The Salvation Army Responds to Haiti Earthquake
The Salvation Army in Haiti: Healing, Wholeness, and Hope
March 26, 2010
Haiti Disaster Statistics as of 26/3/2010
| Total | |
| FOOD | |
| Numama Rice delivered | 4,537,689 meals |
| Rice and Beans | 261,910 meals |
| MEARS Ready Eat delivered | 18,400 meals |
| Baby Food delivered | 83,504 jars |
| Bottled Water 20oz delivered | 44,064 servings |
| Jugs of Water delivered | 19,152 gallons |
| Water Filtration Systems | 30,000 gallons/day |
| Total Water Supplied | 500,000 gallons |
| 24 oz. Cooking Oil | 26,880 units |
| SHELTER | |
| 8x8 Tents delivered | 3,560 tents |
| Cots delivered | 606 cots |
| MEDICAL | |
| Patients Served | 23,342 individuals |
| MASH Tent delivered | 2 tents |
| Medical Supplies delivered | 8,710 lbs |
| Hygiene Kits delivered | 4,683 kits |
| Eye Glasses | 184 |
| MISC | |
| Rubbermaid Coolers delivered | 791 coolers |
| Duffel Bags delivered | 852 bags |
| Canvas Tote Bags delivered | 10,000 bags |
| 5 Gallon Buckets delivered | 7,024 buckets |
| Wide beam flashlights | 300 |
| Tarps / plastic sheeting | 3,100 |
| Jerry Cans / Water Containers | 3,024 |
| SHIPMENTS | |
| Cargo Flights | 16 flights |
| Containers Shipped | 11 |
| Total Skids (pallets) | 942 |
| Cargo Items | 1,34,6912 lbs |
The Salvation Army responded immediately following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, serving the immediate needs of survivors by providing food, water, shelter, medical assistance and emotional and spiritual care.
The Salvation Army Presence in Haiti (Pre-emergency)
The Salvation Army has been officially working in Haiti since 1950. Our present assets in the country include:
- 63 Commissioned Salvation Army Officers
- 161 Employees
- 39 Corps and 23 Outposts (Worship and Community Centres)
- 5 Social Institutions (Clinics, Children’s Homes)
- 46 Schools with 443 Teachers
Initial Emergency Priorities
The Salvation Army’s initial Emergency Assessment has confirmed the following priorities, in order of immediate importance:
- Water - Safe drinking water
- Nutrition - Food
- Medical Assistance - Medical supplies and treatment
- Shelter
- Trauma, grief, and spiritual counselling
Short Term Recovery
Once the initial needs have been met, the next step will be to provide sustainable solutions to make necessities available to the affect population:
- Continue to provide food, water, and medical services
- Provide assistance to local population to build 5,000 transitional housing units
- Develop strategic plans for long term Salvation Army Program and Facility Reconstruction
Into the future
The Salvation Army was active in Haiti before the earthquake. We will rebuild our damaged facilities, while continuing our already well established programs. We are committed to standing by the Haitian people as they move into the future.
- Rebuild existing medical clinics
- Rebuild existing educational facilities
- Long Term Relief and Reconstruction
- Community Development Projects / Income generation / Child Nutrition / HIV/AIDS
More than 1 million meals distributed in Haiti (Updated 7 February 2010)
As of today, The Salvation Army has distributed 1,288,328 meals as part of its disaster response effort in Haiti. This includes three major distributions of ready-to-eat meals in the Delmas 2 district in Port-au-Prince as well as smaller, targeted distributions in the Cite de Soleil and orphanages in Leogane.
The collaboration of the US 82nd Airborne and Canadian military forces have enabled the distributions to occur without any significant incident. The Salvation Army responded immediately to the earthquake in Haiti, with local Salvationists being quickly joined by international personnel. In addition to providing more than a million meals, The Salvation Army has assumed responsibility for the care of 16,000 people living in the temporary camp near its compound in Port-au-Prince. Its medical clinic continues to treat more than 300 people a day on-site. Salvation Army personnel have also been sent to Petit Goave and Jacmel, to assess the needs and formulate a response.
School Reopens as Salvation Army Takes Responsibility for 20,000 People in Haiti (Update 26 January)
Salvation Army teams in Haiti continue to focus their attention on 12,000 people living on and around a large soccer field behind the main Salvation Army compound in the St Martin area of Port-au-Prince. The United Nations Shelter Cluster has designated The Salvation Army as the ‘lead agency’ for the soccer stadium and another plaza, both adjacent to the Army’s compound. This designation gives The Salvation Army official responsibility to care for more than 20,000 people made homeless by the earthquake.
- Photos courtesy of salvationarmy.ca
- Slideshow of relief effort in Haiti
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John Williamson, Disaster Services Coordinator Caribbean Territory
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- For up to date information go to salvationarmyhaiti.org
Salvation Army teams have distributed more than 24,000 meals in the area around its compound. The food was provided by the United Nations World Food Programme. A 10,000-gallon water purification system, replenished daily, is also operational.
