It is all too easy to forget about humanitarian disasters once they have disappeared from our newspaper headlines. But six months on from the earthquake that caused such devastation in Haiti, Plan is continuing to play a key part in the relief effort and remains committed to making a long term contribution to ensure the country emerges from the disaster even stronger than it was before.

Education

Against this background some schools have reopened. Plan has run campaigns to encourage parents and teachers to prioritise education, set up temporary schools and trained teachers to provide additional support for children who have been traumatized by the earthquake.

Plan’s design for transitional schools was recently endorsed and approved by the Haitian Ministry of Education. We are continuing to set up temporary school tents as the materials for transitional schools are being readied. Over the past month, this work has meant almost 6,000 students could go to school.

Plan is working with other organisations to ensure early years education will be provided in the new camps to which people are being relocated in advance of the rainy season.

Protection and health

An increasing number of ‘child-friendly spaces’ are being established to give children a place to play and engage in social activities with their peers. Plan is working in partnership with other organizations to raise awareness in camp sites and communities about the threat of child trafficking.

Plan is also involved in projects focusing on violence against women and environmental hygiene, particularly in the camps.

Plan has improved families’ livelihoods through Cash for Work programmes. Work activities have included clearing of waste disposal and irrigation canals; preparation of sites for temporary school classrooms; road repair and building latrines.

Plan has set up around 100 mobile clinics which have provided consultations and immunisations where required for over 6,000 adults and over 25,000 children.

Psycho-social support

Plan has provided training in the provision of psycho-social support for school directors, teachers, Plan Haiti staff, staff of Plan Haiti partner organisations, and youth volunteers working in our child friendly spaces.

Our successful partnership with Clowns Without Borders reached more than 6,000 children through over 20 performances at camp sites, schools, and community centres. A second phase of performances is planned for June.

Future resilience

Plan is working with other organisations to ensure emphasis is given to improving Haiti’s ability to prevent and survive disasters – by building disaster-resilient school structures; encouraging school contingency planning; raising awareness at the community/camp level; supporting capacity-building of relevant government departments; and lobbying the Government to make disaster risk reduction a part of the school curriculum.

Hurricane Season

Adequate shelter remains an urgent need ahead of the rainy and hurricane seasons. People in vulnerable camps may return home if their house or building has been declared safe by United Nations experts or stay with host families, where possible. Otherwise they will need to be moved to a camp in a safer location.

Hopeful

Although there still remains a lot of work to be done, with Plan’s help, life for many people in Haiti is beginning to return to normal. While many lives have been irrevocably damaged by the disaster, there is a renewed sense of hope in Haiti that the country can be rebuilt in a way that will provide a brighter future for its people. The children of Haiti will be key to this future, and their voices must be heard in the rebuilding process if the country is going to be united in its efforts to forge a promising future.

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