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Haiti 2021 Earthquake Relief Efforts

Devastating natural disasters in Haiti — a massive 7.2-magnitude earthquake followed by tropical depression Grace — have wreaked havoc in the country. With more than 2,200 people reported dead, over 12,000 injured, and hundreds more missing, as well as 100,000 homes and 130 schools destroyed, the people of Haiti are struggling to get back on their feet. And this comes on top of an already fragile security situation and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about our response.

La Belle Mere Area Program

Sponsor a child

Program Type

Community Development

Planned Life Cycle

2009 - 2024

Location

Haiti

Areas of Focus

Health | WASH 

Program Timeline

Status: Active

Progress

11,203people participated in trainings, counseling or activities on preventing and responding to infectious diseases, such as COVID-19

Progress

5,303children and adults were trained on child protection, including positive parenting, children's rights and early marriage

Progress

2,078people had access to handwashing facilities at home or school

A white jeep driving through a muddy path, featuring a rainbow and trees in the background.

Program Details

Context

The La Belle Mere community is located in Haiti's Central Plateau. Almost everyone here earns their living from subsistence agriculture and livestock production. The main crops are sugar cane, cassava, and corn. A few families work in petty trade and small agro-industries like making syrup from sugar cane.

Conditions here are very difficult. Crops depend on two short rainy seasons, production methods are not modernized, and farmers clear cut their land for planting and the production of charcoal for fuel. These practices leave the land exposed and at risk of erosion. As fields yield less and less, farmers continue to move further up the hills, clear-cutting as they go. Deforestation and soil erosion remove the soil, causing production to drop further. It is a vicious cycle, and means that impoverished farming families cannot produce enough to feed their families or provide for other basic needs.

The community exists almost in isolation. Access is difficult, and there is no postal service, telephone, or internet service. The "lambi horn is still used to gather people for meetings.

...
Challenges
Education
Education costs money, which is in short supply here. There is only one public school in the area. It charges low fees, but can only accommodate a small number of children. The remaining primary school spaces are in small private schools that charge much higher fees. Many parents simply cannot afford to pay any fees or provide the supplies needed to send their children to school. Some, being uneducated themselves, do not see the value of education at all.

The private schools struggle to offer students a good quality education. Many of them are run down, without furniture and teaching materials. Teachers not only lack training, but some of them only have a grade 2 education themselves. Teachers are not paid well, and it is understandably difficult to attract trained teachers to this remote area.

Health Care
In a community like La Belle Mere, where there are few toilets, waste is discharged in the fields, and clean water is in short supply, diarrhea, typhoid fever, and intestinal parasites routinely leave children sick. Families cannot easily get to a hospital to receive the care they need.

The available health services are few and often lacking in supplies, equipment, and staff to provide adequate care. The area has only one health centre and one clinic. The centre has a doctor and a laboratory assistant and can provide basic health care. The clinic is staffed by two nurse's aides and can only provide basic first aid. People in need of further attention are taken on a difficult journey, by donkey or car, to facilities outside the area.

Parents in the community know little of basic prevention and care practices that can help children enjoy better health and get timely help when needed.

Economic Development
Farming families here get little return for their hard work. Long periods of drought and a lack of irrigation destroy crops, and farmers often practice outdated methods without adequate tools and good seed stock. Pests and diseases plague crops and livestock. Farmers do not have the knowledge, resources, or technical help they need to improve their yield.

With so little public infrastructure, it is difficult to get produce to a market that can provide good prices. There is virtually no electricity, and the roads are poor and often impassable in the rainy season. ...
Plans

Education
To ensure children can access and benefit from quality education, World Vision will assist the community to:

  • Construct new schools and rehabilitate existing ones in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the directors of private schools.
  • Train teachers and provide them with teaching resources and equipment.
  • Support families to improve their income so they can afford to pay school fees.
  • Teach parents the importance of education and help hold them accountable to allocate a portion of any increased income towards children's education.
  • Provide vocational education in skills like data processing, sewing, and hairdressing.
  • Establish adult literacy programs.


Health
With the partnership of Canadian sponsors and the community, World Vision will work to:

  • Build, refurbish, equip, and staff health centres.
  • Establish a medical laboratory to provide timely testing and screening.
  • Train health workers.
  • Train community health agents to monitor children in the community, support and teach parents, and help children access timely medical help.
  • Cap new springs and rehabilitate water sources to provide clean water and reduce the spread of waterborne illnesses.
  • Train the community, and especially parents, in good disease prevention practices, how to recognize symptoms of illness, and when to seek medical help.


Economic Development
To ensure parents in La Belle Mere can provide for their families, World Vision will partner with the community to:

  • Train farmers in modern agricultural techniques.
  • Provide irrigation kits. Promote diversification by introducing new seed varieties and better-adapted animal breeds.
  • Establish agricultural co-operatives so that farmers can pool their resources to secure supplies and market products at better prices.
  • Build silos to reduce post-harvest loss.
  • Train youth in business management and small business trading so they can have productive lives in their community, as well as reduce migration out of the area.
  • Extend small loans to producers/entrepreneurs, especially women, so they can start or expand their businesses.
...
An image of children sitting on the ground in a classroom, writing in workbooks.

Results

Unless otherwise stated, data presented on this page reflects the most up-to-date results of World Vision Canada programs reported between October 2022 and September 2023, and any previous fiscal years available. Previously reported data may not match the current presentation as we continuously receive and refine data from our programs. If you have any questions, kindly reach out to us.