Operation Hope for Haiti

The island nation of Haiti, the poorest and most vulnerable country in the Western Hemisphere, was battered by three, successive tropical cyclones during late August and early September, 2008. The cumulative rainfall produced by Tropical Storms Gustave, Hanna and Ike caused intense flooding in nine of Haiti’s ten departments. Nationwide, over one million people were adversely affected. According to the Direction de la Protection Civile (DPC), flooding completely destroyed over 4,000 homes while 18,000 more suffered extensive damage. In addition, floodwaters temporarily displaced more than 100,000 people. Even prior to the storms, 85% of the population (estimated around 8.3 million) lived below the poverty line: struggling to survive on an average per capita income of less than $480 per year. It is unimaginable that Haiti’s humanitarian crisis could get any worse. Survival is their daily goal and each new day brings another nightmare.

A shattered country…a “Call to Action”.

The City of Miami responded to this urgent call to action. In complete solidarity through Operation Hope for Haiti, Miami immediately began providing critical emergency relief and aid. Bringing together all sectors—private, public and nonprofit, over 50,000 pounds of food and water were distributed. Through a World Vision 3:1 match grant from USAID’s Food for Peace program, $75,000 contributed for immediate food aid was leveraged into $225,000. The outpouring of support was a stellar example of unity to the rest of the country and a necessary first step to save lives.

As Haiti continues reconstruction efforts, the City of Miami has endorsed a partnership with World Vision to provide targeted support to Hinche, a rural community in the Central Plateau region. It is a unique opportunity to convert the City’s solidarity with Haiti into structured action, which is necessary to establish long-term remedies aimed at prevention and sustainability.

Among the hardest hit areas in Haiti was the town of Hinche, located in the Central Department approximately 80 miles from the capital city, Port-au-Prince. The Guayamouc River, which borders this regional commercial centre of 93,000 inhabitants, overflowed its banks on September 1, 2008. The resulting floodwaters completely inundated over half of the town and severely damaged its water system. As a consequence, more than 750 families were forced to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in shelters. In addition, residents lost access to clean water for several days; hundreds of hectares of crops were lost and; most businesses closed for extended periods.

The partnership is a three-year commitment of $500,000 per year, for a total of $1.5 million, and 500 children sponsored in the surrounding communities. The overall goal is to prevent loss of human life and reduce suffering, especially from floods and other natural disasters. In order to enhance local capacity and increase long-term sustainability, the project has been designed using best practices from World Vision Haiti and abroad. Interventions include the following:

• Environmental recovery—watershed walls, soil conservation, reforestation, and training
• Economic development—cash for work, flood prevention
• Community-to-community connections through block child sponsorship* of 500 children in Haiti