Kemira employees and the company donated 37 388 euros last spring to Plan International for their work in helping the earthquake victims in Haiti. 12 months have now passed since the disaster and Plan reports what has been done and what is the situation in Haiti today.
The young people of Haiti need protection, education and job opportunities if the earthquake-ravaged country is to properly recover, says children’s organization, Plan International. One year after the disaster, the nation finds itself at a crossroads – but only strong and swift decisions by the government will take it down the road to a fair and sustainable future.
Based on priorities identified by children and youths in Plan and UNICEF in nationwide consultations, the government is now being called upon to:
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- Adopt a national building code and approved designs for permanent, safe and disability-friendly schools
- Creating an effective birth registration system (including free registration for all people who lost birth certificates in the earthquake) – to ensure better access to education, social and health services; clarify land ownership & prevent child trafficking & other child rights abuses
- Create formal mechanisms for children and youth to fully engage with the Government & the Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (CIRH) in the rebuilding process.
CEO of Plan International, Nigel Chapman said: In the face of the almost overwhelming need and hardship in Haiti, progress is being made. But it is complex, demanding and at times, frustrating. What is needed right now is decisive and committed leadership to get things moving.
Plan’s emergency response in the last 12 months has to date:
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- Helped 30,000 children back to school by rebuilding some 50 schools, providing school kits, training teachers & providing equipment.
- Supported treatment of 27,000 patients in mobile clinics, backed with a $13 million drug donation
- Vaccinated 31,000 children against diseases
- Provided 39,000 people with tents and basic non-food supplies in the immediate earthquake aftermath
- Provided work for 28,000 people through our cash-for-work schemes – clearing 13,000 metres of road, 50,000 of canals and drains, digging latrines, clearing sites for classrooms and planting over 400,000 seedlings on deforested land
- Reached 100,000 people through our cholera response since October with hygiene kit distributions, prevention campaigns and water & sanitation and health interventions