UPDATE: Nov 3, 2008 – The areas of Haiti still struggling to cope with damages inflicted by recent hurricanes include South, Nippes, West, Artibonite, Center, Nothe and North West.
Gonaives and Nippes, two of the hardest-hit areas, remain difficult to access.
Mud and dust are the biggest challenges facing residents of Haiti. Main roads are destroyed and staff must walk long distances to visit Compassion-assisted child development centers.
Thankfully, all the children from HA-371 have been located and are alive. However, some of these children have moved with their families because of the damage to their homes and belongings.
The following child development centers are among the most affected and have not reopened:
Compassion staff from HA-371 and HA-731 are working to remove mud from the centers.
The ongoing food shortage has grown worse in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Compassion-assisted child development centers continue to provide regular meals to its assisted children.
Please pray for Haiti. The country is in desperate need as residents recover from these storms. Also, please pray for God's wisdom and guidance as Compassion Haiti works to help the children and families who have been affected.
Compassion Haiti will keep us updated as more information is available.
Compassion International will contact you if your sponsored child has been affected.
UPDATE: Oct. 14, 2008 – Compassion Haiti staff are in the process of surveying all the damage resulting from the four successive storms that hit in August and September.
- Compassion staff continue to provide child development centers with food kits that include rice, oil, spaghetti, spices and water purification tablets to distribute to the families of affected Compassion-assisted children.
- Last week Compassion Haiti staff distributed 1,600 food kits to more than eight church child development centers.
Oct. 8, 2008 - Preparations are underway in Haiti to reopen schools that had been damaged by a series of back-to-back storms that all hit in less than four weeks.
Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Tropical Storms Hanna and Fay caused death and severe destruction, affecting close to 1 million people including at least 300,000 children.
- Nearly 70 homes belonging to families of Compassion-assisted children have been damaged, with an additional 20 being completely destroyed.
- More than 150 Compassion-assisted children and 45 child development centers have been affected.
- The storms' impact on animals and crops is widespread.
- 200,000 people still lack access to food and clean water.
Government schools were temporarily closed but have reopened.
The following Compassion-assisted child development centers located in Gonaives, a northern port city that had been hit the hardest by the flooding and devastation, have not yet reopened for regular activities:
- HA-371
- HA-731
- HA-773
- HA-818
Compassion Haiti staff are continuing to provide food supplies to affected families, and the country director, along with other staff, have traveled to Gonaives to assess the needs in the area.
