GlobalGiving.org: Save the Children Races to Children & Families

The Disaster’s Impact on Save the Children

Megan McLain — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:42:58 GMT

Susan Warner / Save the Children

The earthquake had a profound impact for Save the Children, which has worked continuously in Haiti since 1978. On the afternoon of the disaster, we had approximately 160 national and international staff conducting development programs in health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, education, child protection and emergency relief during Haiti’s frequent floods and storms. The urgent needs created by the earthquake required Save the Children to quickly initiate what became our largest humanitarian aid mission to date in the Western Hemisphere. By June 2010, there were some 1,200 staff, the vast majority of whom were working on relief and recovery programs.

As of June 2011, our Haitian staff numbered 757. While some will be leaving the agency as grant-funded programs end, there will be approximately 430 national and international staff at the end of this year—more than double the number prior to the earthquake.

Save the Children’s reach has also grown. In 2009, some 1.6 million Haitians directly or indirectly benefited from our work. In 2010, with much of our attention focused on the earthquake, we reached 2.1 million children and adults through earthquake relief; relief for those affected by a late-season tropical storm; responses to the cholera epidemic; and through development programs that were restarted. We are also now in the second year of a five-year earthquake recovery initiative focusing on education, health, nutrition and child protection to benefit 1 million children and adults.

With more staff in place, Save the Children seeks to take advantage of this opportunity and provide training to improve the effectiveness of our programs and the required support services and increasingly nationalize our workforce. This not only addresses the very real needs of our Haitian staff today in terms of building their skills and leadership, but reflects Save the Children’s global commitment to sustainability, local participation and the long-term development of civil societies by creating talent pools of trained and skilled national staff wherever we work.

Links:

Visit our website to learn more

Quality Education and Safer Schools in Haiti

Megan McLain — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:03:48 GMT

Raising the quality of education and constructing safer schools for Haiti's children are at the center of Save the Children's plans for creating lasting change.

The Institut Abellard in Léogâne is a model of innovative construction techniques that make the school structure more hurricane and earthquake-resistant and therefore safer for the children who learn within its walls. This school is the first of its kind and serves as an example of best practices of design and construction. The techniques have been studied by both private builders and non-governmental organizations as a prototype for building other schools around the country.

Attached please find Save the Children's most recent report on education and school construction programs in Haiti.

Links:

Learn more about Save the Children's work in Haiti

Attachments:

Haiti_Education_Newsletter_201104.pdf (PDF)

Haiti’s Children One Year Later: A Country at a Crossroads

Megan McLain — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:01:49 GMT

One year after the historic Haitian earthquake, Save the Children is grateful to our global donors for their compassion and generosity in supporting the organization’s immediate relief and recovery efforts for Haitian children and their families. From the in-country teams to Save the Children staff around the world, we are thankful for your support and desire to help the people of Haiti. Your contributions have enabled Save the Children to mount and now sustain the largest humanitarian aid response in the Western Hemisphere in the agency’s 91-year history.

Below please find a link to Save the Children’s report, Haiti’s Children One Year Later: A Country at a Crossroads.

Links:

Watch a video of Save the Children's work in Haiti

Attachments:

Save the Children - Haiti one year report (PDF)

Update on Save the Children's programs in Haiti

Megan McLain — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:41:07 GMT

Haiti: Gaston Margron camp

Since the epic earthquake in Haiti, Save the Children has worked nonstop to alleviate children’s suffering and ensure their well-being.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, nearly 490 children who were separated from their families were provided with family tracing, reunification, or mediation support.
Nearly 10,000 children have attended Child Friendly Spaces, where they could play, learn, and develop in a protective environment.
Over 43,440 children are learning in temporary classrooms.
Nearly 31,250 children and members of their families received tents, plastic sheeting, shelter kits and other non-food items to set up temporary shelters.
Young children are regularly screened and treated for malnourishment.
We are combating the spread of cholera in camps of earthquake-displaced families.

Rachelle’s story: Haiti

In the ”baby tent,” established by Save the Children in Leogane, Haiti, one-month-old infant twins and their mother, Rachelle, have a quiet and safe place to breastfeed, an oasis from the crowded camp outside. “It’s my first time here, and I am hoping to receive some advice for taking care of my babies,” said Rachelle. “I am not getting enough to eat and I need support as these are my first children.” In addition to providing a protected place, the tents serve as a center for breastfeeding support groups as many mothers are having difficulty feeding their infants since the quake. Tent staff also monitor and treat children with acute malnutrition.

As in any emergency, infants and young children are the most vulnerable survivors of the disaster in Haiti. Breastfeeding is an affordable and vital way to help keep them alive and healthy.

Rachelle: Leogane, Haiti

Links:

Learn more about Save the Children's mission and programs

Taking Education Forward in Haiti

Michael Vanasse — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:51:55 GMT

"Ecole Eddy Pascal Takes Education Forward"

Ecole Eddy Pascal was a cornerstone of the local community in Carrefour, Haiti, for over 25 years. Housed in an imposing three-story building, Ecole Eddy Pascal offered elementary and secondary school, classes for adults and a cultural club for the community. But the facility collapsed on January 12, and the school director, Eddy Pascal himself, began searching for a way to start over.

