As media coverage of the Haiti earthquake here in England starts to wind down and the period of joint action with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) come to an end, work with earthquake survivors is set to continue well into the future. And, with an eye on such matters as rebuilding the country’s economy, member agencies of the Disasters Emergency Committee are starting to give cash to earthquake survivors in Haiti to buy much-needed supplies and boost the crippled economy.

DEC aid agencies say distributing cash rather than food parcels alone helps ensure that families get exactly what they need, and nothing goes to waste. Putting choice in their hands also restores dignity and sense of self-reliance after weeks of dependence on the aid community. CAFOD’s sister agencies in Haiti will plan to work directly in 20 camps, but also distribute aid through its contacts with priests and religious groups working in 32 parishes.

CAFOD’s Head of Humanitarian response, Matthew Carter, said

We have been talking and listening to staff on the ground who are responding swiftly using their country expertise and church networks to ensure that vital aid gets through to those most in need. This money will support the scale up of humanitarian relief efforts, not just in Port-au-Prince but in areas outside of the capital like Leogane where 80 per cent of buildings were damaged by the earthquake.’ Carter continues ‘Despite all the logistical problems, aid is reaching people and saving lives. CAFOD’s humanitarian team will also support our partners in developing longer term plans for the reconstruction needs of the Haitian people.

Tremendous Response from Catholics in England and Wales

At the time of writing this article, CAFOD has received more than £3 million in donations to its Haiti Earthquake Emergency Appeal from around England and Wales. In the Middlesbrough Diocesan Office, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity we have witnessed from schools and parishes all around the Diocese and would like to thank everyone who has contributed in any way to the appeal. It truly shows the spirit of God is at work in the hearts and lives of people here, reaching out to those in most need around the world.

All of the donations will be put to good use, as this extract from an aid worker with Caritas reports,

Haitians are a religious people. Eighty per cent are Catholic. Churches seem as common as trees and modified trucks that serve as taxis ply the streets painted in garish lettering with slogans like ‘God is with us’, ‘Jesus Loves You’ and ‘Pray to Mother Mary’.

People of all ages are gathering together, many still afraid to go indoors, offering up thanks for their survival but remembering to put in a request for speedy recovery, too.

Caritas Haiti, the development and humanitarian wing of the Catholic Church, has a simple office in the centre of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. Its car park has no space for cars; instead, crowded together in tents of every colour, aid workers from around the world, representing various Caritas organisations are in Haiti to help.

Run by Fr Chadic, Caritas Haiti already had its work cut out in trying to improve the lot of Haitians. Even before the earthquake, two-thirds of people here lived on less than $2 a day, and more than half of those lived on $1 a day. That level of extreme poverty, the worst in the western hemisphere, means that Haitians were not only affected much worse by the earthquake, but it will be much harder for them to recover.

If you live on $2 a day, how do you afford to rebuild your house? Or how do you replenish the tiny supply of plantain and tomatoes you sold from your doorway to scrape together an income?

Caritas Haiti staff – who are all Haitians themselves – were able to respond within hours of the earthquake.