On September 5, Monsignor Yves Marie Péan, bishop of Gonaives, Haiti, sent an urgent appeal. Flooding from four successive storms trapped about 500 people at his residence. Today he writes about the slow rebuilding process in his city.

The port city of Gonaives suffered severe damage after storms, including Hurricane Ike, dumped several feet of water in the city. Now, after the flooding, residents of Gonaives must dig out from under tons of mud. Photo by Donal Reilly/CRS

My first wish for the people of Haiti is I want them to experience that they are not alone, that they have not been abandoned by providence or by God. God always sends people to help, to accompany them, to show them how God is merciful.
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Here’s the latest update from CRS’ program manager for Haiti, Greg Elder. He’s working with emergency responders and keeping us informed on conditions following massive storm damage in August and September.

A mattress is spread to dry beside a mound of mud removed from the rooms of a Missionary of Charity compound in Gonaives. Photo by David Snyder for CRS.

In the southern departments of Haiti we’ve been doing agricultural activities for a long time. We are now complementing this by using Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) funds to help farmers get back on their feet. We will be starting seed fairs in January, and will supplement this with farming tools and animals.

These seed fairs will be a CRS first in Haiti. We’re training local farmers and seed merchants on how a seed fair works. We’ll then set a date and organize the varieties of seeds being sold and set prices with the vendors in order to ensure they bring the seeds that the farmers need at prices they can afford.

We will provide vouchers to farmers so that they can purchase the seeds they most need. It’s widely accepted as one of the best methods to provide agricultural assistance. You’re not only helping farmers who need seeds, but you’re helping local providers who make their livelihoods from the sale of seeds. We are essentially creating a market chain to build relationships that will help them in the future.

Every little bit helps in achieving our goal of getting Gonaives and Haiti back to normal. We’re helping families leave the shelters and return to their homes, and we’re helping kids return to school. That is the main progress we’ve made so far.

- Greg Elder

Here’s the latest update from CRS’ program manager for Haiti, Greg Elder. He’s working with emergency responders and keeping us informed on conditions following massive storm damage in August and September.

A young boy looks down the street in front of his family home, which was flooded when Hurricane Ike hit Gonaives, Haiti. Photo by David Snyder for CRS.

The St. Joseph Sisters’ school, which was completely flooded with mud and debris, is now almost fully operational. We bought them a small generator so they could have a refrigerator and a way to prepare rice. Rehabilitating the school cafeteria was essential to the success of the school. City power is still pretty spotty. It usually only runs at night.

We also have plans to rehabilitate the water distribution system in Labrande, a poor sector on the outskirts of Gonaives. We were contacted by the local parish priest about their situation. Labrande has roughly 30,000 inhabitants. The ground is arid and the climate is not suitable for agriculture. There are no irrigation canals. They are drinking water out of the river right now, which is unsafe.

The water systems in much of Haiti are primitive to begin with, i.e.— a pump in the ground with a water canal system made of bricks and cement. It can easily be damaged. Most of it is above ground so it is not easily protected from the elements.

The priest came to us with the formal proposal, our water engineer assessed their system and concluded that it needed to be rehabilitated. We are going to start with that water system and if we receive other funds we’ll continue to rehabilitate other systems.

- Greg Elder

Here’s the latest update from CRS’ program manager for Haiti, Greg Elder. He’s working with emergency responders and keeping us informed on conditions following massive storm damage in August and September. We’ll publish more of his report over the next two days.

A young man uses a wheelbarrow to dump mud he scooped from his family home in Gonaives, Haiti. Photo by David Snyder for CRS.

Two months after the last named storm, Hurricane Ike, hit us, things are moving along in Haiti. We are definitely staying busy. The response activities continue in Gonaives, in the south things are getting back to a semblance of normal. A lot has been accomplished, but there is a lot yet to be done.

Gonaives, which was inundated by rivers of mud, continues to be one of our areas of focus. To date CRS cash-for-work activities have removed approximately 7,867 cubic meters of mud. Mud removal provides temporary employment to approximately 750 storm-affected persons. Due to the sheer amount of mud dumped in the city, only 20 percent of what was dumped into the city by the storms has been removed as a whole at this point by various agencies.