"The first thing we did was ask parents what they had and what they could contribute," he said. "But then Save the Children arrived and gave us exactly what we needed."

Soon there were tents for classrooms, blackboards, equipment and supplies. Children received school kits including a backpack, notebooks and writing utensils. Save the Children has also been training the teachers on how to help children cope with the emotional stress children have suffered from the earthquake. In addition, teachers are coached on how to handle aftershocks that might occur during school hours, making them better prepared to respond in an emergency situation.

"I'm very happy for the opportunity to participate in the trainings," says teacher Jean-Joab. "Psychologically we are much more prepared now."

Jean-Joab hopes the children will be able to move forward despite the suffering they have experienced and the challenges they continue to face. He continues, "I want the children to be able to live their lives with the tools they gain here so that education is practical for their lives. I am much more patient now. We have just come out of a nightmare."

"Making a Home for the School: Cash-for-Work and Education Working Together"

When the January 12 earthquake completely destroyed the Ecole Mixte Etzer Vilaire des Orangers in Jacmel, Haiti, School Director Joseph Constant was devastated. The remnants of the foundation are the only evidence the school ever even existed. Fortunately school had ended by the time the earthquake hit, and no one was hurt. "I thought there was no way school could continue," Mr. Constant explains, "but I knew we had to find a way to prevent the children from slipping in their studies. So now we have a friendship with Save the Children."

In addition to clearing an area for a temporary school through a cash-for-work program, Save the Children provided tents, benches, blackboards, and a school kit for children including a backpack, writing utensils and a workbook. Local community members who were engaged in the cash-for-work program also set up the tents and cleared the rubble from the former school location. They are now working to prepare the new school site.

Participants in the cash-for-work program are local community members who were affected by the earthquake, some of whom had lost their home or their livelihood in the disaster. The program also specifically supports people with three or more children and women who are heads of household.

The students are thrilled to be back in classes. "School is important because we need to learn," exclaims the first grade class almost in unison. "It's important to know how to write so that we can spell our names," adds 7-year-old Woudline. Each student in the first grade class has a goal: they want to "work the land" or "build houses" or "be a nurse."

Twelve-year-old Monise states in a serious tone, "After school I'm going to work so that I can help my mother." The school had 127 students prior to the earthquake. To date, 92 students have returned. Many others have left the area as families migrated to other regions or children who had been in the care of a relative returned to parents' homes. Mr. Constant is hopeful that school attendance will continue to grow as they move into their new, permanent location. "Education is the key to freedom," Mr. Constant declares. "Both the school and Save the Children know it is our duty to educate children. To work in education is a matter of the heart."

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978 and had numerous education projects in place prior to the earthquake. Since January 12, education programming has expanded to include over 270 schools that are now benefitting from tents, tarpaulins, equipment, supplies, school kits and/or teacher training. Save the Children plans to provide access to school for more than 160,000 children in Haiti.

Haiti Field Update and Video

Mike Vanasse — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:53:43 GMT

Life After the Quake

Six months after the quake, despite the significant progress Save the Children and others have made to alleviate children’s suffering and begin addressing longer-term needs, the magnitude of the destruction and damage is such that much remains to be done to assist children and families. Rubble still fills the streets of Port-au-Prince, Léogâne and Jacmel. Most people have little access to safe shelter, drinking water, electricity or health care. Approximately 1 million are still homeless, many living in substandard shelters. Children lost family, friends, schools and homes and are particularly vulnerable to disease, abuse and exploitation. The infrastructure essential to the process of rebuilding — electricity, sanitation, health facilities and schools — was largely destroyed in the quake, hampering efforts to provide services to needy families. Under these precarious conditions, Haiti’s hurricane season has officially begun. Heavy rains could spell another disaster for the country and its people. If, as predicted, Haiti experiences intense storms and hurricanes, already vulnerable children and their families will require a renewed surge of humanitarian aid, especially shelter, food, water and sanitation.

An Opportunity for a New Haiti

Haiti’s people may feel anxious that another hurricane or earthquake could strike at any time, but the prospect of rebuilding and creating a new, better country offers hope. With support from unprecedented numbers of citizens and public and private organizations worldwide, Haitians have an historic opportunity to rebuild a nation that has struggled for centuries with persistent poverty, exclusion and weak governance. Save the Children has an ongoing commitment to Haiti that goes back to its first programs in 1978. Our current goal is to alleviate the suffering of 800,000 people (including 470,000 children) affected by the disaster. The agency also is preparing to assist Haiti through a 5-year relief-to-recovery effort to build back better. Strengthening the capacity of Haitians and their institutions —governmental and nongovernmental alike — will enable Haiti’s people to play a more active role in managing their own future. If further crises arise, Save the Children will renew its emergency assistance. Donor governments need to uphold their commitments and deliver on pledges to provide timely, robust and sustained support during this still critical phase of the emergency in Haiti, and for the recovery and long-term development of its people. Actors in the recovery need to be accountable for the use of aid resources. This will ensure that aid strengthens the institutions governing Haiti’s recovery and development and fosters transparency and participation of all stakeholders, including children.

