HAITI: Emergency Appeal for Earthquake
 With rolling news covering the devastating earthquake that has brought Haiti to its knees, only the most heartless individual would fail to feel empathy and shock at the tragic loss of life, home and hope. Please support our appeal to help children. Donate now >>95754676/john readle/courtesy of getty images | |
| Having been to Haiti in December, I cannot help but feel an even greater sadness as I know just how many people and children in particular, were already living lives which were defined by squalor and misery. It is almost unbearable to think about the extent to which this recent disaster is likely to compound the problems this impoverished population face. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Nearly 80% of its population live on less than US $2 a day. Only 62% of its adult population are literate, 25% are in any form of employment and 30% have sanitation in their homes. Now with houses, hospitals and schools collapsed around the capital, even these statistics might seem optimistic. When I visited the country in December I wanted to find out exactly how this devastating poverty affects the lives of Haiti’s children. What I saw was children struggling to survive, facing malnourishment, disease and death on a daily basis. Poor sanitation and almost no access to healthcare mean one in five children die before their fifth birthday, with the most common causes of death being diarrhoea, malaria and TB. Those that do survive are often forced into terrible exploitation. Over 25,000 children spend their days working on the streets of Port au Prince, sometimes because they’re orphans, but more often because their families rely on the income they bring home. In addition up to an estimated 300,000 children between eight and 15 are kept as restaveks, unpaid domestic labourers, by wealthier host families. Over 75 per cent of the restaveks are girls and sexual abuse by the men of the house is commonplace. Without access to education and at risk of physical and sexual abuse these children’s lives are condemned. This is why Jubilee Action is determined to establish long-term projects to improve education and health facilities for these exploited children, whose lives will only be made more difficult by this recent tragedy. With children and adults still trapped beneath rubble and hundreds of thousands without homes, food, or their families, I can only begin to imagine how many more children will be living on the street, frightened and vulnerable. The international community’s response has been wonderful, with national governments and aid agencies pulling together to help with the immediate aftermath of this disaster. But when the disaster relief agencies withdraw, as they will, there will be hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children in need of shelter, support and education. This is why we are launching an appeal so that we can extend our work in Haiti to help these vulnerable children whose lives will be devastated. They will need our support for the long-term. Please help. Please donate >>Thank you for your support. Caroline Saunders | |
| Take a look at our Haiti campaign site >> | |
| See what Jubilee Action's team in Haiti are doing in response to the earthquake here >> | |
| Thankfully, news of our partners has arrived from the north of Haiti and they are all well. Read their first message to us >> | |
| Read our article in The Guardian on the situation in Haiti before the earthquake hit here >> | |
| Read Caroline's update from her visit to Haiti in December here >> | |
| Read our report on the plight of children in Haiti here >> |
