Plan International will be assisting up to 25,000 families affected by Hurricane Matthew. We have set aside an initial response fund of €5m focusing on water, sanitation and hygiene, non-food items, and child protection among other areas of need.
Please support our Haiti appeal The real scale of the devastation caused by the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade is only just beginning to emerge. Thousands have been displaced.
“People have lost everything,” said Marie Therese Frederique Jean Pierre, Plan International’s Country Director in Haiti. “Their homes, their belongings and even their livelihoods have been completely destroyed.
Children at risk
“Children are particularly vulnerable during disaster situations. Many became separated from their families during the chaos of the storm, for example, and will have been feeling very scared during that time. They have now thankfully been reunited with their parents, but are still living in temporary accommodation as it is not yet safe for them to return home.
People have lost everything
“We are only now beginning to see the full scale of the damage as we begin to reach more of the communities that have been cut off. Roads and bridges were severely damaged by the hurricane, so there are still some rural areas that we have been unable to reach.”
In Croix-des-Bouquets, 10-year-old Rosemika lost her house and belongings as a result of the storm. She is now staying with relatives and described her experience when Hurricane Matthew hit:
“Water everywhere!”
“It happened so quickly and suddenly. That morning around 6am I heard my neighbour screaming “Water! Water everywhere!” and it had completely surrounded us. The water was like a monster, hitting everything violently. With my brothers and sisters, we ran as quickly as possible to the hills. It was the first time in my life that I was so afraid. I was shaking. Some of my friends also lost their houses. Hurricane Matthew destroyed them.”
Among the essential non-food items being distributed to children like Rosemika and her family are kitchen kits, mattresses and blankets. Further supplies are on standby in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, where we also operate.
