Port au Prince

Help Needed to Save Lives in Haiti

The recent earthquake in Haiti not only killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed countless houses, churches, and government buildings, it devastated a whole nation, causing suffering on an unbelievable scale. Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, where 50 % of all children die before age 15, 70% live below the poverty line and malnutrition rates soar, was desperately poor before the earthquake hit. Now Haiti is faced with large-scale destitution and Haiti’s children look towards an uncertain, if not hopeless future.

Just a few weeks before the most devastating earthquake in 200 years struck an AASHF team member visited Haiti. A seasoned traveler, she was not prepared for what she was about to see. Port au Prince, a city of about 2 million people, barely functioned on a good day. Children roamed the streets, begging, trying to earn a few cents by cleaning windshields, coming dangerously close to moving cars, piles of trash lined the streets, open sewers ran through many of the neighborhoods and people tried to sell everything from sugar cane to lottery tickets to scrape together enough money for another day of subsistence.

Emmanuel

In the countryside, smoldering garbage piles, (often attended by adults and children scavenging for anything re-usable) were almost as common a sight as the countless barren hills, stark reminders of the large scale deforestation that causes erosion of fertile topsoil, making it impossible to grow food in many areas and exposing villagers to life-threatening landslides. Most villages didn’t have electricity or clean drinking water and the nearest school or hospital was often many miles away. Mud-cakes, made from a special mud, a little oil and salt, a common “food” before the catastrophe, will now likely become a staple in even more households.

	Babies from the rescue center sleeping outside because the building is in danger of collapsing
	Rescue center babies sleeping in the driveway because the building isn’t safe.

At the AASHF supported rescue center, we are all too familiar with the nutritional value of mud-cakes. Kwashiorkor, an advanced form of malnutrition, is one of the most common medical conditions they treat. Cases like that of little Emmanuel come through their door on a daily basis. Emmanuel weighed only 16 pounds when he was18 months old. He will stay at the rescue center until he has fully recovered, which could take as long as 12 months, receiving a high protein diet, medical care and lots of love – all free of charge! Usually, there are 60 – 70 children at the rescue center; our project partners are expecting many more in the coming months due to an even greater lack of food after the earthquake. They will take them all, regardless of the fact that their building was destroyed, that fuel, food and infant formula are extremely hard to find right now and that they have to work night and day to meet the needs of the destitute children of Haiti. With your help, we can make a difference!