Ireland is making a difference in Haiti

Posted on 17/07/10 by Peter Power

Peter Power, TD, Minister of State for Overseas Development Minister Power spent July 5 and 6 assessing how Irish Aid funding is making a real difference in Haiti.

Last night hundreds of thousands of Haitian families sheltered from torrential rain in shacks made from waste wood and sheets of plastic. This morning, the adults face a long day searching for food for their children amongst the ruins of their country. The lucky ones will spend the day shifting rubble by hand in gruelling heat and humidity.

I have visited some of the world’s poorest countries in my role as Minister for Overseas Development, but the situation in Haiti is the most desperate I have witnessed. It is an almost unique combination of grinding poverty and complete physical devastation.

Aside from the appalling loss of life, some 190,000 houses were destroyed in the 12 January earthquake, leaving 1.5m people in need of shelter. Only weeks from the start of the hurricane season, just 3,500 weather-resistant shelters have been built out of a planned 125,000. The UN and international NGOs are working tirelessly to prepare for the high winds, but are hampered by poor infrastructure, problems with land availability and the fact that many sites are filled with the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The United Nations and Irish humanitarian agencies such as Concern, Trocaire-Caritas and GOAL are using Irish Government funding to bring dignity to the lives of the homeless, installing basic amenities such as latrines and water stands.

I visited the inhuman conditions in the Place de la Paix camp, which is home to 20,000 people in the ruins of the national football stadium. Concern has put in place a rudimentary drainage system to carry away storm water. This, along with canvas-walled toilet blocks have helped to prevent the spread of disease. I also visited the Petionville area of Port au Prince, where Irish Aid is funding World Vision to run child-friendly spaces which are a cross between a play group and a health clinic. These tented areas allow children to play together and to receive basic healthcare and counselling. They also serve as a registration centre in which children who have been separated from their families can be identified and cared for.

Having spent a morning in some of Port au Prince’s most desperate camps I was amazed and moved to see how Irish funding has helped to restore some normality to these children’s lives. The centres are clean and bright, the children were painting, drawing, singing and dancing, like children anywhere in the world.

In Canape Vert, GOAL is using Irish Aid funding to employ local people in clearing rubble. They provide work and a basic minimum wage while at the same time helping to clear the debris of the earthquake and prepare the area for rebuilding.

I also met with the skilled volunteers from Ireland’s Rapid Response Corps are also making an enormous contribution. People like Bernard Wright from Kilternan, who provides specialised mapping and logistical skills to the World Food Programme (WFP), and Kevin O’Connell, a lecturer at DIT, who works with WFP as an electrical engineer. The Corps was established by the Government following the Asian tsunami of 2006 so that highly-skilled Irish people could contribute to humanitarian operations. At the same time the Government, working with the UN, established a series of humanitarian depots around the globe, from which emergency supplies could be transported at short notice. In the biggest airlift of humanitarian supplies the Irish Government flew in more than 130 tonnes of emergency shelter, water and sanitation equipment, benefiting 12,000 families. Irish Aid worked with our partners Concern, Trocaire and GOAL in the distribution of these supplies.

Looking forward, it is likely to be towards the end of 2010 before the rebuilding of Haiti gets underway in earnest. It will be a massive operation overseen by a Commission set up between the Government of Haiti and the international community. Former US President Bill Clinton, the UN Special Envoy for Haiti, will play a central role along with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. I met President Clinton immediately before travelling to Haiti and was struck by his confidence that the appalling events of 12 January could provide Haitians with the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and refound their country. President Clinton has been involved in Haiti for many years and is passionate about its people and their potential. Likewise, Prime Minister Bellerive is an articulate advocate for the Haitian people, who is determined to ensure the rebuilding effort is properly planned and coordinated. In my meeting with the Prime Minister this week he told me of his fear that well-intentioned, but unplanned house building could result in the creation of new slums. The Haitian Government’s priority is the construction of communities, with proper attention to delivering amenities, education, and, above all, employment.

I was struck in the days immediately following the earthquake by the enormous generosity of the Irish people at a time of economic hardship in contributing millions of Euro to charities and NGOs working in Haiti. The government has also pledged €13 million which, combined with public contributions, makes Ireland one of the largest per capita contributors to the relief effort.

Having seen at first hand the sheer scale of the devastation, I know just how much this contribution is both necessary and appreciated.

Peter Power is TD for the Limerick East Constituency and Minister for Overseas Development.

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