Links:

Video - 6 Months After the Haiti Earthquake, Save the Children

Haiti- 6 month progress report

Rebecca Bryant — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:20:33 GMT

Summary: Over the past four months, since the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, Save the Children has worked nonstop to alleviate children’s suffering and ensure their well-being. Through your generosity and that of other donors, Save the Children has delivered lifesaving relief and today is also transitioning to longer-term recovery programs in the worst-affected communities. We continue to coordinate our responses with government partners, other local and international non-governmental organizations through the United Nations cluster system, and are working with local authorities and communities to address the most urgent needs of children and support their protection and recovery.

To date, over 550,000 children and adults who care for them have benefited from our work in Port-au-Prince, Léogâne, Jacmel and Petit Goave and surrounding communities.

*Please see attached document for full report

Attachments:

Haiti-6 Month Report (DOC)

Haiti Relief Efforts- 3 Months

Rebecca Bryant — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:19:34 GMT

Save the Children plans to provide emergency assistance to save lives, alleviate suffering, and support the recovery of 800,000 people (including 470,000 children) affected by the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. We plan to transition into longer term rehabilitation and reconstruction to ensure a better future for Haiti’s children.

Number of beneficiaries we plan to reach: 800,000 Number of total beneficiaries reached so far: *553,009

*number includes distributed medical supplies and medicines to support beneficiaries over 6 wk period. Please note that the beneficiary numbers have not been updated since sitrep 32 as the team is currently going through an exercise of verifying numbers.

Attachments:

Haiti-3 Month Report (PDF)

'Build Back Better'

Rebecca Bryant — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:01:13 GMT

In his testimony today before a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee, Save the Children President Charles MacCormack urged Congress to help ensure a brighter future for Haiti and its children by strengthening the capacity of its government, citizens and private sector.

He noted that well-coordinated collaboration between the Haitian government and civil society, the United Nations, the U.S. and other donors and non-governmental organizations, such as Save the Children, was essential to addressing both the immediate and long-term development needs of the country.

MacCormack shared his observations from his two visits to Haiti since the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck over three weeks ago. "While the Haitian people are extremely resilient and have exhibited much patience, their challenge is daunting," said CharlesMacCormack. "It will take a collective effort today to give the children and families of Haiti a better tomorrow."

In his testimony, MacCormack said that it will take 10 years and a substantial investment to rebuild the country, and will require a coordinated and transparent response. To help the Haiti government redirect its funding into investments that would help in its recovery, MacCormack proposed that Congress expand Haiti's trade preferences to include additional exports, issue grants instead of loans to the Haitian government and support cancelling Haiti's nearly $1 billion international debt.

"Future funds must go to providing children and families access to health services, education and economic opportunities," said McCormack. "This is a long-term disaster and the U.S. must commit for the long-haul. Sustaining significant investment over the next 10 years will be critical to ensuring the well-being of children and their families."

MacCormack applauded President Obama's appointment of USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah to oversee the coordination of the U.S. humanitarian response to the Haiti earthquake but urged that this role be expanded to include the long-term development needs of the country.

"The U.S., with non-governmental organizations and donors, should intensify its commitment to building the capacity and systems of the Haitian government and Haitian civil society to lead and manage their own development," said MacCormack. "We must support Haitians in building back better for the children of Haiti."

Drawing on lessons learned from Save the Children's response to the 2004 Asian tsunami, MacCormack noted that putting Haitians at the center of their own development and recognizing the critical role of women and youth in the decision-making process would be essential for Haiti's recovery.

On the ground in Haiti for over 32 years, Save the Children launched one of its largest disaster responses ever. Save the Children has reached more than 200,000 children and adults, providing lifesaving food, medicines and supplies. In addition, the organization is working to protect vulnerable children, providing spaces to play and helping trace unaccompanied children to reunite them with their families.

Haiti Still Needs Help!

Rebecca Bryant — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:40:26 GMT

Credit: Getty Images North America

Save the Children plans to provide emergency assistance to save lives, alleviate suffering, and support the recovery of 800,000 people (including 470,000 children) affected by the earthquake in Haiti. We plan to transition into longer term rehabilitation and reconstruction to ensure a better future for Haiti’s children.

Number of beneficiaries we plan to reach: 800,000

Number of total beneficiaries reached so far: *502,766 *number includes distributed medical supplies and medicines to support beneficiaries over 6 wk period

Credit: Getty Images North America

Haiti-One Month Update

Rebecca Bryant — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:08:07 GMT

At the one-month mark of the crisis, Save the Children has reached 477,000 children and adult members of their families with lifesaving immediate relief.