Indicating a small sign that life goes on, The Salvation Army is reopening a school on a temporary site at its compound in Port-au-Prince. Two of the school’s main buildings were destroyed in the earthquake and people are too terrified to enter buildings that are still standing. Salvation Army workers will continue to provide children aged three to six years old with security, nutrition and medical assistance as needed in a makeshift school.
Prior to the earthquake, 1,500 children attended the Salvation Army school, sponsored by Kindernothilfe (KNH). The Salvation Army will offer day-to-day schooling and support for hundreds of children aged three to six years in the coming weeks.
Salvation Army workers are also helping people in other disaster-stricken areas too. A mobile canteen distributes food and water to villages and outlying districts of Port-au-Prince. Also, 4,000 pairs of lightweight shoes have been distributed.
An assessment team has been to Petit Goave, a coastal town 68 kilometres south of Port-au-Prince which was badly damaged by the earthquake. It has been very difficult for aid to reach the area because of debris blocking the road.
Team members continue to attend UN ‘Cluster Meetings’ to coordinate relief activities with other major organisations and ensure the most efficient use of resources. Workers say that food is such a desperate need that many people, though seriously injured, will line up to receive food before seeking medical treatment because they feel lack of food is the greater threat to their immediate survival.
A further 295 families were given medical treatment on Sunday (24 January). More than 1,200 people have received medical aid from Salvation Army doctors, nurses, paramedics and other specialists. The medical teams delivered several babies at the main compound and were also dispatched to various orphanages in the area to assist children and infants who had received little help since the earthquake.
The Salvation Army's first major shipment of supplies, including food and water, has now reached Port-au-Prince. The delivery came overland from Santo Domingo in the neighbouring Dominican Republic. The food and water will be distributed as soon as logistics for an orderly distribution are arranged and coordinated with the support of the United Nations.
Four shipping containers of food, water and personal hygiene items from Jamaica are due to reach Lafiteau, a small port 12 miles from Port-au-Prince, today (26 January). Two of these containers have been prepared by The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territory and will be distributed by the Salvation Army team in Port-au-Prince.
A second major shipment – arranged by the USA-based Salvation Army World Services Organisation (SAWSO) and facilitated through the delivery company UPS – is en route via Santo Domingo. The shipment consists of 20 pallets of food that will provide more than 91,000 meals and water in half-litre bottles and gallon jugs.
Hundreds of volunteers continue to show up at The Salvation Army’s Territorial Headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica. There they receive, sort and repack the many donations of food and clothing that arrive at the Army’s Disaster Services warehouse.
The Salvation Army is working with the Haitian government, the US military, the US Goverment's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the UN, other non-governmental organisations and its corporate partners to implement a broad response to the disaster.
Lieut-Colonel Lindsay Rowe (Chief Secretary of The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territory) says: 'We continue to be deeply moved by the support the Caribbean Territory is receiving from around the world. Our most urgent needs are for prayer and finances to sustain a long-term commitment to rebuild a better Haiti.'
New Life Brings Cheer to Salvation Army Emergency Response Team in Haiti (Update 21 January)
For more than a week the people of Haiti have been trying to cope with the pain and suffering caused by a devastating earthquake. As often in such circumstances, local Salvation Army personnel were immediately on hand to assist people, despite experiencing agonies, bereavements and losses of their own. The more than 700 Salvation Army workers are now being supported by international team members who have experience of working in disaster relief situations.
The international personnel deployed to the scene are based in the capital, Port-au-Prince, at The Salvation Army compound in St Martin. Lieut-Colonel Lindsay Rowe (Chief Secretary, Caribbean Territory) says the area The Salvation Army is working in is considered to be one of the most dangerous in Port-au-Prince and press have been warned to keep clear.
The Salvation Army has had a ministry in St Martin for 60 years and the movement is well respected and appreciated. The compound includes administration buildings, worship halls, a school, children’s home, a feeding programme and a medical clinic. Many of the buildings were badly damaged and some rendered completely unusable by the earthquake. Nevertheless, the area is being well used to coordinate the emergency response, food distribution, medical services and general care and support of local people.
The Salvation Army clinic is at full stretch due to the many people in need of medical attention and aftercare. The clinic is on the same compound as the distribution and feeding centre.
Lieut-Colonel Rowe says: 'It is amazing how well things were organised in such a short time. Immediately after the earthquake the clinic began functioning as a triage station, with victims showing up immediately for treatment. A medical team from the USA was able to set up two surgical rooms for major injuries. There are eight doctors working at the clinic and the team treated more than 200 patients on Monday (18 January) and approximately 300 patients on Tuesday. Unfortunately they are running short on supplies.'