We’ve been working with our local Caritas partner to reach our ultimate goal of clearing out 36 schools with our cash-for-work program, up until now we’ve been able to clean out 24. Many of these schools have been used as shelters, but others were filled with so much debris and mud that they sheltered no one. The government is in a hurry to get the academic year back on track so this has been one of our priorities. So far 65 percent of the schools in Gonaives have been cleared out and are being used for academic purposes. Unfortunately a few months into the academic year many continue to be used as shelters.

- Greg Elder

Images of submerged streets and mangled roofs have faded from the headlines. But the greatest storm to touch down in Cuba in decades is still very much a reality for Cubans, CRS, and its partners providing outreach from Miami.

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike tore through areas of Cuba in August and September, causing record damage and forced 3 million residents from their homes. This was no ordinary storm season. Cubans face a long and arduous road to recovery.

Outside of the Daughters of Charity in Miami volunteers stand by a shipment of relief supplies that will be sent to Cuba to help victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Photo by Kai T. Hill/CRS.

This is why the front lawn of the Daughters of Charity in West Miami remains filled with relief supplies. With the help of CRS, the Daughters of Charity this week will have sent 21 large shipping containers of food, medicine and hygiene supplies among other items. So far over $1 million in relief has been sent to the country, says CRS’ Lynn Renner, who recently visited the sisters and the Miami Archdiocese.

Under a canopy of palm trees, petite but stalwart nuns and dozens of volunteers work side by side to sort and pack goods bound for the island.

“They were going about their business very intently,” says Renner. “They have the help they needed and are saying we want to do this to help. They were serious about making sure that everything was categorized properly and of good quality.”

In total, CRS and Daughters of Charity plan to send more than 700,000 pounds of food and medicines and other relief supplies to the island.

CRS is also sending 5,000 roofing panels to Cuba. They were provided by the Friends of Caritas Cuba.

You can also help by making a donation to CRS’ Latin America and Caribbean Severe Weather Fund.

Kai T. Hill, CRS associate web producer

In late September, photojournalist David Snyder traveled to Haiti for CRS. His mission was to document what he found in the flood-ravaged country. The following is the third post in this series.

This photo from the second floor of a building in the bishop’s compound in Gonaives shows the extend of the damage caused by mud. This compound was flooded with about eight feet of water, and provided shelter for hundreds in the weeks after the storm. CRS supported the bishop with 150 family food kits for those living at the compound. Photo by David Snyder for CRS.

Sunday, September 28, 2008 Gonaives, Haiti: Took a trip over to the bishop’s house here in Gonaives. Since the night of the hurricane it has been a shelter for as many as 600 people who made their way, some during the peak of the storm, to the two-story residence – one of the few in Gonaives. There are still probably about 150 people living there – no one knows the exact figure because most people there travel out to their former homes during the day, working to clean what they can, then return at night. It’s a desperate scene, with people crowding into rooms, sleeping where they can. CRS provided 150 family food kits to the beneficiaries there. Later tonight CRS sent a truck out to a school to deliver tools for a cash-for-work project scheduled to start tomorrow. Because the streets are still flooded in many areas, the truck got stuck – its back wheel dropping into a submerged drainage ditch. It took two hours to get it out, and another two to get the tools off loaded and delivered safely to the school because the truck was damaged and wouldn’t run. Such things are typical in the midst of emergencies like this. Sometimes, improvisation is the key to getting things done.

In late September, photojournalist David Snyder traveled to Haiti for CRS. His mission was to document what he found in the flood-ravaged country. The following is the first of his Haiti diary entries.

About three feet of mud remains in the compound of the Emmaus School, which CRS is supporting with cash-for-work teams to help remove the tons of mud left by Hurricane Ike. After weeks of providing emergency food and water to those affected by Ike, CRS began cash-for-work projects through Caritas Haiti, paying locals affected by Ike to clear mud from public buildings like schools, hospitals and clinics, so that the communities of Gonaives can begin to recover. Photo by David Snyder for CRS.

Friday, September 26, 2008 Gonaives, Haiti: Got into Port-au-Prince yesterday and drove up to Gonaives today. Hurricane Ike really devastated the city, affecting most, if not all, of the city’s 350,000 residents. I was here once before – in 2004, following Hurricane Jeanne – which also seriously damaged the city. Took a ride out tonight with CRS staff to conduct an assessment of the needs of the city. CRS has been providing emergency food rations through partner agencies Caritas Haiti and the Missionaries of Charity. Next week, they plan to start cash-for-work projects, using local labor to clear schools of the mud that now clogs every surface of the city. Today’s assessment was a chance to look around for suitable school sites. The people here in Gonaives have been tired and stressed since the nearly three weeks now since Ike struck. You have to be careful on such assessments not to build expectations, taking care as well to select schools whose rehabilitation can have the most impact in the quickest amount of time. It can be a delicate balance.

