Four weeks after the earthquake in Haiti

The first steps towards the fresh start

The devasting earthquake in Haiti destroyed
many houses and streets in the whole country. (11.02.2010)  Four weeks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Welthungerhilfe together with the victims of the disaster has begun the initial measures for giving the country a fresh start. In Petit Goâve, a town 40 km to the west of Port-au-Prince which suffered a particularly severe level of destruction, the initial clear-up work has started in accordance with the "cash for work" principle. About 600 men and women will be receiving the equivalent of four Euros a day over the next few months if they work for seven hours a day clearing away the debris in the town. The necessary implements such as hammers, shovels and wheelbarrows are being provided.  

Distribution of emergency
packages.  © Grossmann"With these projects we are giving people not just an income with which they can feed their families, but we are making a contribution towards getting the country's economic development going again" says Wolfgang Jamann, Welthungerhilfe's General Secretary. Welthungerhilfe will use the donations that have been collected to fund a long-term programme over the next five years for the reconstruction of Haiti and for giving it a fresh start.

As part of the programme not only will ruins be cleared in the town, but important roads leading to the hinterland will be also repaired. This will allow economic life to be resumed in the rural districts as regional trade revives and the people taking part get an initial income after the disaster. Social institutions benefit at the same time, such as children's homes for instance, whose employees can't clear away the mounds of rubble on their own. These "cash for work" projects are also to be extended to other areas outside Port-au-Prince that are especially devastated by the earthquake.