Five years ago, Haiti was hit by a violent earthquake. The relief and reconstructions work that followed showed clearly that the weaker a society is, and the worse the authorities performance, the greater the disaster becomes.
“The earthquake in Haiti hit the capital and the administration system for the entire country. And disasters in cities are much harder to manage than disasters in rural areas. In cities people live closer, and the poor live in particularly vulnerable areas. When water and power supplies break down there is simply no water and power in a city”, remembers Erik Johnson, Head of Humanitarian Response in DanChurchAid.
Difficult, slow and frustrating
A combination of poor management, too little money and corruption made the clearing up and reconstruction in Haiti extremely difficult.
“As the poorest country in the western hemisphere the people and the authorities in Haiti were already vulnerable before the earthquake. The UN had a Peacekeeping Mission in the country to ensure stability following political unrest, and the earthquake hit everybody; ordinary people, authorities, UN troops and NGOs”, Erik Johnson tells.
Two girls in a newly built village where 150 homeless families have been rehoused.
“The earthquake in Haiti has clearly illustrated how poverty leads to extra vulnerability to disasters.”
And on top of all that, part of the UN Mission triggered, by accident, a cholera epidemic because a military barracks built latrines over a stream.
Risk of fraud
After the earthquake, relief funds poured into Haiti, and the weak and corruptstructures were almost an invitation to misuse and swindle.
“We sent three staff members off, two of them solely to train our partners and other organisations in how to ensure the quality of relief work – and ensure a credible and responsible way of handling the money that is entrusted to them”, Erik Johnson says.
Well-meaning amateurs
The earthquake in Haiti showed very clearly that disasters require professional relief.
A great many individuals and inexperienced organisations went to Haiti to help, but they mostly were in the way. There were more than 100 organisations present at some of the meetings where the relief effort was coordinated. But a disaster situation is not the place for inexperienced people to try out their ideas and if they can help. Many of these people should have stayed at home and have sent money instead”, remembers Erik Johnson.
Progressing slowly
In spite of the major difficulties, the relief effort has delivered results.
Especially the children are better off. More children go to school and fewer children are suffering from malnutrition.
But there is still a need for help in Haiti. DanChurchAid’s partners in ACT Alliance continue to help the population to re-establish a stable livelihood and greater resilience if a disaster should hit again.
People in the countryside have been helped with seeds, new animals and training in agriculture.