Cash-for-work in Haiti

21/01/2010

International aid agency Oxfam is beginning discussions around cash-for-work programs to help survivors of Haiti’s devastating earthquake rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Meetings with local committees in the hardest-hit neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince are expected to get underway today, with the idea that communities would be paid to help clear rubbish, rubble and begin restoring markets so economic activities can be resumed. The discussions will also help identify local needs. “Although dramatic rescues are still happening, we must look at ways of supporting survivors as they seek ways to restart and rebuild their lives,” said Robert Fox, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada, a member of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION. “Challenges remain in delivering aid, but Haitians are eager to move forward and get involved in the reconstruction of their country.”

Oxfam is continuing to distribute clean water at five sites around the Haitian capital, reaching an estimated 80,000 people. Staff and partners are also preparing to install latrines in two areas: at Grace Medicale, a temporary camp with 15,000 inhabitants, where there are serious sanitation and solid waste management issues, and in Lamartine 54, where 10,000 people are living temporarily. Both are located in the suburb of Carrefour. For more information,

please contact:

Karen Palmer 613-240-3047 The HUMANITARIAN COALITION, with the joint efforts of its members CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec and Save the Children Canada, provides a widespread and effective response to emergencies, with a combined presence in 120 countries. In Haiti alone, the HUMANITARIAN COALITION has more than 600 aid personnel on th ground, ensuring that the donations of Canadians reach those in desperate need in an efficient, effective and coordinated fashion.

 

Source