Before the earthquake, life in Haiti was difficult. Families living in the poorest economy in the Western hemisphere often lacked the most basic of necessities—safe water, adequate food and education. The earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010 vastly compounded these issues.

In the last year, World Vision has been working hard to help improve life for survivors. Though there have been challenges, our emergency work has reached hundreds of thousands of families and children. These are some highlights of our work to date.

Immediately following the disaster our emergency efforts provided:

• Food aid to more than 220,000 households.
• Over 189 million litres of drinkable water to over 132,000 people.
• Household supplies including cooking supplies, bed sheets, blankets, buckets, mosquito nets and toiletries to more than 350,000 people.
• More than 113,000 tarpaulins and 7,497 tents.

These vital supplies helped to preserve lives in the chaotic early months after the disaster.

Ongoing relief efforts continued to meet the needs of families living in displacement camps.

• Established 22 Child-Friendly Spaces where more than 5,600 children play, sing, dance, draw, heal and learn.
• More than 70,000 children benefited from school feeding programs. More than 49,000 children unable to go to school received food supplements at one of 180 feeding centres.
• Five fixed health clinics and four mobile clinics served 11 camps in Port au Prince and two mobile clinics served three camps near the border.
• More than 14,770 people participated in cash-for-work programs. More than 1,900 people participated in cash-for-skills-based training, including gardening techniques, masonry and carpentry.
• 630 families received transitional shelters. It’s our goal to build 3,500 shelters by June 2011.

In Partnership with Others
World Vision is pushing for greater coordination and aid effectiveness. We are working with the United Nations and NGO partners to help Haiti’s government develop a common shelter strategy. Our goal is to empower Haitians to build a better country and a better future for themselves. Read more about World Vision’s advocacy efforts.

Looking Ahead
In the long-term, World Vision will work with families to appropriately transition services—meeting the needs of people still living in camps while simultaneously working with those moving back to their former neighbourhoods or new communities.

Given the complexity of the crisis and the compounding impact of cholera and tropical storms, the relief phase is still far from over. Through this, World Vision remains focused on the well being of children, since they are the most affected by disasters like this one.