In the midst of all the chaos and confusion of a disaster area, the clinic staff are rejoicing in the birth of three babies this week. Lieut-Colonel Mike Caffull, The Salvation Army's International Emergency Services Coordinator from International Headquarters, London, is on site assisting with the organisation of the Salvation Army response.'In a place where there has been so much death and pain,' he says, 'it is wonderful to see the evidence of new life.'
A large sports ground immediately behind the Salvation Army compound has become home to almost 12,000 people, who are gradually creating family spaces. It is very cramped and without essential services. This community is the main focus of the response coordinated by The Salvation Army in Port-au-Prince, although plans are being made for satellite operations in other towns and cities.
To date the team at the compound has distributed food for up to 18,000 people, organised drinking water to be available in the sports field, given out clothing and provided tents. More tents should be arriving soon.
One of the outcomes of the earthquake and the many aftershocks is that the local population is too afraid to enter any buildings. Most people continue to live and sleep outside on streets, in parks and in compounds away from any potential danger from falling masonry. Yesterday (20 January) an aftershock measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit the region, causing new problems for relief workers in their attempts to distribute much-needed food and water.
Major Hubert Murat (corps officer [church minister] at Port-au-Prince Central Corps) says: 'It is tragic to see so many of the people in our immediate community suffering so much and coping in primitive conditions. We are doing our best to deal with their immediate needs and our officers in the city are coming alongside them with pastoral support.'
Lieut-Colonel Caffull has been amazed by the resilience of the local people who are endeavouring to try and live as normally as possible in the aftermath of the earthquake. He reports that markets are operating, small businesses are re-opening and new ones starting. Despite shortages of essentials, he says, people are calmly seeking the best way forward.
The team is in urgent need of medical supplies, food, water and personal hygiene items. The Salvation Army in Jamaica has prepared four large containers, to join a shipment from Food for the Poor. The containers will be shipped by boat from Kingston to arrive at either Cap Haitia or Port-au-Prince. Salvation Army divisions throughout the Caribbean Territory are joining with other churches and non-government agencies to raise funds and provide supplies for shipment to the team in Haiti.
Lieut-Colonel Rowe is says The Salvation Army is committed to long-term support and redevelopment of Haiti. He assures qualified volunteers that 'their services will be utilised as the situation improves'.
Lieut-Colonel Caffull concludes: 'The problems are great – the need at times overwhelming. We know that people want to help but, at present, the best way is by giving financial assistance and by continuing to pray for the people of Haiti and those trying to help them.'
Salvation Army Teams in Haiti Provide Food and Medical Aid (Update 19 January)
Although severely suffering from the effects of the 7.0 earthquake that devastated much of Haiti a week ago The Salvation Army in that country has been fully mobilised in reaching out to help others. The initial response has been aimed at helping people survive. This life-saving effort concentrates on getting food, water and shelter to as many people as possible and has involved more than 700 Salvation Army personnel from Haiti.
The local Salvation Army emergency response is being supported by international Salvation Army teams which have assisted in setting up staging areas in Kingston, Jamaica, and south Florida, USA, and arranging logistics on the ground in Port-au-Prince. The supply lines established have already helped deliver skilled disaster relief workers, medical teams and supplies to those who have been affected.
This afternoon security was arranged and Salvation Army teams began food distribution. A one-week supply of food was given to 6,000 families. This is just a drop in the bucket compared to the enormous population still awaiting food and water. One million prepared meals should arrive from the USA today.
At International Headquarters (IHQ) in London and in various countries throughout the Caribbean, as well as in the USA and Canada, The Salvation Army is working with corporate partners and vendors to send bulk food, quantities of pre-packaged meals, bottled water, tents, lanterns and other supplies, along with several 15,000-gallon water purification units and multiple mobile hospitals.
Once the emergency situation becomes stabilised, Salvation Army teams will be able to turn their attention to the long task of recovery and rebuilding. However, this will be some time in occurring as urgent life-saving needs require the full attention of all available Salvation Army emergency personnel.
The initial international Salvation Army assessment team arrived in Haiti on Friday 15 January and has worked with the Haitian government and the US military to gain clearance for relief flights to the airport in Port-au-Prince. In addition, the team is working with the local military, the Jamaica Defence Force and the United Nations to arrange transportation, security and delivery of supplies. Subsequently, teams from IHQ, Canada and the UK have assisted in preparing command and distribution centres.
On Sunday 17 January a 14-person Salvation Army medical team from north America, including eight doctors, arrived in Port-au-Prince with medical supplies. This is the forerunner of a number of other teams that will be arriving from around the world.
Also on Sunday more than 1,000 people attended open-air church worship in Port-au-Prince.
