Updated: Earthquake Hits Haiti – EPCC Partners Affected

To make a donation right now to help our partners, please visit:

• International Rescue Committee
• Concern Worldwide
• Haitian Education Leadership Program
• UNICEF
• Clinton Foundation

Update posted: 3:00 PM EST, 1/22/10

As aftershocks rock Haiti ten days after the initial 7.0 earthquake, aid continues to flow into the country. One week after the quake, the amount of aid pledged to Haiti reached nearly $1.6 billion, and continues to rise.

Hundreds of thousands of Haitian citizens are making their way from Port-au-Prince to the countryside, packing vans and buses. This migration to the countryside is counter to the past migration direction, which has overwhelmingly been into the capital.

Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, the Haitian Interior Minister, has said that upwards of 400,000 people could potentially be relocated outside the capital. Currently, many exiting the city are setting up more than a dozen “tent cities.”

Haitian officials say that these camps may become permanent, and Phase 2 of the plan would be to construct sound apartment structures and homes. The hope is that construction will more or less be complete before the wet season in May.

In other news, it has been confirmed that the two missing students from the Haitian Education Leadership Program have been located and are safe. HELP is working hard to regain normalcy. English classes are to begin on Monday and, according to Director Conor Bohan, the goal is “to put as many students back in school as quickly as possible.”

Update posted: 1:00 PM EST, 1/20/10

Wednesday morning, at 6:03 a.m., a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, the most powerful aftershock to hit Haiti after last Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude quake. The aftershock shook buildings, and reportedly caused damage to cities located outside Port-au-Prince.  Last week’s earthquake has killed an estimated 200,000 people, inured 250,000, and further left 1.5 million homeless.

According to the Director of Operations of Concern Worldwide, 10,000 children are malnourished in Port-au-Prince, and “nutrition and psycho-social interventions are needed urgently.” To combat this, Concern is reestablishing services at 10 health centers and constructing 7 supplementary “outreach nutrition centers.”

This effort comes at the same time that UNICEF is working to provide food, supplies, and medicine to children at risk in Haiti. Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman, emphasized that what is needed now, more than ever, is “life saving support and care for children in Haiti.”

In an updated from the Haitian Education Leadership Program, all but two of the 108 students are now accounted for, but hopes are still high that the remaining students are safe. Conor Bohan, Director of HELP, says, “One week after the earthquake, we are starting to look forward not backwards.”

Update posted: 8:00 AM EST, 1/19/10

One week after the earthquake struck Haiti, intense desperation for food and water has prompted General Ban Ki-moon to request the U.N. Security Council 2,000 more peacekeepers and an additional 1,500 U.N. police. The resolution is to be voted on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

In addition, 1,700 U.S. troops are currently on site in Haiti, with 4,000-5,000 total expected.

In the midst of reports of elevated security, stories of hope nevertheless surface. We have several EPCC partner updates:

• The Haitian Education Leadership Program has positively located 105 of its 108 current students, and is hopeful for the remaining three.
• Siobhán Walsh, Executive Director of Concern Worldwide, has noted a “strong solidarity emerging amongst neighbors, businesses, and international and Haitian relief workers.” This unity will certainly aid in the potential $7.5 million recovery project Concern Worldwide is to spearhead, including reconstruction of health centers, schools, roads, and homes in the long-term.
• Lastly, the Education Partnership is happy to learn that our former intern, Gabrielle Apollon, who was in Haiti during the earthquake working on a development project with other university students, is safe and well.

Update posted: 10:00 PM EST, 1/17/10
Five days since the earthquake struck Haiti this past Tuesday, survivors continue to miraculously be pulled from the rubble. As of Sunday, 62 people thus far have been rescued. Amid continued hopes of survival, the death count continues to rise. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive reported that 70,000 bodies have been collected for mass burial.

