Times are hard for women and families devastated by the series of hurricanes that hit Haiti in quick succession in 2008. Oxfam is working hard to help them recover. Kristie van de Wetering reports.

 

On a small charcoal stove in a dark corner Swaziliya Pierre Louis cooks a meager meal for her family.  The 52-year-old mother and grandmother is one of more than 100 people who were forced to take shelter in the Xskandal nightclub in Miragoane when Tropical Storm Hanna,  swept through Haiti in September 2008 (more on the hurricanes here.)

“When the storm came, water poured into the entire house.  Everything, all that I had - which was not very much - was destroyed, including my stock of sugar and oil that I used to sell in the market.  And I borrowed money to buy those things. Now I have absolutely nothing.”  Like so many Haitian women, Swaziliya supported herself and her family by purchasing items on credit and selling them for a small profit in the local market.  Now, not only is her home and livelihood destroyed, she is left with a significant debt to pay off and no way to do so.

 

Her neighbour in the shelter, Mimose Anouska, is in the same situation. The hurricane winds literally picked up her house taking along with it several of her young children. The twisted structure crashed to the ground several metres away, crushing her children inside. “By the grace of God, they all survived, but my second youngest son was seriously injured,” she tells me. She is very emotional as she continues, and through her tears, Mimose says quietly, “If we have found any encouragement to go on, any hope at all, it is thanks to Oxfam and to Maxo,” motioning over to Max Astier, Oxfam’s Project Manager in Nippes.

Oxfam’s emergency response in Nippes has been designed to help people just like Swaziliya and Mimose.   Since the storms, we have been working in the communities of Miragoâne, Paillant, Petite Rivière and Anse à Veau focusing on water and sanitation, income generation, reconstruction, and public health promotion.  Our work has also included carrying out distributions of hygiene and kitchen kits to families in shelters and affected areas.

One focus of our programme has been to help women rebuild their small businesses in order to generate income to provide for their families and eventually pay off their outstanding debts.

“Women are the poto-mitan [centre pillar] in Haitian life - socially and economically, especially in rural areas.  So when a hurricane comes and destroys entire stocks of merchandise, whole families are severely affected,” explains Max Astier.  “Oxfam is working with 300 women to help them start making money again.  We provide small cash grants via local community-run banks as well as offering training in basic money management.  Not only do women receive some capital, but they also become members of the local bank which then makes them eligible for future loans through the bank,” adds Astier.

Yet there is still much to be done. With many crops due for harvesting completely destroyed by the hurricanes, new food shortages are making what as an already precarious situation worse. Especially since those who lost their livelihoods are facing a struggle to afford what food there is available to buy. As Oxfam enters the reconstruction phase of our emergency response, we plan to expand our livelihoods and food security support to reach around 7,500 people in Nippes and Gonaives.

Hurricanes in Haiti: Oxfam’s response

Current emergencies

Tags: Haiti, Humanitarian, hurricanes, kristievanwetering

This entry was posted on Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 11:24 am and is filed under General, Global food crisis, Humanitarian, News Blog, You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.