Many members of HAWG have been working on the ground in Haiti for many years and will continue to do so, working side-by-side with Haitians putting their homes and communities back together post-hurricane. We encourage you to read about the work being done and our focus on local partnerships, then donate to these well-respected organizations. You can also download the document.
American Jewish World Service
“Based on nearly two decades of experience making grants in Haiti, we believe deeply in the capacity of Haitian organizations to identify the most effective ways to respond to the destruction wrought by this powerful hurricane. We urge people who donate to help Haiti in the wake of Matthew to select organizations that support initiatives driven by local communities and that collaborate with established Haitian networks respected by the people of Haiti,” said Robert Bank, President and CEO of American Jewish World Service (AJWS). “We are confident that trusting local people to respond is the best route forward.”
Donate to AJWS.
Church of the Brethren- Office of Public Witness
Staff in Haiti continue to assess the storm’s effects on congregations of l’Eglise des Freres Haitiens (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti). Ilexene Alphonse, staff of Global Mission and Service, plans to visit communities on Saturday.
Midwives for Haiti, a partner organization of the Haiti Medical Project of the Church of the Brethren, also reported on damage. “All of Haiti, including Hinche and the Central Plateau, have received incredible amounts of rain. With rain comes flooding and the risk of landslides,” wrote executive director and founder Nadene Brunk. “In the region where we work, because the rivers are flooding many of the homes along rivers have been destroyed. People are sheltered at schools and churches but food and clean water are hard to get for those without homes. There is great concern about cholera because septic tanks and sewers overflowed and wells are contaminated.”
Donate to the Church of the Brethren Emergency Disaster Fund.
Church World Service
“In the same week that the historic Paris Agreement entered into force, Category 4 Hurricane Matthew battered Haiti and is still creating havoc in Florida. At least 842 have died. Crops have been destroyed, houses damaged, animals lost and roads are blocked.
CWS has worked in Haiti for 62 years, always through local partnerships. After the 2010 earthquake up to today, we have especially focused on supporting small farmers to sustainably increase food production for home consumption and sale and have built hundreds of homes. At a positive note, all of these houses as well as the schools constructed in the aftermath of the earthquake are still standing. Some of them currently serve as shelters. We shall continue to stand by our local partners who directly bear the brunt of yet another large scale natural disaster”. Rev.John L.Mc.Cullough, CEO and President of CWS.
Donate to CWS.
Grassroots International
Grassroots International, a Boston-based foundation with longstanding partnerships in Haiti, is launching an emergency fund to support leading Haitian organizations in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. As Rosnel Jean Baptiste from Tet Kole explains: “Haiti is a very vulnerable country — and because of our vulnerability hurricanes do not pass by without doing terrible damage.”
It is essential that international aid be quick, significant and designed to support Haitian organizations and recovery efforts. The connections from Grassroots International’s 25-year history as a funder and partner in Haiti will make sure that the aid goes to where it is critically needed to support local recovery responses. Working closely with our partners and allies–such as the National Congress of the Peasant Movement of Papaye, Tet Kole, The Regional Coordination of Organizations of the Southeast, and the Haitian Platform to Advocate for Alternative Development—Grassroots International has deep networks throughout the Greater South and Northwest and began preparations before the hurricane hit and are responding to needs on the ground now.
Donate to Grassroots.
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee has been working in Haiti since 1958 – 58 years with trusted Haitian partner organizations. Through these partners MCC has already been responding to communities affected by the hurricane, distributing blankets, relief kits, food, and water purification tablets.
The flooding in particular raises concerns about increased incidents of cholera, which typically peak in the fall because of the rainy season. Cholera is an issue that MCC has been responding to in Haiti and through sustained advocacy, calling on the UN to fund the cholera elimination plan, aimed at improving water and sanitation systems. Rebecca Shetler Fast, Country Representative for MCC Haiti says, “Many in Haiti are still waiting for news of their loved ones, and the true scale of this disaster is yet to be known. We carry with us heavy hearts from the stories we have already heard, and the many we know we are yet to hear.” MCC is accepting donations to support our response to the damage that Category 4 Hurricane Matthew caused in Haiti.
Donate to MCC.
Oxfam America
Oxfam fears that the current death toll will increase further. The international community must act immediately to mitigate the loss of entire harvests and to counter any possible spikes of cholera.
Oxfam is sending 3 tons of water purifying supplies to Haiti.
Damien Berrendorf, Oxfam director in Haiti said: “Our greatest fear is that loss of crops and possible spread of cholera and other diseases will cause more deaths than the actual hurricane over the next days and weeks. We are talking about extremely vulnerable people who have lost absolutely everything. They will not recover their livelihoods or reach minimum survival conditions without significantly more support.”
Many of those people affected are suffering from hunger and do not have any means to buy seeds or tools. Farm animals are also dead. In the most devastated areas more than 80% of the population relied on self-sufficiency farming, so this humanitarian crisis will hit them particularly hard.
The United Nations estimated that the hurricane has affected more than 2.1 million people, with 750,000 in urgent need of assistance. According to UNICEF, half a million children live in the Sud and Gran-Anse departments, the ones worst hit by Matthew. Oxfam calls for a great international mobilization to help them.
The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) and its Haitian partner Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) do not provide direct relief to the victims of Hurricane Matthew, but focus their energies on promoting an effective, transparent and accountable response. BAI and IJDH advocate in the media in Haiti, the U.S., Canada and Europe, with Members of the U.S. Congress, and with the general public. IJDH has a website section for individuals wanting to help, including recommended organizations for donations, and readings to help potential donors decide how to put their money to good use. The IJDH/BAI approach recommends getting money to grassroots groups and Haitian-led initiatives, and that large donors follow the leadership and guidance of the Haitian government. BAI/IJDH urges all actors– the Haitian government, foreign actors and NGOs—to maximize the transparency and accountability of their efforts, and promises to work to hold actors accountable.
BAI and IJDH also work for the long-term stability and accountability that Haiti needs to stop the cycle of extreme vulnerability to natural disasters. Their six-year-long fight for UN cholera accountability is finally bearing fruit this year, but not soon enough to prevent a likely spike in cholera deaths as a result of hurricane flooding. The October 9 elections are delayed for several weeks, but are an opportunity for Haitian voters to choose a government they can hold accountable for better disaster preparedness. IJDH’s voting rights work continues to maximize this opportunity.