A critical humanitarian situation is occurring in Haiti caused by the deportation and returnees from the Dominican Republic. A large group of the refugees (men, women and children) in the South East department have no where to go and are living in temporary camps. Heart to Heart International is needing your help to supply food, water, shelter and medical attention to those in crisis.
This movement of people stems from recent political decisions in the Dominican Republic, the country that jointly occupies the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. And, for a very long time, Haitians have gone to the Dominican Republic seeking work and a better life. While the Dominican Republic government states they have not begun any formal expulsions of undocumented Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent, anywhere between 20,000 and 45,000 people have left.
Our Haitian Medical Teams are visiting these camps, providing care as they can in this remote region. HHI has also taken on the task of funding and coordinating clean water and food for the camps. We're also working on providing more and longer lasting services for the refugees by coordinating with other NGOs, aid groups and government agencies.
Potential impact is disastrous for those in the camp and the effect it has on community resources. HHI completed a survey and found: * In Pascado camp about a third were under the age of 14 * In Tete-a-l'eau camp about 70% were born or grew up in the DR * More than half of those in Tete-a-l'eau had nowhere to go in Haiti. Young age, kicked out of the country they were born in and nowhere to go is cause for concern. HHI is helping people connect with families in Haiti and the DR.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