*See attached document for full fact sheet

Attachments:

Haiti_earthquake_One_Month_On_fact_sheet.pdf (PDF)

A better future for Haiti’s children

Rebecca Bryant — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:29:36 GMT

Photo Credit: Getty Images North America

“So many children and families have gone now three weeks with barely any steady food supply. We’ve met a pregnant mother who has told us that since the earthquake, her children had only been eating a meal a day, without vegetables or meat.” Halane Hussein, Save the Children’s Emergency Advisor in Haiti.

Save the Children's work is taking place in Port-au-Prince and in nearby communities; we are also monitoring the relocation of families away from Port-au-Prince.

Emergency Health Care • On February 4, 1,344 patients were treated by our 13 mobile health teams in 36 camps. • A new clinic was established in Gaston Margon, outside the main town of Carrefour, where conditions were significantly worse than the camps in the town • In Jacmel, our seven mobile teams vaccinated children against measles on February 4. They also distributed vitamins and screened children for malnutrition. • In Leogane, a field hospital supported by Save the Children and operated by a partner, World Wide Villages, has treated approximately 250 patients • Save the Children and another partner did an aerial assessment of rural areas and identified a site where some 250 homeless families were gathered. A mobile team health team was dispatched.

Food • Save the Children is conducting a two-week, mass food distribution to some 285,000 children and adults in Martisant and Tabarre, Port-au-Prince in cooperation with the World Food Program. To date, over 95,000 people have benefited from our food relief.

Water • In Port-au-Prince, Carrefour Feuilles and Jacmel, 29,000 children and adults have access to clean water though Save the Children. • Latrines and showers we have constructed are available to 13,800 people. • Save the Children and partner agencies are delivering water by tanker truck to distribution points we have created. • In Leogane, we distributed approximately 215,000 water purification tablets – providing more than 300 families with safe water. We also trained 12 health agents in household water treatment and hygiene promotion in the community.

Shelter and Non-Food Relief Items • 8,600 people have received essential non-food relief items, such as hygiene supplies and plastic sheeting for shelter. • 125 tents are being provided for a small settlement of homeless families in Cote de Fer. Blankets, jerry cans and hygiene kits will also be distributed. • The first distributions of items for some 580 families in Jamal will take place on February 6. • 1,000 family-size tents are being shipped by Save the Children from China, where the agency responded to that nation’s earthquake in 2008. • 100 semi-permanent structures for housing or other uses have been ordered.

Child Protection • 18 Child Friendly Spaces in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel have been opened. Each serves an average of over 100 children a day through structured, supportive activities. Save the Children plans to open hundreds of these essential sites for children. • Save the Children has trained 50 social workers from other nongovernmental organizations to provide psychosocial support to children, including training in child protection policies and how to conduct activities at our Child Friendly Spaces. • The agency has been requested by the UN to coordinate the reunification of separated children with their families.

Education • Save the Children will be among the lead agencies to rapidly restore education for children to provide them with a structured, secure environment. Our goal is to establish 3,000 temporary learning spaces targeting at least 80,000 children • We are assisting the Ministry of Education in a needs assessment to determine the number of schools that have been destroyed, partially damaged and those that were not damaged. The assessment will also identify the number of children and teachers in the affected areas. • Field visits by our staff in three camps found no teachers, but children and parents anxious for education to resume.

Livelihoods • Save the Children plans to offer “cash-for-work” to clear out irrigation channels for the up-coming planting season.

Save the Children has committed to a five-year Build Back Better initiative, which will take us from the relief and recovery phase to working with families to rebuild their communities. The strategy is similar to the five-year rebuilding initiative we launched in Aceh Province, Indonesia following the epic December 2004 tsunami. Our goal is to provide emergency assistance to save lives, alleviate suffering, and support the recovery of 800,000 people (including 470,000 children) affected by the earthquake, and transition into longer-term rehabilitation and reconstruction to ensure a better future for Haiti’s children.

Overview of Save the Children’s response

Rebecca Bryant — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:46:15 GMT

Number of beneficiaries we plan to reach: 600,000 Number of total beneficiaries reached so far: 172,751 Overview of Activities by Sector:

Non-Food Items (NFIs) Distribution: 8600 people are benefitting from NFIs Save the Children (SC) has distributed

WASH: Approximately 16,500 beneficiaries are receiving clean water Health: Save the Children has carried out 2857 medical consultations in the last week, including 660 children under 5 years through the mobile clinics. Save the Children is responsible for providing health services in 32 camps/locations. Save the Children is playing a significant role in strategic discussions with World Health Organization (WHO) in the national health cluster, and is also responsible for leading the sub-national health cluster in Leogane and the sub-cluster for mobile clinics in Jacmel.

The priority of the health cluster is moving towards provision of primary health services through mobile clinics and fixed health facilities. A national immunization campaign is planned to start next week.

Nutrition: · 31 nutritional and 109 health agents from the commune of Leogane have been trained as breastfeeding promoters and a number of these will be trained as breastfeeding counselors next week.

