Caritas Australia supports education and literacy programs in many developing countries in working toward MDG 2 — achieving universal primary education.
In the six months
since Haiti was ravaged by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, Caritas has
helped more than 2.3 million Haitians to rebuild and renew in the wake
of unprecedented devastation. Together with local community partners,
Caritas Australia is now working to fulfill the island’s most
pressing need: permanent shelter.
Since
January 12, the Australian community has generously committed more than
$4 million to Caritas Australia’s Haiti appeal. With
Australia’s support the Caritas network has delivered food aid to
nearly 1.5 millionpeople, healthcare to over 400,000 and assisted more
than 160,000 with temporary shelter in Haiti’s most vulnerable
communities.
Caritas Australia’sCEO Jack de Groot
said: “The past six months of emergency relief have put the
commitment and capacity of our Caritas partners to the test in a nation
mired by poverty and unrest, and vulnerable natural disaster.
“Yet for the millions of earthquake survivors: those
who lost their families and their homes; whose livelihoods have gone
from desperate to worse, it has been six months of tragedy, of
uncertainty and of vulnerability beyond
comprehension.”
“The scale of Caritas’ response in Haiti has
been mammoth, enabling millions to eat, to heal, to reunite with
families, to attend school, to feel secure and most importantly to
regain a sense of stability. But with more than one million people still
living in makeshift settlements and camps around Port-au-Prince, one of
the greatest challenge for Caritas will now be helping these families
build secure and permanent shelters to call home.”
This
year Caritas Australia will support our partners in Haiti as they begin
construction on the first permanent shelters in the mountains east of
Leogan - recognised as one of the districts most severely affected by
January’s earthquake.
Caritas’ housing pilot - the initial phase of a $16
million program to see 1,700 homes constructed in remote communities -
will draw on local expertise, capacity, and sustainable and accessible
materials to build 100 new households in a community where 95 percent of
homes were destroyed in the earthquake.
“Rebuilding permanent houses isn’t just about
ensuring shelter from Haiti’s characteristic heavy rains and
robust cyclones; it’s about building homes, synonymous with
security and stability, and enabling Haitians to regain control of their
own lives,” Mr de Groot said.
The
reconstruction in remote and marginal communities will form part of
Caritas’ long-term commitment and comprehensive response to the
innumerable needs of Haiti’s most vulnerable. Bolstered by the
generosity of our supporters, Caritas will continue to deliver basic
services throughout Haiti whilst working to build local capacity through
ongoing grassroots development.
“In six months the Caritas response has brought
invaluable relief to millions of Haitians beset by the disaster, but
with so many lives uprooted there can be little doubt we have a long way
to go.”
“Haiti is one of the poorest and least developed
nations in the world; more than 80 percent its citizens struggle to
survive on less that $2 USD a day. Even prior to this year’s
tragedy, Haiti was engulfed by irreconcilable socio-economic challenges
so we’re prepared to do a lot better than just rebuild.
Out of respect for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, Caritas Australia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which all of its offices within Australia are located.