Photojournalist David Snyder is reporting from Haiti for CRS. In his first post from Gonaives, he notes the sheer devastation brought by recent storms and the help that’s finding it’s way to the people who need it most.

Gonaives, Haiti: I was traveling with CRS in Asia through early September and saw the news headlines on September 8 about Hurricane Ike, and its effect on Haiti. Now, less than three weeks later, I am in Haiti to see CRS efforts in the wake of the storm, which devastated the island nation. Particularly hard hit was the northern city of Gonaives. It is not my first time here. In 2004, Hurricane Jeanne also devastated Gonaives, and I was here with CRS to document that response as well. From what I have seen so far, Ike has been far more devastating. The entire city is covered in deep mud – more than 2.5 million cubic meters of it – dumped into the city by the hillsides that surround it on three sides, all of which have been completely deforested. Everywhere, people are working with simple tools to clean their homes out, filling the already narrow streets with mountains of black mud. One UN staff member estimates that it would take 200 trucks, working seven days a week, a full year to remove all of the mud from the city. And there are nowhere near that many trucks here.

The Cathedral in the port city of Gonaives, Haiti is currently sheltering up to 200 people in its upper level. Mud and waters from hurricane Ike flooded the church, but the upper level managed to stay dry. Photo by Greg Elder/CRS

I went out today to see a CRS food distribution at the Missionaries of Charity compound. CRS has been working through the sisters there, as well as through partner Caritas Haiti, to distribute family ration kits of staples like rice, beans, sugar, dried fish, and bottled water. Today’s distribution reached 500 families – about 2,500 people – part of the 1,500 such kits CRS has delivered so far. Over the years I have seen many such distributions, and I am always amazed by how much organization goes into each one. Beneficiaries are always pre-registered, selected through assessments to affected communities. Once registered, a family member – usually a woman – is given a paper coupon and told to arrive at the distribution site on a given day. When she arrives – like today, for example, at the Missionaries of Charity compound – she is let in with a small group. Their names are called in turn, and each beneficiary turns in a coupon before receiving rations, sometimes moving from station to station to receive different elements of the overall kit. As one group receives their ration, another is let into the compound, and the process repeats itself – for seven hours, today. It sounds simple. But in the midst of the anxiety, frustration, and anger that often follow disasters, such organization is essential not only to make sure those most in need are reached quickly and effectively, but also for security. Everyone must see that the process is fair and equal, that no one who is not registered is receiving food, and that those who are receiving food are in fact the most needy members of the community. It is delicate and tiring work, particularly in the heat and devastation of Haiti today.

I will head out this week to see other CRS projects. Emergencies like this have their own sort of energy, and things often take shape very quickly as needs arise or priorities shift. Right now, those priorities are food and water. CRS also plans some cash-for-work projects next week, helping locals earn money they can use to buy what they need, and bring some semblance of normality back to their lives after the trauma of the past few weeks.

Here’s the latest update from CRS’ program manager for Haiti, Greg Elder. He’s working with emergency responders and helping to keep us informed on conditions following massive storm damage.

Gonaivies, Haiti: There’s more rain on the horizon, but for us it’s still work as usual. People are used to storms coming and going during hurricane season. The U.S. embassy has sent out warnings about flash flooding, but you don’t hear a lot of people talking about it. It’s not something being broadcast on the news. Rather than worrying about future disasters, everyone is more focused on our current efforts in the aftermath of Gustav and Hanna.

A woman surveys some of the destruction in the Cathedral in the port city of Gonaives, Haiti. The Cathedral is currently sheltering up to 200 people in its upper level. Photo by Greg Elder/CRS

CRS has a contingency plan in place in case the rain exacerbates the situation. We work in tandem with the civil protection communities started by the Haitian government to help mitigate disasters. They are trained to inform people about when the storms are coming, where to find shelter, and are stocked with prepositioned supplies.

