Already hit hard by a political, social and health crisis, Haiti is currently in a critical situation. On 14 August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake affected the south of the country and more particularly the three departments of Nippes, Grand'Anse and the South, areas where Aide et Action is working.
Today, on the spot, there are many emergencies: we need to rescue the victims, but also to help rebuild the country. The latter fears further aftershocks from the earthquake as well as the passage of tropical storms. Expected in a few days, the start of the new school year is under threat.
The state of the country after the earthquake in Haiti
The provisional death toll for the 3 Haitian departments affected by the earthquake is at least 2,207 dead.
Over 12,268 injured are registered.
As of 24 August, 320 people were still missing.
According to the latest information from the Haitian Ministry of Communication, in total, more than 183,000 homes were destroyed in the country following the 14 August earthquake. Over 77,000 homes were damaged.
Insecurity reigns and the political situation in the country is still unstable. On the ground, there has been an increase in kidnapping cases in the metropolitan area.
In addition to this the threat of the Coronavirus The situation in Haiti is very difficult: given the current situation, many victims are unable to apply barrier measures. Haiti is also facing a fuel shortage that makes travel difficult.
Despite this, the Haitian people are showing incredible courage.
Aide et Action shows everything its support for the people of Haiti. Our thoughts also go out to all our partners and their relatives present on the spot, past and present, who make us feel this tragedy as if it were our own family.
Haiti earthquake: a disaster for education
Aide et Action has been involved in education development projects in Haiti for 13 years.
After an absence of 5 years, our association is back on the spot in the framework of the project "School as a vehicle for social change in Haiti"funded by AFD and conducted in partnership under the responsibility of Solidarité Laïque.
This earthquake is a disaster for education.
A U-Report survey launched by Unicef reveals that 50% of those surveyed said that the school in their neighbourhood had been hit by the earthquake.
For the South department, the still provisional balance sheet shows 90 national schools partially or irreparably damaged.
For Nippes, there are 106 schools destroyed partially or totally.
Finally, in the Grand'Anse, these are more than 70 schools have been destroyed.
A partial and not yet definitive assessment, despite which the start of the school year is maintained by 6 September 2021.
A new school year amidst the rubble
The National Union of Haitian Normalists, which spoke out on the AlterPresse website "is very worried about the start of the school year"..
The union is calling on the government to "make arrangements to build sheds", to try to repair damaged schools and "pay school teachers, who have not yet received their salaries".
As reported by Haiti GazettePrime Minister Ariel Henry spoke on Wednesday 25 August 2021, stating that for his government back-to-school is essential. It says it gives priority to clearing the sites for running schools in tents, while promising support to parents who have lost everything.
The Minister of National Education and Vocational Training, Marie-Lucie Joseph, has also set up an emergency committee to consider a return to school activities.
Its aim: "to coordinate the Ministry's actions to assess the damage caused to education facilitiesthe loss of life of education personnel and the urgent need to enable the resumption of school activities as soon as possible".
In Haiti and with its partners, Aide et Action is working for Haiti
The Aide et Action and Solidarité Laïque headquarters teams work with local teams in the field to coordinate a support action to the populations of the most affected departments.
We can already announce that for the beginning of the school year, 30,000 pupils to receive school kits from the end of September, in order to allow the children to return to school in good conditions despite all the difficulties linked to the situation.
For more efficiency, Aide et Action and Solidarité Laïque are joining forces to carry out the necessary solidarity actions for the affected populations. Our two organizations are launching a joint appeal for emergency donations.
We want to stand with the Haitian people and tell them that we will stand with them in this situation and in solidarity with them.
Join us in supporting the Haitian people in their immediate needs and reconstruction; help make it possible for thousands of Haitian children to go back to school.