Child Protection · 17 Mobile Child Friendly Spaces are up and running in Port-au-Prince (PAP) and Jacmel. Child Protection programs will soon be starting in Leogane as well.

Food/Livelihoods: · SC food distributions have reached over 30,000 beneficiaries thus far. This number will increase greatly once World Food Programme (WFP) distributions in PAP begin tomorrow and continue for the next 2 weeks.

Video/Panoramic View in Haiti

Rebecca Bryant — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:55:50 GMT

“The spirit of the Haitian people has been remarkable. The word resilience does not do it justice. Our national staff has come back to work, often under incredibly difficult circumstances, to help the children of Haiti when they need it the most. On the streets—where tens of thousands still sleep each night—and in hundreds of makeshift camps that have sprung up in clearings amongst the rubble—there is still a sense of community where neighbours and strangers alike are working together to help each other survive.” - Lee Nelson, Country Director, Save the Children in Haiti

An amazing 360 panoramic view to give a sense of what it is like for children and their families living in impromptu camps: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/haiti360/

Judith Louise and her Baby Helped by Save the Children

Rebecca Bryant — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:19:40 GMT

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Judith Louise lost her 6-year-old son in the earthquake and very nearly lost her 15-day-old baby boy, who does not yet have a name because he has not been baptized.

"When the earthquake struck, I was in the bedroom," said Judith Louise.

"I tried to run, but it knocked me down and I couldn't go back inside to grab the child. Outside, they asked me where was my baby. I told them I didn't know."

"The baby's grandfather went back inside and he saw that the baby had fallen on the ground. The wall had collapsed next to the baby and he was covered in dust. When they pulled my child out, I thought he was dead."

Judith Louise's husband, Friesnel, said, "The baby wasn't moving or breathing. It took a long time to revive him. When Judith Louise started nursing him, though, he came back to life."

"We were lucky to find the child alive," said Friesnel.

"Our house was completely destroyed. We lost everything. Everyone's house has been destroyed, so now we are equal as one – you understand. We don't have anything to survive with. Even if we have money, we can't find anything to buy. Nobody is giving us anything. We're all suffering here."

Friesnel worries about how his family will survive, living in the streets.

Save the Children helps families like those of Judith Louise and Friesnel by providing medical and nutrition supplies.

"We need to rebuild our houses. Our baby is suffering because we don't even have money to buy milk. We need money to reorganize our lives. We need food to come to this country in order for all of us to survive."

Save the Children-Haiti Update with photo

Rebecca Bryant — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:06:01 GMT

Photo Credit- Getty Images North America

Save the Children staff plays with children refugees who's homes were destroyed during the earthquake at the Church of Ladder Day Saints, Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Save the Children is launching child-friendly space activites at the church in downtown Haiti.

Child-Friendly spaces provide safety, structure, and emotional healing to children who are suffering due to to the loss and devastation they have experienced.

Save the Children Continues Vital Relief Efforts in Haiti

Rebecca Bryant — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:07:15 GMT

Overview of Save the Children’s response • Number of beneficiaries we plan to reach: 600,000 • Number of total beneficiaries reached so far: *99,032 • Number of beneficiaries reached since last sitrep: 7,785 *number includes distributed medical supplies and medicines to support beneficiaries over 6 wk period

Overview of Activities by Sector: Emergency Health Care • As of January 22, Save the Children’s health interventions had reached approximately 85,000 children and adults. • Our mobile clinic in Leogane is treating approximately 100 patients a day. The unit is staffed by 14 expatriate doctors. • Four mobile health teams of one doctor and one nurse each are seeing patients in Jacmel. • On January 19, 16.5 tons of medical supplies donated to the agency by AmeriCares were distributed in Leogane and at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince. • Medical supplies were distributed by Save the Children’s response team and a partner agency to 14 hospitals and clinics throughout the Port-au-Prince region.

Food • The World Food Program (WFP) will be providing Save the Children with high-energy biscuits for distribution. Save the Children is also coordinating a longer-term strategy with WFP for food distributions, which are scheduled to begin this week. • On January 16, Save the Children distributed food for 2,000 people at the L’Hopital de l’Espoire (Hope Hospital), that focuses on pediatric medicine and helps support two orphanages.

Water • Latrine construction and rehabilitation has benefited some 3,600 children and adults in both Port-au-Prince and Jacmel. • Clean water is being provided to over 2,000 children and adults in camps in Port-au-Prince. • Large quantities of bottled water are being received for distribution with our hygiene kits.

Shelter and Non-Food Relief Items • 300 kits of hygiene and household supplies were distributed on January 21 at a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, benefitting 1,500 children and adults. • 5,000 families in Jacmel have been targeted for our shelter and relief supplies. • 2,500 household kits are being procured at Save the Children’s office in the Dominican Republic for rapid delivery by truck to Port-au-Prince. • 1,000 family-size tents are being shipped by Save the Children from China, where the agency responded to that nation’s earthquake in 2008. • 25,000 sheets of plastic for temporary shelter have arrived at Save the Children’s base in Miami. • 100 semi-permanent structures for housing or other uses have been ordered and will arrive within a week.

