By James Addis
 
Yulisa Filemond, 8, briefly hides under a blanket, her attempt to escape for a moment from the blazing sun.
 
There has been little protection from the sun and rain since her home was completely flattened in the worst earthquake to hit Haiti for 200 years.
 
Yulisa and her mother, Barbe, along with more than 100 other families are camped on the grounds of a large home in Petion-ville. In some ways it is more pleasant than most campsites. There are a few trees for shade and there are nicely manicured lawns to stretch out on. The wealthy homeowner has allowed families to camp there for a month or two, until more satisfactory accommodation can be found.
 
Some of the homeless have tents, some plastic sheeting from which they have made crude shelters. However, Yulisa and Barbe have neither. They sleep directly under the stars, with a few blankets and a laundry basket full of pots and pans and other small belongings that Barbe managed to salvage from her home.
 
But the lack of shelter is among the least of Barbe’s concerns at the moment. Right now, her chief worry is food.
 
A Great Relief
Within five days Barbe had exhausted all the food she could extract from the shell of her home. Since then, she and Yulisa have survived on bread and rice that they have bought from the market. However, she says her money is just about done.
 
To her great relief, they recently received a 14-day ration of lentils, cooking oil, corn soy blend and soy-fortified bulgur from World Vision.
 
“If this food had not come today I do not know what we would have eaten,” she says as other homeless families gather around to listen to her story.
 
In addition to their gratitude for the food rations, Barbe and Yulisa are also thankful to be alive, albeit in mourning. Barbe’s aunt and cousin, who lived next door, were killed during the disaster. 
 
Please make a donation to World Vision’s relief efforts in Haiti.