To date, the United Nations is feeding 40,000 people, and is expected to feed 2 million within thirty days. To date, more than 600,000 rations for survivors have entered Haiti. Still, given the size of the relief operation and the severe blow dealt to the government infrastructure (which currently operates out of the airport), disorganization abounds.

Susan Finucane, a representative from Concern Haiti, described how planes were turned away from the airport, describing the scene as "chaotic." She ends by saying, "The destruction is profound, you see the devastation everywhere, but you see the depth of this tragedy most in the eyes of the people you meet as they struggle to survive, to respond and to grieve. The task ahead is huge."

Update posted: 8:00 AM EST, 1/16/10

Amid intense yet jumbled efforts to search for survivors in the rubble resulting from Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti, the death toll continues to rise. Already, 9,000 Haitians have been buried, and reports estimate 30 percent of the capital is destroyed.

The United Nations has appealed for $562 million for a "humanitarian operation" to help the people of Haiti through June 2010. Already, 8,000 people have been fed and 2-3 million remain in desperate need. Immediate efforts will focus on "clean water and sanitation, therapeutic food for infants and small children, medical supplies, and temporary shelter."

President Obama has reported that 9,000 to 10,000 U.S. troops are expected in Haiti by Monday to help in aid efforts, and Hillary Clinton is to visit Saturday.

Update posted: 8:00 AM EST, 1/15/10
The earthquake that has left much of Haiti in ruin is estimated by the Haitian Red Cross to have caused 50,000 deaths. Nevertheless, Red Cross assistant national coordinator, David Winhurst, says, "No one knows with precision, no one can confirm a figure."

President Obama has termed this "one of the largest relief efforts in history" as aid continues to enter Haiti, including a $1.5 million pledge from the International Rescue Committee for "immediate response and longer term reconstruction initiatives."

Experts say that 46 percent of Haiti's population is under the age of 18, making the effects of the quake all the more severe. Dr. Irwin Redlener, a professor at Columbia University's medical school, says, “Kids are much more fragile …everything about this is devastatingly worse for kids than for adults.” In light of this special concern for the children of Haiti, UNICEF has pledged to do everything in its power to ensure the needs of Haiti's children are met.

Update posted: 12:30 PM EST, 1/14/10
In the latest news on Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti, tens of thousands are presumed to be dead. A statement by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, places the number of people affected by the earthquake at 3 million. She goes on to say, "there will be tens of thousands of casualties--we don't have any exact numbers." At the time of this posting, estimates are still not firm.

Aid is slowly making its way to tragedy-stricken Haiti. President Obama has promised $100 million in aid as the United States' first installment. This is in conjunction with $10 million pledged by the U.N. and $4.4 million by the European Union.

EPCC Partner Updates:

• The Haitian Education Leadership Program (HELP), reported that the country director and staff members are safe although four have been injured to various degrees.  Most of the approximately 60 students in HELP housing are accounted for and no deaths among the students have been reported.
• The International Rescue Committee has launched an appeal for $280,000 to help fund their immediate response.

A massive earthquake hit Southern Haiti on Tuesday evening, registering a magnitude of 7.0. Noted as the most powerful earthquake to hit Haiti in over a century, it hit around 5pm just outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The earthquake has caused massive destruction. Eyewitnesses claim that buildings – including hospitals, schools and even the President’s residence – have suffered damage. The injury and death toll, thought to be in the thousands, was unknown at the time this story was posted.

President Barack Obama made a statement Tuesday evening and was expected to speak again on the issue at 10:00 am Wednesday morning. The United Nations reported that aid had already begun to arrive.

Education Partnership partners are still gathering information about the students, teachers, and families affected by the earthquake. As of this morning, the Haitian Education Leadership Program was still trying to communicate with field staff and Concern Worldwide was preparing for its relief efforts.

The Education Partnership will keep you posted on our partners in the coming days and weeks.

To learn about education in Haiti, visit our general Haiti page.

Many thanks to Chris Trizna for his work to provide timely updates on the situation in Haiti.