Haiti Earthquake

24 March 2010

An estimated 230,000 people were killed and 1.5 million left homeless by the earthquake which hit Haiti on Tuesday 12 January. Thousands of people are being housed in temporary camps in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince.

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 raised over £546,000. Thank you to all those who have donated so far.

YMCA Haiti
The YMCA Centre in Port-au-Prince, where our partner, YMCA Haiti had been operating since 2001, was destroyed 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
Update from Haiti YMCA 5 March 

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

Ray Smith, a volunteer from the USA who is helping the YMCA, says:

"Work is very complicated, as moving from one place to another takes 2 hours when it previously took 20 minutes. The education 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 has rented an office space in the neighbourhood where its centre once stood, so it can start resuming activities as soon as possible. They plan to provide psychosocial services to those who have been left traumatised by the disaster. The YMCA will also provide income generation activities and educational support to young people.

ACT Alliance
Funds from the appeal are also going to our partner, the ACT Alliance. Working through partners on the ground, ACT are assisting 150,000 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.

They have also been providing tents, blankets and mosquito nets to people living in the displacement camps which sprung up all over Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the earthquake, as well as building emergency latrines. Sanitation and hygeine are major concerns as the rainy season is now starting in Haiti. ACT has also been supporting children, young people and people with disabilities with psychosocial care and recreational activities.

Read more about the ACT Alliance response

To donate to the appeal, please fill 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