World Vision Canada

Published purpose

March 16, 2010 - On January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rocked Port-au-Prince, the capital of the impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti. It is estimated that up to three million Haitians have been affected by the disaster and require humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. CIDA's contribution is helping World Vision to meet the basic needs of up to 50,000 earthquake-affected people in Haiti. Project activities include providing non-food items (including hygiene kits and mosquito nets) and transitional shelters to affected households; site preparation; and rubble clearance. World Vision is also providing potable water and sanitation services - including the installation of mobile pit latrines and water storage tanks, the delivery of water to transitional settlements and the distribution of family water containers - and awareness-raising activities in vulnerable earthquake-affected communities to ensure proper upkeep of sanitary infrastructure and proper hygiene practices. The community health component of World Vision's intervention includes mobile health clinics and community workshops to train women on issues of maternal and child health. Finally, cash-for-work activities provide the necessary local labour force to ensure successful implementation of all activities, while injecting much needed capital into disaster-affected communities to help restart the local economy.