Child Protection • Eleven Child Friendly Spaces in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel have been opened. Over 3,500 children have benefited from access to structured, supportive activities to help them recover from what they’ve experienced. Kits for 77 other spaces are in Port-au-Prince; Save the Children plans to open hundreds of these essential sites for children. • Save the Children has trained 50 social workers from other nongovernmental organizations to provide psychosocial support to children, including training in child protection policies and how to conduct activities at our Child Friendly Spaces. • The agency has been requested by the UN to coordinate the reunification of separated children with their families. We are beginning to collect information and reports of separated and unaccompanied children for follow-up action.

Education • Save the Children will be among the lead agencies to rapidly restore education for children to provide them with a structured, secure environment.

Save the Children-Updates from Haiti

Rebecca Bryant — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:13:05 GMT

Save the Children’s Response: Save the Children has worked in Haiti continuously since 1978 and launches immediate relief for children affected by the island’s frequent natural disasters. Local staff members in Port-au-Prince have been joined by our international disaster response experts and are working around the clock and in coordination with the Haitian government, donors, non-governmental organizations and communities to provide relief on a scale similar to our response to the epic Asia tsunami of 2004. Work is taking place in Port-au-Prince and in nearby communities; we are also monitoring the possible relocation of families away from Port-au-Prince.

Emergency Health Care • As of January 22, Save the Children’s health interventions had reached approximately 85,000 children and adults. • Our mobile clinic in Leogane is treating approximately 100 patients a day. The unit is staffed by 14 expatriate doctors. • 70 health workers were trained in Leogane and another mobile clinic is operating there. • Four mobile health teams of one doctor and one nurse each are seeing patients in Jacmel. • On January 19, 16.5 tons of medical supplies donated to the agency by AmeriCares were distributed in Leogane and at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince. • Medical supplies were distributed by Save the Children’s response team and a partner agency to 14 hospitals and clinics throughout the Port-au-Prince region.

Food • The World Food Program (WFP) will be providing Save the Children with high-energy biscuits for distribution. Save the Children is also coordinating a longer-term strategy with WFP for food distribution. • On January 16, Save the Children distributed food for 2,000 people at the L’Hopital de l’Espoire (Hope Hospital), that focuses on pediatric medicine and helps support two orphanages.

Water • Save the Children has trained 24 staff in water and sanitation responses and healthy hygiene promotion. Teams will travel to informal settlements in Port-au-Prince to construct latrines and water points and encourage proper hygiene. • Based on assessments in two other locations, Save the Children plans to deliver clean water to residents by tank trucks, construct latrines to prevent water contamination, distribute hygiene kits and promote proper hygiene to prevent the spread of diseases. • Large quantities of bottled water are being received for distribution with our hygiene kits.

Shelter and Non-Food Relief Items • 300 kits of hygiene and household supplies were distributed on January 21 at a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, benefitting 1,500 children and adults. • 5,000 families in Jamal have been targeted for our shelter and relief supplies. • 2,500 household kits are being procured at Save the Children’s office in the Dominican Republic for rapid delivery by truck to Port-au-Prince. • 1,000 family-size tents are being shipped by Save the Children from China, where the agency responded to that nation’s earthquake in 2008. • 25,000 sheets of plastic for temporary shelter have arrived at Save the Children’s base in Miami. • 100 semi-permanent structures for housing or other uses have been ordered and will arrive within a week.

Child Protection • Child Friendly Spaces in Port-au-Prince and Jamal have been opened. Over 200 children have access to structured, supportive activities to help them recover from what they’ve experienced. Kits for 77 other spaces are in Port-au-Prince; Save the Children plans to open hundreds of these essential sites for children. • Save the Children has trained 50 social workers from other nongovernmental organizations to provide psychosocial support to children, how to conduct activities at our Child Friendly Spaces and child protection policies. • The agency has been requested by the UN to coordinate the reunification of separated children with their families. We are beginning to collect information and reports of separated and unaccompanied children for follow-up action.

Education • Save the Children will be among the lead agencies to rapidly restore education for children to provide them with a structured, secure environment.

Save the Children staff also continues to assess conditions in damaged communities west of Port-au-Prince and initiate relief operations and local partnerships. Our staff in the Dominican Republic is also alert to the possibility of relief that may be needed for Haitian earthquake victims who have moved to the border area.

The agency has committed to a five-year “build back better” initiative, which will take us from the relief and recovery phase to working with families to rebuild their communities. The strategy is similar to the five-year rebuilding initiative Save the Children launched in Aceh Province, Indonesia following the epic December 2004 tsunami.

Save the Children-Haiti Relief Efforts Update 1-21-2010

Rebecca Bryant — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:51:12 GMT

Food • The World Food Program (WFP) will be providing Save the Children with high-energy biscuits for distribution. Save the Children is also coordinating a longer-term strategy with WFP for food distribution. • On January 16, Save the Children distributed food for 2,000 people at the L’Hopital de l’Espoire (Hope Hospital), that focuses on pediatric medicine and helps support two orphanages.

