Haiti’s Earthquake Response and Restoration

The current turmoil in Haiti has its people again facing major challenges, including increased violence, the assassination of the former president of Haiti, the recent earthquake, all coupled with political turmoil over the last two years. We stand in solidarity with them and share our heartfelt prayers and condolences.

The Haitian Women’s Collective has launched additional programming with the support of MADRE and individual supporters to enhance various projects of our member organizations, as well as support of primarily Haitian women-led organizations in response to the catastrophic effects of the earthquake. Using a human rights framework and a foundation of respect, participation and transparency, we will provide direct cash funding and in-kind support to locally established organizations. We recognize our collective assets and know that we are not experts in this first phase of disaster response. As such, we will not hinder that process by “showing up” in Haiti with good intentions.

Rather we, the HWC, will source local goods as much as possible to support the economy of Haiti and maintain employment of local nationals. Together with our members, we will provide updated information on our work and visit Haiti when it is appropriate and not a barrier to the process of emergency response and support. We hold ourselves accountable for the distribution of funds and program monitoring. We will provide a public report within three months of the distribution of funds.

The following established, local, vetted organizations will receive immediate support as part of Phase 1, from the Haitian Women’s Collective. Our priority areas of support include healthcare, education, mental health, maternal health, access to clean water and hygiene, as well as looking at long-term sustainability related to areas of agriculture, economic development and housing.

Phase One Programming

HWC MEMBERS

• Community2Community – Continuous Care Initiative (healthcare, water, education)
• Fleur de Vie – stipends for teachers– education, support for youth activities
• FAHM – Technical assistance to support positive maternal health indicators with trained midwives
• HDRG – Support to their member organization OFJ to provide immediate support to women and their families

SUPPORT IN SISTERHOOD – With the belief that women play an important role in leading at the grassroots level, we will partner with and provide financial support to the following organizations:

• The Haiti Adolescent Girls Network – supporting already established safe spaces for girls in the Grande Anse area
• OFJ – Organizasyon Fanm Jabrun in the Les Cayes area – support of women’s agriculture, micro finance projects

While these areas are a priority for us, we call on the international development community to do better in their response to another disaster in Haiti. Our experiences and the well-documented failure of aid in the past requires a commitment to listening to the people of Haiti (who know their needs) and strengthening the infrastructure of the Haitian government. It is time for a rights-based approach to short-term and long-term sustainability that includes capacity building, participation, transparency, accountability, and equity.

Donations can be made via: MADRE (https://support.madre.org/give/352986/#!/donation/checkout)