We’re moving ahead full steam. There’s really no time to waste when responding to these last few storms. There are still areas with standing water. There’s a sense of nervousness, because certain Haitian communities can’t afford any more flooding. No one is sure how much rain these storms will drop. If it’s a big downpour it could affect (relief) access, especially to Gonaives. We’ve just finished a temporary bridge, which has allowed us to travel there by land. Rains would be a huge setback and force us to return sending supplies via helicopter.

There are still some areas of Haiti that remain inaccessible, especially in the tip of the southern peninsula. Roads have been washed out, destroyed along the coast in numerous places. Dozens of towns, coastal ones, but also others in the rainforest or perched in the mountainous terrain are extremely hard to get to. Makeshift roads have cropped up and people are making do by living off the land, their remaining crops and fruit trees. There is small-scale commerce taking place, by street vendors coming and going from town-to-town on foot. Inaccessibility is not a death sentence, but it does mean the people in those regions have to suffer longer.

Catholic Relief Services workers pick up supplies to be distributed in the port city of Gonaives, Haiti. Aid workers ship food and supplies by boat and air when roads are inaccessible. Photo by Greg Elder/CRS

Today CRS is traveling by helicopter with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and U.S. military personnel to survey the damage and help with response in hard to reach areas. Helicopters are flying in to the central part of the country as we try and determine Haiti’s greatest needs.

The most important aspect of our work is getting food and water to hungry and thirsty people. Saving lives, helping people day-by-day until they get back on their feet, that’s our priority. We’ve started our cash-for-work program and have undertaken the task of clearing away debris and helping to reopen roads. Slowly, if the rains subside, we’ll be able to get Haiti back on its feet.

CRS writer Kai T. Hill is in Miami reporting on local efforts to help Haiti and Cuba following a series of storms that battered the island nations.

My visit to relief and collection efforts in Miami began on Sunday at Saint James parish in North Miami.

Before leaving CRS headquarters in Baltimore I learned that Monsignor Jean Pierre, pastor of this prominent, largely Haitian parish, was in Haiti and would be getting back on Sunday. While in Haiti, he met with CRS country representative for Haiti, Bill Canny, and was able to tour some of the affected cities such as Jacmel and Cabaret. In addition to providing food, water and survival supplies to families in the hardest hit areas, CRS has obtained a warehouse in Port-Au-Prince to help Haiti’s bishops store incoming donated goods.

Catholic Relief Services workers pick up supplies to be distributed in the port city of Gonaives, Haiti. Aid workers are shipping food and supplies by boat and air, as the roads leading up to the city remain inaccesible. Photo by Greg Elder/CRS

“A lot of people are still living in mud, scared to go into their homes, some are still living on their rooftops, We have to keep being in solidarity with them,” says Msgr. Pierre above the bustling sound of volunteers packing donated goods that range from clothes to baby strollers and cans of beans and rice to cases of bottled water stacked several feet high.

Thus far the parish has sent about four or five 40,000 pound shipping containers to the Port of Miami to be shipped to Haiti. It’s one thing to see the fallout of disaster on television but last week Msgr. Pierre had a chance to see Haiti’s devastation first hand.

In the community of Caberet, Haiti he says “People are still in shock. It was a heartbreaking lesson to hear their stories as they have lost a child, they have lost a parent because they could not swim. But the storms happened at night so most of the people were sleeping. Most of the people who have died were children because they could not run, they could not hide.”

I’d never met Msgr. Pierre in person and figured that I would have to dodge between parishioners after Mass to introduce myself and borrow a few minutes of his time. When I pulled up in the church’s side lot a man wearing casual clothing greeted me. I told him that I was looking for Monsignor Jean Pierre. He smiled whimsically and told me that I was looking at him. He was not how I had pictured a monsignor. It was just in May that I sought his guidance for a CRS web article on the Archdiocese of Miami’s efforts to raise money for CRS and send goods to Haiti. Although his parish is one of the most prominent in South Florida’s Haitian community, he also encouraged me to visit Notre Dame D’ Haiti a ways south.

Today, the floods from three successive hurricanes have become the latest affliction to Haiti. Msgr. Pierre was eager to talk about his recent trip, South Florida’s collection efforts and how CRS is helping hurricane-affected families recover.

One of the most important things families things need now are building materials.”I’ve seen so many families homes there, I think that’s an urgent need. I would encourage people to donate so that we can get people back on their feet.”