Monday 15 March, 2010

World Vision has warned Haiti’s rural communities are at risk of chronic food and water shortages as the burden to care for the displaced grows. Families in these communities are struggling to cope with the influx of people seeking refuge from the destruction in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Communities are at risk of increased chronic food and water shortages and lack of adequate shelter as the rainy season approaches, burdens that could lead to more displacement and deeper poverty as resources are rapidly depleted.

“Haiti’s rural communities were already struggling to make ends meet before the earthquake,” said Jean-Claude Mukadi, the relief response manager for World Vision in Haiti.

“Now, as people continue to arrive in these communities, joining the hundreds of thousands who have already fled, they are all looking for food, water, and shelter. It’s critical that efforts are put into place to help the families who were already living in these areas as well as those who are displaced from their homes.”

On the small island of La Gonave, off the west coast of the Haiti’s mainland, World Vision found that in addition to the growing food insecurity, at least 50 water cisterns were damaged and unusable. Tanks must be repaired before the rainy season, or families will not be able to collect the much-needed water.

"World Vision has been doing rural development work in Haiti for many years, and while it is necessary to provide relief to displaced families in Port-au-Prince, it is critical to remember those living outside the city,” said Mukadi.

“If more resources are not channelled to the rural communities, the poor will be forced to return to the capital city, adding to the already overcrowded conditions there."

Unfortunately, the situation and the growing need for resources are not unique to the small island of La Gonave. In fact, over half a million people have already left Port-au-Prince, looking for shelter and a new life elsewhere.

World Vision is currently providing food distributions in the following rural areas: La Gonave, Upper Plateau Central, Lower Plateau Central, and Lower Artibonite. World Vision has rural development programs in 20 areas of Haiti, including La Gonave, and has worked in the country for 30 years.

Read latest updates about World Vision’s response and children sponsored by Australians here.

You can donate to the Haiti earthquake appeal here.