Solidarity Visit to the YWCA of Haiti
Solidarity Visit to the YWCA of Haiti
The World YWCA paid a Solidarity Visit to the YWCA of Haiti from February 24 to March 1, 2010 following the massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation on Tuesday January 12, 2010. The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, has left the country in ruin with 230,000 people confirmed dead according to the Haitian Government, and an estimated one million homeless.
Marie-Claude Julsaint, World YWCA Programme Director for the Americas and the Caribbean and Donnalie Edwards-Cabey, President of the YWCA of the Virgin Islands visited the country to show solidarity and support with their sisters of the YWCA of Haiti on behalf of the movement. Back in Geneva, Marie-Claude shares with us her impressions and thoughts.
What is the frame of mind of Haitian people?
Most people I saw and talked to are tired - physically and emotionally-, stressed and traumatised by the January 12th earthquake. Families are still mourning their loved ones. Many people, whose homes have not collapsed but have cracks, prefer to sleep in tents. Parents are preoccupied because their children are unable to go back to school and they don't know how long this situation will last. University students don't know if they have lost a whole year nor when they will be able to resume classes. Most young professionals, male and female, have had to find a new job (there is an incredible number of NGOs present in Haiti and looking for competent, professional locals). The private sector is trying to get their businesses back and running again as they were prior to January 12th. At the same time they also are very hopeful that this situation is in fact an opportunity for Haiti. I saw people smiling, laughing, dancing and children playing soccer in the temporary camps.
According to your findings and those from the YWCA of Haiti, what are the number 1 needs for Haitians?
According to me, the number one priority right now for Haitians, including women and children, is psychosocial support. The majority of Haitians show signs of post disaster trauma symptoms and are in need of individual or group treatment. But this psychological support will need to be thought through and implemented very carefully, for example with French-speaking or Creole-speaking psychologists and with the Haitian context in mind (seeking psychological support is not a common thing in Haiti). Churches and faith-based organisations and their leaders can play an important role here, if they are equipped and have the capacity to provide this type of specific support.
The YWCA of Haiti has developed 3 key messages in relation to the specific needs of women and girls:
- Continue to invest in women and girls in Haiti (including through education, leadership training, training in sexual and reproductive health and rights, psycho-social counselling, financing and support to women's organisations including YWCA of Haiti)
- End violence against women and girls in Haiti, including in refugee camps
- Ensure safe spaces for women and girls in Haiti
What is the main challenge for the following months?
At this time, we are still in the emergency phase but also beginning the rehabilitation phase. The longer term reconstruction and development phase remains a major challenge and must take into account lessons from the past (eg. the 1751 and 1770 earthquakes which destroyed Port-au-Prince and the 1842 earthquake which devastated Cap Haitian) and respect norms and protection measures. But in the coming months, with the rainy season fast approaching, we need to continue to distribute tents in the temporary camps. In many of the temporary camps that I saw, tents were fabricated with pieces of cloth, which cannot protect from the rain.
However, when we speak of Haiti's reconstruction, we should not only think of infrastructure, which is an important element, but also of individual lives and livelihoods!
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