On Tuesday, I posted some suggestions for
how people could help the victims of Hurricane Sandy here in the United
States. I neglected to mention the horrific suffering in impoverished
Haiti, which was pummeled by Sandy’s devastating trajectory before she
hit US shores.
Three days of fierce rain and wind flooded about 100 camps where some 325,000 people, still homeless from the 2010 earthquake,
continue to live. Tents and other makeshift shelters were inundated by
water, poorly maintained latrines overflowed, stored food was ruined and
garbage and waste were strewn everywhere.
The storm also ravaged the Haitian countryside, massively destroying
crops, which will likely send food prices skyrocketing, making it even
more difficult for Haitians who are already struggling to feed their
families. Jean Debalio Jean-Jacques, Head of the Department of
Agriculture, estimates
that Sandy destroyed 70 percent of crops in southern Haiti and caused
significant livestock losses. Johan Peleman, the head of the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ in Haiti, said that “there are approximately 1.2 million people who are facing food insecurity in the country.”
As the massive relief and recovery effort forges ahead in the US, the stalwart NGO the International Rescue Committee is acting fast in Haiti, where hundreds of thousands of people still living in tent camps are in desperate need of help.
The IRC
has been on the ground doing critical work in Haiti since the
devastating January, 2010 earthquake destroyed huge swathes of the
country. In the last few days, with limited resources, the organization
has provided emergency kits with shelter materials and hygiene items to
4,200 victims of the storm and distributions continue apace.
Donate now to support relief efforts in Haiti focused on the most vulnerable populations and check out and share this list of non-financial ways you can support the IRC’s work.