Haiti Earthquake

1 March 2010

The situation in Haiti remains critical following the earthquake on Tuesday 12 January, which killed an estimated 230,000 and left 1.5 million people homeless.

We launched an emergency appeal on 14 January to raise money for our partner organisations to provide vital supplies to those who need our help. We have had a huge response and have so far raised over £430,000.

YMCA Haiti
The YMCA Centre in Port-au-Prince, where our partner, YMCA Haiti had been operating since 2001, was lost in the earthquake. However, staff and volunteers have been addressing the needs of the community in the YMCA’s vicinity, using a second YMCA centre to house the displaced and homeless.

On 24 January, staff and volunteers from the Dominican Republic YMCA took a convoy of vital supplies to Haiti by road. The 20 tonnes of food and blankets were distributed to over 500 families. Their convoy also included volunteers, trained relief workers and doctors. A second convoy of food, hygiene kits and food supplements has since been sent from the Dominican Republic.

View a photo gallery of the aid distribution  
Update from Haiti YMCA 27 January
Update from Haiti YMCA 2 February

Boxes of food being distributed by the YMCAs of Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Ray Smith, a volunteer from the US who has arrived in Haiti to help the YMCA, says:

"Work is very complicated, as moving from one place to another takes 2 hours when it previously took 20 minutes. The educational system in Haiti has completely collapsed and children are not going to school. One of the greatest problems people are facing is the lack of security, especially for children, as there are allegations of massive child trafficking."

The YMCA wants to resume its activities as soon as possible and has rented an office space in the neighbourhood where its centre once stood. The greatest need is to create a space for the community to meet, where they can access recreational activities and where the YMCA can offer psychosocial services to those left traumatised by the disaster.

ACT Alliance
Funds from the appeal are also going to our partner, the ACT Alliance. Working through partners on the ground, ACT are assisting some of the most vulnerable people in Port-au-Prince, nearby Gressier and Jacmel and Bainet in the south of Haiti. As well as treating injured people, they have been providing food, sanitation, clean drinking water and hygiene kits.

ACT partners have been providing tents for people living in the camps which sprung up all over Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the earthquake. In the long term, they plan to rebuild their houses. ACT has also been supporting children and young people with psychosocial care and recreational activities.

Read more about the ACT Alliance response

Thank you to all those who have donated so far. You can donate to the appeal by filling in the form below, or you can contact our Fundraising Team on 020 7549 3175. Donations can also be made over the counter at the following Building Societies:

Cambridge Building Society
Coventry Building Society
Cumberland Building Society
Kent Reliance Building Society
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society
Nationwide Building Society
Northern Rock Building Society
Progressive Building Society
Skipton Building Society
Stroud & Swindon Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society