Share this Blog post
Back in March 0f 2010, the Foundation made a grant to Save the Children to create Safe Zones for Children in Haiti following the earthquake that hit the region in January of 2010. The safe zones are designed to allow children to play while keeping them safe from predation at the hands of child traffickers. On September 27th, 2010, Save the Children conducted a conference call to update funders on their efforts in Haiti. Here are some bullet points from that conference call:
- Save the Children had approximately 70 staffers in the Port-au-Prince area prior to the earthquake.
- Life in Haiti is very difficult with approximately 1 in 13 children not surviving to the age of 13.
- So far Save the Children has worked with approximately 680,000 people.
- They estimate that approximately 1.3 million people are living in camps where many dwellings are nothing more that a collection of boards covered by a tarp. There is growing concern that such structures would be toppled if a hurricane was to hit the area.
- Safe Zones for Children are designed to allow children to play and be as normal as possible given the circumstances. These Safe Zones are also a critical part of Save the Children’s efforts in the area of reunification. Many children were separated from family and friends following the earthquake.
- Before the earthquake hit, approximately 70% of the population lacked safe water and sanitation. These problems were made worse as a result of the earthquake destroying infrastructure. Save the Children is working with NGOs and local authorities to address these pressing water and sanitation issues.
- Save the Children estimates that over 4,000 schools were destroyed. They are working hard to get temporary schools setup and to repair existing schools. In some cases, the Safe Zones also double as temporary schools. Save the Children representatives told us that returning kids to school is a big part of bringing some sense of normalcy to their lives while at the same time allowing them to tap into the hope for a prosperous future that having an education can bring.
- Save the Children, along with a number of other NGOs working in the area, are hard at work creating Cash for Work programs. Such programs allow people to earn an income working on such projects as clearing rubble at schools and other building sites. These same programs are restocking the inventories of street vendors.
- Save the Children representatives told us that emergency preparedness is critical in areas that are at risk for future disasters. They are creating a global roster of emergency responders around the world. They told us that knowing where resources are and how they can be deployed is a critical part of emergency preparedness.
- Save the Children is working with at risk countries to provide emergency training, even going so far as conducting emergency simulations. They told us that such emergency preparedness programs resulted in greatly reduced fatality numbers following the cyclone that hit Bangladesh back in November of 2007.
If you have questions concerning the programs at Save the Children, please contact them via their web site. If you have questions concerning the Foundation’s grant to Save the Children, please contact us using the CONTACT US link above.
