret des Pins.

For the Petit Goave area, LWF has placed an order for seeds (maize and beans) to be distributed to 1500 families. LWF will make use of the services of local farmer associations for the selection of the farmers and to organize the distribution.

LWF has started to implement cash for work activities: sites and specific activities have been determined in close consultation with community leaders and authorities as well as partner organizations to ensure appropriate intervention in the areas of operation;

• Macaya: 206 persons working in soil conservation
• Thiotte: 362 persons working in soil conservation
• Port au Prince: 112 persons cleaning drains in and around the St Therese et Nerette camps with a total population of 1919 families

Distributions of family kits (1 mattress, 2 blankets, 1 mosquito net and 5kg rice per family) has started and 2270 kits have been distributed at Nerette, Ste Therese and Vaudreuil. The remaining 9430 kits will be distributed to needy families in Petit Goave, Leogane and Grand Goave before the end of this month. In these areas LWF has contracted the services of a local counterpart, RNDDH, an organization with a focus on human rights.

A contract was signed securing a 10 year lease on a 2500 m2 plot of land in Leogane for the construction of the LWF Operational Base.

The acute shortage of fuel is slowing down the operations, as vehicles have to queue up for a long time to get fuel. Alternative ways of fuel supply for LWF is being looked into.

Lutheran World Federation (LWF)/Finn Church Aid (FCA)

Two of the largest schools were opened this week in Leogane (15 tents erected). Seven more tents have been put up at two other schools in the area of Leogane and Grand Goave for schools that will open next week. FCA/LWF received school kits, teacher kits, and recreation kits from UNICEF for seven schools, which are being distributed. A school has also been opened in Nerette (an IDP camp in Petionville) serving 250 children.

Norwegian Church Aid:

NCA has seven working desks in the new ACT office, and permanent staff will gradually be coming in to take over from the emergency staff now working in Haiti. NCA plans to hire six persons for the next 12 months at the least. Emergency staff will still be engaged in Haiti according to need.

The Norwegian Minister of Development and Environment, Erik Solheim, visited Haiti from 5-7 April. The Minister was accompanied to Haiti by the Norwegian Ambassador to Venezuela as well as the Director of International Programs in NCA, Anne Kristin Sydnes. The delegation visited the Viva Rio activity centre in Kay Nou, and met with the Brigade and local leaders. Also on the program was music, dance, capoeira, and inspection of the camp and installations.

Some elements from the work carried out by NCA and partners in Haiti:

NCA psychosocial team conducted training of the Viva Rio Brigade in Child Protection. Topics discussed were trafficking, child abductions, selling of children and related issues. The team also conducted training of the Brigade in Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV), covering main topics such as sexuality and health, sexually transmitted diseases, and birth control.

Viva Rio works in 86 different locations, 32 camps and 54 communities. They have built latrines in 43 locations, and deliver water in 47 locations. They have completed 131 latrines in the past week, bringing the total up to 437.

Viva Rio has distributed a total of 90,000 liters of water per day this week.

Nine Viva Rio Brigade members (Security & Access Control Group) have been given awareness training concerning sexual abuse in the camps.

Viva Rio’s Hygiene Promoter conducted a seminar for community mobilizers with a total of 22 participants (16 women and 6 men) divided into two groups, each group having a two-day seminar.

The Kay Nou camp has been closed down and all families have been repatriated to their home bases. Programs have been implemented by Viva Rio to register the new locations of those who have moved out of the camp, including mapping of the most vulnerable for future support. All received incentives for moving out.

NCA/MOFECS distribute approximately 25.000 liters of water per day.

14 MOFECS camp committee members were given awareness training concerning sexual abuse in the camps. Discussion groups with the nine female monitors were held after the training.

MOFECS has distributed baby kits and jerry cans to camp members.

CA has conducted training for 11 MISSEH monitors on sexual abuse in the camps. Discussion groups with the five female monitors were held after the training.

Please refer to previous sitreps for more information on the entire ACT Response, as well as the ACT Appeal HTI101.

The next sitrep will be issued on 3 May. Updates to be sent by 29 April to Geneviève Cyvoct at act.haiti@yahoo.com

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Chief Finance Officer (jkg@actalliance.org).

Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Deputy General Secretary, Jill Hawkey (phone +41 22 791 6069) or (mobile phone +41 79 376 1711)
ACT Program Officer, Michael Zschiegner, (phone +41 22 791 6420 or mobile phone +41 79 608 8133)

ACT Web Site address: http://www.actalliance.org / act-intl.org (until new site is fully operational)