Water • Large quantities of bottled water have been received for distribution with our hygiene kits. • Save the Children has trained 24 staff in water and sanitation responses and healthy hygiene promotion. Beginning January 22, teams will travel to 15 informal settlements in Port-au-Prince to begin constructing latrine and water points and encourage proper hygiene. • Based on assessments in two other locations, Save the Children plans to deliver clean water to residents by tank trucks, construct latrines to prevent water contamination, distribute hygiene kits and promote proper hygiene to prevent the spread of diseases.

Shelter and Non-Food Relief Items • 2,500 household kits are being procured at Save the Children’s office in the Dominican Republic for rapid delivery by truck to Port-au-Prince. • 1,000 family-size tents are being shipped by Save the Children from China, where the agency responded to that nation’s earthquake in 2008. • 25,000 sheets of plastic for temporary shelter have arrived at Save the Children’s base in Miami. • 1,000 family hygiene kits (including soaps, rubbing alcohol, baby wipes, diapers, hand sanitizers and bleach), arrived in Port-au-Prince on January 19.

Emergency Health Care • Our mobile health clinic in Leogane continues to see approximately 100 patients daily. The unit is staffed by 14 expatriate doctors. • On January 19, 16.5 tons of medical supplies donated to the agency by AmeriCares were distributed in Leogane and at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince. • Medical supplies were distributed by Save the Children’s response team and a partner agency to 14 hospitals and clinics throughout the Port-au-Prince region.

Child Protection • Several Child Friendly Spaces are now open in temporary shelters so that children can take part in structured, supportive activities to help them recover from what they’ve experienced. Kits for 77 other spaces are in Port-au-Prince; Save the Children plans to open hundreds of these essential sites for children. • Save the Children has trained 50 social workers in providing psychosocial support to children, activities at our Child Friendly Spaces and child protection policies. • Three Child Friendly Spaces are scheduled to open January 22 in the community of Jacmel. • The agency has been requested by the UN to coordinate the reunification of separated children with their families. We are beginning to collect information and reports of separated and unaccompanied children for follow-up action.

Education • Save the Children will be among the lead agencies to rapidly restore education for children to provide them with a structured, secure environment.

Aftershock Rocks Port-au-Prince; Save the Children Undeterred in Mission of Delivering Urgent Relief

Rebecca Bryant — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:39:18 GMT

Save the Children staff in Port-au-Prince, Haiti are assessing the impact of this morning’s strong 6.1 magnitude aftershock – even as they continue working nonstop to deliver lifesaving relief to children affected by the epic January 12 earthquake.

“Children and families are still sleeping in the open, among the rubble. They are very vulnerable – this aftershock would have terrified them. We are working flat out to assist them, bringing in supplies and rolling them out to the people who need them as fast as we can,” said Annie Foster, Save the Children’s team leader in Port-au-Prince.

Save the Children is undeterred by this latest aftershock. Essential relief we began within hours of the earthquake goes on and, day by day, is being expanded to reach more children in and around the rubble of Port-au-Prince and nearby communities.

Highlights of the past 48 hours in our efforts – made possible by our donors’ outpouring of support, include:

- Distribution of 16.5 tons of drugs and medical supplies provided by AmeriCare to health technicians in Leogane and to the general hospital in Port-au-Prince.

- Rolling out the first mobel health clinic yesterday.

- Opening the first of hundreds of Child Friendly Spaces planned so that children living in temporary camps have a respite from the tremendous stress and strain they are experiencing.

Attachments:

Save the Children Fact Sheet: 1-20-2010 (PDF)

Save the Children-Haiti Photos

Rebecca Bryant — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:23:12 GMT

Save the Children-Safe Spaces for Children & Families

Save the Children staff is helping to distribute food, water and supplies at Hospital Espoire in Port-au-Prince.

Save the Children-Child with clean water

Haiti Earthquake Response-Update 1-19-2010

Rebecca Bryant — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:12:14 GMT

Save the Children CEO, Charles MacCormack, in Haiti

Save the Children has worked in Haiti continuously since 1978 and launches immediate relief for children affected by the island’s frequent natural disasters. Local staff members in Port-au-Prince have been joined by our international disaster response experts and are working around the clock and in coordination with the Haitian government, donors, nongovernmental organizations and communities to provide relief.

Save the Children’s Response:

• On January 18, Save the Children opened the first Child Friendly Space in a church serving as a temporary shelter. Child Friendly Spaces allow children to take part in structured, supportive activities and recover from what they’ve experienced. Kits for us to open 70 other spaces arrived in the Dominican Republic on January 18 for immediate transport to Port-au-Prince. Save the Children plans to open hundreds of these essential sites for children.

• Two mobile health clinics will begin serving the basic health needs of children and families right in their neighborhoods on January 19.