According to reports from Salvation Army staff in Port-au-Prince, no one in the main Salvation Army compound was injured during the earthquake, even though the Salvation Army children’s home, school, clinic, residences and churches suffered major damage or collapsed completely.
Thousands of people have made their home in a large football field behind the Salvation Army compound. The emergency teams are concentrating much of their efforts towards these people. There have been several minor quakes in recent days – one measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale – and many buildings are still unsafe.
Although The Salvation Army's La Maison du Bonheur Children's Home sustained damage it continues to care for 52 children and is preparing to receive 135 babies and small children from another orphanage in the countryside. Responding to a request posted on The Salvation Army's Caribbean website, two members of the emergency team went into the countryside and found 30 infants under the age of five months holed up in the back of a tractor trailer with no food or water since the earthquake. The children are now being transported to Port-au-Prince for ongoing care.
Salvation Army teams have grave concerns for the countryside areas as Port-au-Prince is the hub for the whole country. Now that the supplies from this 'service centre' have been disrupted it will be just a matter of time before fuel and food in the outlying areas runs out. Some Salvation Army centres have solar energy but most depend on diesel generators. The territorial commander has been promised the use of a helicopter to allow him and the divisional commander to visit locations outside the Port-au-Prince area that have also been badly damaged, including Petit Goave, Jacmel and Bellamie.
Update: Salvation Army Workers in Haiti Make Progress (Update 18 January)
Salvation Army teams in Haiti are finding ways round the logistical difficulties of providing urgent aid to people affected by the earthquake in and around Port-au-Prince. Storage facilities have been acquired and local Salvationists continue to provide whatever assistance they can.
Major Tom Louden was part of the team from the Salvation Army World Services Organisation (SAWSO) that drove across Haiti to reach the capital on Friday 15 January. He reports that The Salvation Army has secured a building at the end of the runway in Port-au-Prince. The building is secure and provides 16 rooms for sleeping accommodation, with a media room and a place to cook food. He also says the team has use of two warehouses nearby that are available for supplies and equipment.
A command centre has been set up at The Salvation Army's National Headquarters in Virginia, and a second team has flown into Port-au-Prince, including the Haiti-born Territorial Commander of the Caribbean Territory, Colonel Onal Castor. Also on board were experienced emergency worker Major George Polarek and Major Ron Busroe, an American Salvation Army officer who is the former divisional commander for Haiti. This second team accompanied a cargo plane loaded with vital supplies.
The SAWSO team members are working closely with local Salvationists to ensure aid gets to people who need it most.
Staff from Salvation Army medical clinics are inundated with people who need urgent care and they continue to help as many people as possible. Interviewed by Larry King on CNN, Bob Poff – an American serving as The Salvation Army's director of disaster services on Haiti – said that he, along with almost everyone in Port-au-Prince, is sleeping outside because the buildings are unsafe.
Children from the Salvation Army home are sleeping in the middle of the divisional headquarters compound. More international personnel await the availability of private planes to fly them to Haiti.
Lieut-Colonel Mike Caffull of International Emergency Services says it is still very difficult to get to Haiti. He writes: 'The many cargo planes, and the occasional VIP plane, crowd out airspace and make it difficult for our aircraft to get a flight plan approved before being subject to last-minute changes because of the crowded airspace around Haiti.
There is hope that a large cargo flight will leave Miami for Haiti tomorrow, loaded with relief goods for The Salvation Army. When this arrives it will enable the relief programme to begin to get to the levels we hope to achieve.
'A big thank you to so many people who are praying for us and the teams at this time.' Lieut-Colonel Caffull's words are echoed by General Shaw Clifton, who asks for continued prayer for the people of Haiti, the country's Salvationists and the Salvation Army team members who are trying to bring help in incredibly difficult circumstances.
14 January 2009
The Salvation Army in Australia has launched an appeal to support those affected by the earthquake in Haiti, which has caused extensive damage to buildings and significant loss of life.
Lt. Colonel Pamela Hodge, International Development Director, said The Salvation Army is offering every possible support to help those affected by the tragedy.
"Salvation Army personnel in Haiti responded immediately, offering as much assistance as possible, including some shelter, food and clean water. The Salvation Army's administrative compound is also being used as an emergency operations centre with people sleeping in the parking lot.
"Our Prayers are with the people of Haiti and we will continue to respond in the best manner possible. So far The Salvation ARmy in Australia has pledged $150,000 to assist those devastated by the earthquake", she said.
The country's infrastructure has been shattered and many of The Salvation Army's buildings and facilities have also seen significant damage as a result.
The Salvation Army began its work in Haiti in 1950. Currently, services offered include three medical facilities, social service institutions and dozens of schools servicing more than 10,000 children.
Notice to child sponsors: Of great concern in the hours after the earthquake was the fact that a number of children from The Salvation Army children’s home and Salvation Army schools were unaccounted for. We will update any news as soon as we know.
