Rick Perera, Press Officer, CARE USA - presented during "In the Wake of Disaster: Responses to Haiti" session at IRD conference at Emory University on Sept. 30, 2010

1. CARE Haiti
Emergency Response &
Community Engagement

2. Overview: Scale of emergency
 220,000 dead
 1.5 million displaced
 Government
paralyzed
 City of Léogâne:
90% destroyed
 Centralized services
immobilized

3. CARE response: Immediate
relief
 Mobilization of human resources (national and
international, community engagement as feasible)
 Difficult communications: community access, national
staff
 Evaluation/community consultation/immediate delivery
(water purification)
 Identification of priorities: food, water and sanitation;
community input
 Aid at regional sub-office level
 Mobilization of financial resources (initial goal of
$10 million over 3 years, actual of $100 million over 5 years)

4. Priority sectors and locations
Pétionville, Leogâne,
Carrefour, Artibonite  Shelter
 Water and sanitation
 Food security
 Health
 Psychosocial support
and education
 Host family assistance

5. Distributions – approx. 300,000
beneficiaries
 General distributions
– a service to the
sectors
 Food & non-food
items (tarps, tents, hygiene
kits, mattresses, blankets, kitchen
sets, jerry cans, safe delivery and
newborn kits, etc.)

7. Community partners: e.g.
Scouts

9. Water and sanitation
 Water distribution
 Construction of latrines,
showers, hand-washing
stations
 Hygiene promotion
 Drainage
 Solid-waste management
 Setup and training of
committees

11. Water/sanitation committees

12. Cleanup/solid waste
management

13. Food security
 Cash for work: Canal
cleaning, rehabilitation of
secondary roads, etc.
 Distribution of tools
and seeds
(productive inputs)
and voucher systems

14. Shelter
 Distribution of emergency materials (tarps,
ropes, household items, etc.) - 17,000
families

15. Shelter
 Transitional shelters
(target 5,000 families)
and reinforcement kits
(target 20,000 families)

17. Shelter
 Advocacy (land rights,
forced relocation, etc.)
 Awareness-raising on
safe construction
techniques

18. Reproductive health,
sexual/gender-based violence
protection
 Distribution of safe-
delivery and newborn kits
 Center for women –
proximity strategy
 Referral system
 Integration of
reproductive health
services into primary
health services

20. Psychosocial support –
education
 Parent and teacher
training
 Distribution of
recreational materials
 Proximity strategy

21. Coordination
 With communities
 Internally within CARE Haiti and the larger CARE
family
 With authorities (technical ministries and local
authorities)
 With other partners via numerous coordination
forums
 With donors
…including numerous other partners

23. Looking ahead: priorities for
reconstruction
 Partnership with government/civil society
 Supporting capacity development of Haitian
society
 Promoting dialogue among humanitarian actors,
and between international community and local
civil society
 Addressing deep inequalities, encouraging
social cohesion
 Women’s empowerment/youth engagement