• Supplies of water and other materials arrived in the Dominican Republic on January 18 and are being forward to our Port-au-Prince office by truck.

• On January 17, we received as shipment of 16.5 tons of medical supplies from AmeriCares.

• On January 16, Save the Children distributed food and water to the L’Hopital de l’Espoire (Hope Hospital), that focuses on pediatric medicine and helps support two orphanages. The food was enough for 2,000 people; 40 families taking refuge near the hospital also received hygiene kits (containing such items as rubbing alcohol, soap, towels, baby wipes, sanitary napkins, shampoo, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, disinfectant gel, chlorine, diapers and water). were distributed to vulnerable families taking refuge near the local hospital.

• Medical supplies were distributed by Save the Children’s response team and a partner agency on January 15 to 14 hospitals and clinics throughout the Port-au-Prince region.

• Our staff continues to assess the situation in Leogane and Petit Goave, both west of Portau- Prince and Jacmel, all of which have sustained heavy damage.

• In Jacmel, Save the Children staff is participating in coordination meetings, leading the coordination of the health relief effort and has been asked by UNICEF to work in two camps.

• Save the Children has committed to a five-year “build back better” initiative, which will take us from the relief and recovery phase to working with families to rebuild their communities. The strategy is similar to the five-year rebuilding initiative Save the Children launched in Aceh Province, Indonesia following the epic December 2004 tsunami.

Save the Children emergency advisory, Ian Rodgers, in Haiti

Save the Children Gives Medical Aid to Miracle Baby Recovered in Haiti

Rebecca Bryant — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:45:31 GMT

Baby Winnie

WESTPORT, Conn., (Jan.15, 2010) — Save the Children staff in Haiti gave emergency medical attention to a baby girl pulled from the rubble Friday afternoon, nearly three days after an earthquake flattened much of Port-au-Prince.

Winnie, not yet 2 years old, was pulled from the rubble with help from an Australian news crew filming near Save the Children’s offices. Save the Children medical experts determined the girl to be dehydrated, but expect her to recover well. Unfortunately, Winnie’s parents were killed in the collapse of the family’s home. Her uncle, Frantz Tilin, arrived to find her after losing his own wife in the earthquake.

Throughout Haiti’s capital city, earthquake survivors in need of attention are lying on the streets outside of hospitals. Save the Children emergency responders are on the ground, distributing medical supplies to hospitals and clinics that have been left with almost nothing. Several Save the Children teams are also assessing health needs in temporary camps in the most devastated neighborhoods. “We are seeing dazed, dehydrated parents walking the streets with their children, searching for clean water, food, and shelter” said Annie Foster, Save the Children’s emergency team leader.

“Many are starting to congregate in open spaces, setting up makeshift camps. They are particularly fearful of being in or near buildings, as strong aftershocks are continuing.”

“Save the Children will be starting safe space areas for children in these camps, and also beginning child tracing programs to reconnect children who were separated from their families during the emergency,” Foster said.

Additional emergency staff are en route to Port-au-Prince, including a team of logisticians and experts ready to provide support on education, livelihoods, child protection needs.

In the Dominican Republic, Save the Children staff have mounted a staging ground for relief supplies they are sending in overland to Haiti. Household kits and hygiene kits include essentials like blankets, soap, and Jerry cans to hold water.

Save the Children is partnering with AmeriCares, which is shipping 15 metric tons of medical supplies to Haiti and 40,000 liters of water, expected to arrive soon.

Save the Children has accounted for 52 of its 59 local staff members in Port-au-Prince, many of whom are doing whatever they can to aid the emergency effort, even while their own families and lives have been upended. Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978 and has provided emergency relief and assistance to Haitian children and families following various recent disasters, including hurricanes and floods.

Your donation is urgently needed to help Save the Children support Haitian children and families.

Rebecca Bryant — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:25:20 GMT

The January 12 earthquake and multiple aftershocks created enormous devastation and loss of life in the heavily populated city of Port-au-Prince, one of the centers for programming for Save the Children in Haiti. While staff safety and security are of immediate paramount concern, we have begun on-the- ground assessments and are designing a vigorous response strategy.

Save the Children has its main office in Port-au-Prince and sub offices in Jacmel, Massaide and Gonaives. While the main office in Port-au-Prince sustained damage and flooding from ruptured water lines, as well as damage to the perimeter wall, its condition relative to heavily damaged nearby buildings allow the property to serve as a center of activity and coordination. The three sub-offices were largely unaffected by the earthquake, most of the severe damage occurring in the actual city of Port-au-Prince.

46 out of 59 Port-au-Prince staff are accounted for as of today. Today we had teams of staff going to the areas where the unaccounted staff live to look for them.

“The destruction is everywhere and it’s still hard for emergency responders to reach many injured people at this point. Countless children and families need safe places to stay as well as basic household items to help them meet their immediate needs,” said Ian Rodgers, Save the Children’s emergency response adviser, who is currently in Haiti. “This is a major disaster that will require an intensive long-term response.”