Saturday, May 29, 2010

Haiti Next Steps




Haiti Recovery and Redevelopment
The Haiti Health Collaborative

Focus on Grand–Goâve, Haiti

A GIANT & H4HD Partnership


A fierce 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti late Tuesday afternoon on January 12, 2010, bringing even more suffering to a nation that was already the hemisphere’s poorest and most disaster-prone. Centered 10 miles from Port Au Prince the capital of Haiti, it was the worst earthquake to hit the region in over 200 years and the devastation has been enormous.
The most desperate and immediate needs of the more than 3 million Haitians who have been impacted by the disaster are food, water, shelter and medical care / medical supplies.


Contact
www.giantglobal.org
Phone: 770.491.8667
Fax: 770.491.8655
The phases leading to recovery

• Search and rescue including the use of heavy equipment to remove rubble in the effort to save lives.
• Immediate relief: the provision of immediate needs to survivors such as medical assistance, food, cleans water and shelter.

• Short-term recovery: comes during the weeks and months after the immediate relief effort. It includes providing temporary housing, temporary schools, the initial rebuilding of infrastructure and services for displaced families

• Long-term recovery: This phase is measured in years, and includes livelihood restoration and permanent rebuilding of homes, schools and infrastructure.


Our commitment

It is evident that the needs of the Haitian people will continue long after the immediate relief phase of the recovery period. We will be setting up temporary clinics in different parts of Haiti over the next few weeks to months. We will also continue to ship items like food, clothes, medical supplies, and medications to our local partners.

G.I.A.N.T. and other partners will be involved in providing assistance in all areas, building local capacity and also providing funds to support medical assistance, and the provision of food, clean water and shelter.

In our commitment to support long-term recovery efforts we will help rebuild safer, healthier and more sustainable communities.

We have now supported and coordinated logistics for several medical teams that have gone or are in the process of going to Haiti. We continue to act as a clearing house for doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and other relief professionals who want to assist Haiti.

While in Haiti the teams we work with have focused on needs assessments, food provision, counseling, medical care and support. The main sites of the efforts so far have been Léogâne, Carrefour, St- Marc (hospital), and the General Hospital. Our outreach will continue in Jacmel, parts of Port au Prince, Gros – Morne and Léogâne. We also have local partners who work with us in Les Cayes, Cap-Haitien, and Gonaives.

For our next focus we will partner with Humanity 4 Haitian Development (H4HD) and other organizations in an attempt to help rebuild Grand–Goâve, Haiti. We will assist with the development of local capacity by providing technical assistance, and also by providing cash assistance to local groups for the purchasing of relief supplies locally which will support the local economy, and contribute to the recovery process.







Grand–Goâve, Haiti
Grand-Goâve (Haitian Creole: Grangwav) is a city in the Ouest Department of southwestern Haiti.
The town is one of the oldest cities of the country, and was named Goâve by the Amerindians. The Spanish called it Aguava at the end of the 16th century. After French colonization through the releasing of the Spanish, the French divided the city into two halves, Grand-Goâve and Petit-Goâve.
Ninety percent of Grand-Goâve was destroyed by the earthquake that happened on January 12, 2010. All public buildings were destroyed, including the schools, city hall, and police station.
Key points

The team is looking for funding and assistance to conduct a thorough needs assessment of Grand-Goâve in the following areas: public health, water & sanitation, health care, agro-sustainability, and education.

• The entire focus of our efforts will be to RESEARCH, ANALYZE and ASSESS the current living situations in Grand-Goâve, to see the short and long term needs of the people.

• Food, temporary shelter, medical supplies and medicines will be part of our temporary / short term relief efforts. However, the heart of the issue is to detail exactly what will sustain Grand-Goâve for years to come. This is what our experts will be initiating and documenting so that we can establish comprehensive and sustainable initiatives.

• We cannot assume the needs of the Haitian population, or begin project/capacity building without FIRST laying the bricks for a strong foundation.

Needs Assessment Focus Areas for June / July 2010 trips

• Water, Sanitation, Environment
• Education
• Agriculture, Food, Nutrition
• Health Care (Medical/public/dental/mental/rehab)
• Shelter, Housing, Infrastructure
• Documentary / Photojournalism



Haiti Recovery and Redevelopment
The Haiti Health Collaborative


Help Rebuild HAITI









Contact
www.giantglobal.org
Phone: 770.491.8667
Fax: 770.491.8655


Grand Goave , Haiti community appraisal / community needs assessment
• Define aims of appraisal (completed)
• Identify community for assessment - Grand Goave, Haiti
• Identify study team (GIANT & H4HD)
• Train in qualitative techniques - in progress
• Examine available information - in progress
• Define key questions and issues - in progress
• Pilot questions in interviews or questionnaires -in progress
• Identify key informants (June 2010 Trip)
• Choose and use appropriate methods (June 2010 Trip)
• Analyze information after each interview (June 2010 Trip)
• Write report and develop action plan (July to August 2010)
* Education / School Trip (October 2010)
* Comprehensive Trip (December 2010 / January 2011)

*PLEASE JOIN US !!!