Haiti Earthquake January 2010 Haiti Earthquake assembly One of the poorest places in the world has been torn apart. Hundreds have lost their lives and tens of thousands their homes in the biggest earthquake to hit Haiti in 200 years. ActionAid has been in Haiti since 1996, working with over 30,000 people. We urgently need your help, not just to save lives in the short term, but to ensure that people can rebuild before this crisis turns into a long-term catastrophe. This assembly will give you some background to what happened in Haiti on 12 January 2010 and why the impact of the earthquake was so severe. January 2010

Magnitude – 7.0 Date – 12/01/2010 Time – 16:53:09 local time What happened on 12 January 2010? On Tuesday 12 January 2010 at 16.53 local time (that is 21.53 UK time) Haiti suffered its worst earthquake for 200 years.  It measured 7.0 on the Richter scale. It was quickly followed by 2 aftershocks, both measuring over 5 on the Richter scale. The epicentre of the earthquake was just 10 miles south west of the capital – Port-au-Prince. This is a very densely populated area, where about 1/3 of the country’s population live. The earthquake is estimated to have affected over 3 million people. Up to 200,000 people are feared to have died and 1.5 million to have lost their homes. Buildings, roads, airport, hospitals and the port have been destroyed or damaged. Telephones are not working. Aid is hard to deliver, but more important than ever. Magnitude – 7.0 Date – 12/01/2010 Time – 16:53:09 local time

     Where is Haiti? Haiti occupies the western third of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba. The Dominican Republic occupies the remaining two thirds of the island.

What is Haiti like? Haiti is the poorest country in the Western world - 80% of the population live below the poverty line. GDP per capita in 2009 was just $2 a day. ActionAid has been working in Haiti since 1996 - helping 30,000 poor people annually. Population:9 million Life expectancy: 61 80% earn less than $2 a day 15% children die before they reach 5 53% adults are illiterate 98% land deforested

Why is 98% of land deforested? Haiti was once heavily forested, but gathering fuel wood and clearing land for crops have deforested the hillsides and mountain slopes and led to severe soil erosion. Forested land has been reduced to just two percent of Haiti’s total land area.

Why are Haitian people vulnerable to disasters? As a result, the land can no longer support farmers, and they leave the countryside, move into the crowded cities and live in poorly constructed houses where they try to make a living. The bare mountains and hillsides, many of them surrounding the main cities, are at high risk from lethal landslides, mudslides and flash floods especially in the hurricane season. When the earthquake came the houses collapsed like a pack of cards.

Clean water Safe shelter Medical help Latrines Food, soap, blankets… What do people need in the short term? 1 Our staff is already there working with communities and helping the poorest and most vulnerable people. ActionAid is distributing over 200 tonnes of food - plus shelter and essential goods like soap and blankets to around 20,000 people.

We’re living on the streets at the moment – so we need shelter too. “We need chlorine to purify the water and food as we’ve lost all our provisions. We’re living on the streets at the moment – so we need shelter too. The one good thing is we’re all safe.” What do people need in the short term? 2 This is the Vilne family. All five children were at home when the roof collapsed. They managed to scramble free and now all the family are living on the street in Mariana, one of the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince. Dad rushed home to find his home in rubble and feared the worst. He quickly searched the area and found his wife Marie Rose, 38, and children further up the hill near the church. One of his cousins died in the quake and some of his family are still missing but his immediate family escaped with a few scratches. Two of his children, Wolking, 9, and Marie Wolking, 7, are sponsored by ActionAid Italy. They were both frightened by the earthquake and are still anxious but in good health.

FILM FROM HAITI ON AID DISTRIBUTION What do people need in the short term? 3 Watch film

What do people need in the longer term? In the longer term ActionAid will work in partnership with Haitian organizations to rebuild the houses of poor men and women and their livelihoods. We will also continue our work with communities as they rebuild their lives by restoring livelihoods and helping people recover from the trauma of the earthquake.

£10 could help provide water to 25 families for a day £36 could help supply a kit of vital supplies to a family who have lost everything £50 could help provide temporary shelter for a whole family £200 could help organise psychosocial support to 50 families for a month £300 could help organise specific care and support to 50 vulnerable families (particularly those headed by women) for a month   What can you do in the short term? Fundraise and send donations as soon as possible. Did you have any of these ideas? Which idea do you like the most? How can you make it happen? Make payments at https://support.actionaid.org.uk/store/checkout_donation.asp?prod_id=247. In the longer term learn more and raise your voice on issues like this that keep countries poor and vulnerable. Go to www.actionaid.org.uk/schools.

Thank you www.actionaid.org.uk/schools

ActionAid schools blog – Haiti 1 year on January 2011 update Please note: the link to the Haiti update on the schools blog should be embedded in the link on the screen. If this doesn’t work, the URL is here: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/101715/blog.html?article=2567 January 2011 1 year on from the devastating Haiti earthquake, we take a look at what progress has been made and what still needs to be done. An ActionAid report, Building for the future, and video can be found by following the link below: ActionAid schools blog – Haiti 1 year on