Haiti - "About 800,000 people need urgent food aid": the Salesians help and continue rebuilding

29 November 2016

(ANS - Les Cayes) - It's been 50 days since Hurricane Matthew devastated the western region of Haiti. This tragedy is compounded by flooding due to overflowing rivers and heavy rains. But it is not only nature that persecutes the poor. According to the BBC, "More than half of urban dwellers in Haiti live in overcrowded slums, vulnerable to any earthquake, hurricane or epidemic." However, the Salesians are still there, working with the people: helping and rebuilding.

The aid given is intended for reconstruction projects, agriculture, food and scholarships for students. The Salesian Mission Office in Madrid and the NGO Jóvenes y Desarrollo participate in all these aid programmes.

The first project involves the purchase, technical support and distribution of building materials for 200 families affected by Hurricane Matthew, in order to improve their living conditions.

Assessments carried out in Haiti by FAO after Hurricane Matthew speak of "serious damage" to crops, livestock and fishing. According to FAO, "food production and local livelihoods were destroyed almost entirely in the provinces of Grand'Anse and South by the hurricane".

The Salesian Mission Office in Madrid and the Jóvenes y Desarrollo NGO have started their second project, which is perhaps the most urgent and necessary - "to promote food security and the development of families through the provision of seeds and agricultural tools to farmers and their families ". The project will be implemented in four phases:

-       Sessions to make families aware of the project.

-       Acquiring seeds and agricultural implements.

-       Distribution of seeds and agricultural implements.

-       Training of farmers in the use of tools and agricultural techniques.

This assistance will be extended for a period of six months and will benefit hundreds of families. "An FAO assessment on food security estimates that about 1.4 million Haitians are in need of humanitarian assistance, of whom about 806,000 are in need of urgent food aid."

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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