In Haiti; Home Tugs

Guest Blog by World Vision aid worker James Addis in Haiti The last time I was deployed to a humanitarian emergency, I had no wife and no children. This time I have a wonderful wife, Sharon, a daughter, Nicole, 3, and a young son, Michael, 6 months. In previous emergencies, I never got homesick. Now the tug of home hits more powerfully than ever. I keep needing to pull myself together: For goodness sake, man, you have only been here a few days. It’s not only missing the family, of course. The heat, the smell of sickness and despair, the tragic stories that one hears, it all makes one long for peace and tranquility, familiar faces, the comforts of home—a strong cup of coffee, taken at leisure and not in a mad rush. Aid Distribution Yesterday, I attended our first distributions of relief aid to the homeless—biscuits, health kits, clothes, and bottled water. I chatted to people waiting patiently in the lines. They all have a story. One woman was trapped for days, hugging her infant son. She says she spent most of the time praying. Another woman, Gina Jean, was pulled from the rubble almost immediately. Bewildered, she ended up sitting in a street full of screaming people. When she eventually composed herself, and was able to thank God that she was still alive and that her children had also got out. Then she was struck by a fresh fear: what about her husband at work? Family He has not been seen since the events of Tuesday. Gina has since checked the local hospitals, without success. If things were not bad enough, she now lives on a patch of ground with her two children. One of them is only 4 months old. The other is 10. A few strung-up bed sheets and a washing line hung with clothes are their protection from the sun. These things amount to home at the moment. “It is shameful for my children to have to live like this,” she says. Soon I expect I will be able to go home and be reunited with my family. One can only guess what the future holds for Gina.

Haiti Earthquake; "This is the most shocking I have ever seen."

Guest Blog by World Vision worker James Addis in Haiti written on Jan 16th 2009 I’ve been deployed to many humanitarian emergencies. For me, this is the most shocking I have ever seen. I will never forget the corpses piled outside the city morgue. Travelling back to a modest hotel at 2am last night we drove past hundreds, maybe thousands, who would have no shelter that night and perhaps not for many nights to come. People everywhere Some slept under vehicles. Some on sidewalks. Some dangerously on the road. Some had set up chairs in the middle of the street and remained talking into the early hours. Vehicles were parked haphazardly. We had to ask bystanders for one to be moved. Our driver got out and helped push it. People were good natured about it all. So far I have not seen a hint of the violence that some have predicted may erupt if conditions do not improve. On the contrary, for now, a spirit of cooperation seems to prevail. At the hospital on my first day, where World Vision was distributing medical supplies, the hospital manager spoke enthusiastically of the volunteers who had come to help out. Everything takes an age It took ages to reach the hotel. We lost our way several times in the narrow streets, many blocked by large bits of rubble. The good news is World Vision’s flights bringing emergency supplies have started to land. We are expecting several in the next few days. The next challenge will be to distribute it. Everything takes an age. It’s hard to find trucks and gasoline. The simplest things—getting a driver, finding an internet connection, finding a place to stay at night require a lot of effort and planning. It’s tiring work. But one only has to walk the streets for a few seconds. Take in the smells emanating from the makeshift camps to realize that ones own position is a thousand times better than that of those all around you.

Earthquake devastates Haiti

You have probably already seen the pictures of the devastating effect the recent 7.0 magnitude earthquake had on the people of Haiti. Tens of thousands have already died and many more are sick and injured. Many have been left with nothing, as their homes, their possessions and their access to clean water have been all destroyed. Emergency Response You probably know World Vision through our child sponsorship programmes, but what you may not know is that we are also one of the world’s largest emergency aid organisations. World Vision has been active in Haiti for over 30 years and had 370 staff already working in the country before the earthquake. Since the earthquake struck on Tuesday though, additional staff and supplies have been flown in toprovide much needed expertise and assist with immediate needs such as search & rescue, food, water & shelter and medical care & supplies. James Addis: Guest Blogger in Haiti For the next while, this blog will be updated by James Addis a World Vision aid worker who is now in Haiti to help with the relief effort. World Vision Ireland is also running an appeal to help the survivors of the quake. If you would like to donate, go to www.worldvision.ie or tel +353 1 498 0800

Feathered friends - a better breed of chicken for Christmas

Lots of people have been buying last minute Christmas gifts from the World Vision Community Gift Catalogue including this cockerel (€12) and 6 chickens (€10). Here actress and writer Pauline McLynn talks to a Youth Group in Gakungu in Kenya about how this particular breed of cockerel, when bred with local chickens, leads to a better quality and quantity of meat and eggs being produced. Chickens are a great income generator for women and vulnerable families because they can be managed at low cost and their ‘waste’ makes great organic fertiliser too. Peeoowh!

Visiting Uganda: People rebuilding their lives after the war

“This is where the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) used to take all the abducted children” my colleague Santos tells me, pointing at the vast bamboo and grass forests around us. “They would abduct 300 to 500 people and hide them here for a few months before marching them south for an assault.” I’m visiting an Irish Aid funded World Vision Ireland project for Internally Displaced People in Uganda. Between 1987 and 2006 in Northern Uganda, 25 000 children were abducted by the Lords Resistance Army - a brutal guerilla insurgency, led by Joseph Kony. Creeping into villages at night, Kony and his men captured large groups of children and forced them to fight for him. Peace Restored “Four years ago it would have been impossible to drive along this road; even with a fully armed escort, we would have been very much risking our lives.” Since peace has been established, over 10 000 children have returned home, but this has also brought new problems as a lot of the children and their families are traumatized by what they went through. Returning Home When we get back to Pader town, Santos points at the large field in front of our hotel, where there is a large gathering of people celebrating an anti gender-based violence campaign. “You could not even stand where those people are. You would be abducted. It was so dangerous.” Thankfully, those days are over now. The massive camps are emptying and thousands of people have already returned to their homes. But when they got home they found all the infrastructure in ruins: schools, water points and health centres had been destroyed by the LRA’s brutal campaign. Rebuilding Infrastructure While there are still doubts about the sustainability of the peace, particularly with trouble brewing in Southern Sudan with the upcoming elections, people are delighted to be home. With the support of Irish Aid, World Vision Ireland has been able to dig 22 wells and train the community on how to maintain them. This means that the community can access safe water for their homes and schools, preventing the outbreak of diseases and simultaneously encouraging people to move home and begin the journey to sustainable development. Long may it last!