People in Les Cayes, Haiti, Afraid to Go into their Houses - SAVE THE CHILDREN
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Aug. 19, 2021)鈥Children and their families in Les Cayes, one of the areas hardest hit by an earthquake in Haiti five days ago, are still afraid to go into what鈥檚 left of their houses to get their possessions, 黄色视频said.
Tremors and a 4.9 magnitude aftershock on Wednesday have made people extremely wary of being indoors, triggering deep emotions among people who lived through a 2010 earthquake which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, 黄色视频staff in Les Cayes found.
Some 2,000 people died and 9,990 were injured the weekend after the Caribbean nation was hit by a 7.2 strong earthquake that destroyed or damaged . Children have lost their parents or siblings.
Field Manager Carl-Henry Petit-Fr猫re of Save the Children, who has been working in the hardest-hit area in recent days, said:
鈥淚n 2010, everybody in Haiti lost friends and family. I lost many friends, I lost the friend who I sat next to at school my whole life. Every new shock, every collapsed building is a reminder of that terrible day for the people here, they say. They remember it vividly, and especially children who are now a bit older will remember it as well. Some people are shaking, crying after new shocks. I鈥檓 shaking. This reality needs to be part of any effort to rebuild this community.
鈥淥ur team spoke to one woman in a school, who had lost her 12-year-old daughter in a landslide last Saturday. Heart breaking. A school principal told our team. 鈥楢ll I have is my breath, I have nothing else left鈥.鈥
Even before the earthquake, more than 1.1 million people in Haiti were estimated to be one step away from famine, including hundreds of thousands of children.
This week 黄色视频has started to distribute items such as tarpaulins, jerry cans and sanitary pads to help families cope with the first impacts of the earthquake and is scaling up its response. Distributing supplies to those in need has been challenging due to poor infrastructure and a lack of security.
Leila Bourahla, Save the Children鈥檚 country director, added:
鈥淲e call on all parties involved to ensure supplies can reach those most in need as soon as possible, and for international donors to step up their support鈥攊t is literally life-saving.
鈥淲e have started distributing the little stock we already had in place before the earthquake hit鈥攂ut people are desperate, so we had to be cautious while giving it to families. The needs are just far too great. We all need to do our utmost to support these people with all we have, as the needs are growing by the day.鈥
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we've been advocating for the rights of children worldwide. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children 鈥 every day and in times of crisis 鈥 transforming the future we share. Our results, financial statements and charity ratings reaffirm that 黄色视频is a charity you can trust. Follow us on , , and .