After the 2010 earthquake introduced her to the field, Humanity & Inclusion rehabilitation graduate Guetchly-Nise now finds herself treating those affected by the most recent disaster.

This week, Humanity & Inclusion teams in Haiti are training physical therapists and rehabilitation specialists in emergency rehabilitation to reinforce overwhelmed medical centers in Les Cayes. On Wednesday, one of the new recruits, Guetchly-Nise, started her first day responding to those who were injured in the earthquake. 

Just days after an earthquake hit Haiti, Humanity & Inclusion is providing assistance in hospitals in the country’s worst-affected region. A team of physical therapists trained to care for people with earthquake-related injuries will begin work this week.

After arriving in Les Cayes, one of the regions worst hit by the earthquake in southwest Haiti, Humanity & Inclusion’s emergency rehabilitation manager, Virginie Duclos, has made a preliminary assessment of rehabilitation needs. She tells us more about the current situation:

Q: What is the situation like in Les Cayes?

Needs are immense. Hospitals and doctors are finding it hard to cope. More than 100 new patients arrive in Les Cayes every day, one week after the earthquake. Some of them are from remote rural areas and they’ve taken a long time to get to hospital. Some people can’t afford the journey or they’re anxious about staying in hospital, and this causes a delay, which means many patients arrive with infections and additional complications requiring amputations that could have been avoided. They’re in a terrible state.

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The earthquake that hit Haiti on August 14 has caused more than 12,000 injuries and counting, creating a surge of people in need of urgent wound care and rehabilitation services. Humanity & Inclusion is partnering with Fondation Tous Ensemble (FONTEN), a local organization that operates the only rehabilitation center in the Cayes, Haiti.

Humanity & Inclusion sent four members of its global, emergency response pool to Haiti, landing in Port Au Prince on August 19. They joined the program staff, present in Haiti since 2008, who have been hard at work preparing HI’s response since the quake hit. The team includes an emergency area manager, a rehabilitation / mental health and psychosocial support specialist, a logistics technician, and a communications officer.

Deliver emergency aid to Haiti

Marjorie is a rehabilitation specialist for Humanity & Inclusion. She took time on August 19, to share what conditions are like in Grand Sud, Haiti.

Deliver emergency aid to Haiti

According to the latest reports, at least 2,000 people have died, nearly 12,000 are injured and the damages are significant. Frédely Jean, inclusion project manager* for Humanity & Inclusion in Haiti, felt the earth shake on Saturday, Aug. 14. He tells us more about what life is like in Haiti following the recent disaster: 

On Saturday morning, I was playing with my 10-year-old daughter when my wife, who had felt the earthquake, came running in. All three of us ran out, taking our two-month-old daughter with us, and we sat on wasteland, away from the buildings. And actually, the tremors began to build, and in the distance, we saw the houses were swaying.

After the impact of Saturday’s earthquake followed by Tropical Storm Grace, Humanity & Inclusion is planning its first assessments in the most isolated regions.

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Haiti on Aug. 14 has resulted in at least 2,000 deaths, and nearly 10,000 injuries. 

In preparation for emergency reinforcements arriving Wednesday afternoon, Humanity & Inclusion staff already present in Haiti plan to perform assessments in affected areas as soon as possible. Teams are traveling to the South and Grand’Anse regions to evaluate ports, make contact with local authorities and collect information regarding hospital needs.

Deliver emergency aid to Haiti

Humanity & Inclusion provides the only maritime transport for humanitarian aid in the southwest of Haiti.

In response to the earthquake, Humanity & Inclusion plans to organize shipment pooling for NGOs and send approximately 760 tons of food, as well as medical supplies and essential non-food items by the end of August.

Humanity & Inclusion’s Haitian team is preparing an emergency response following Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The most affected regions remain blocked, keeping thousands of people from receiving vital aid.

Ongoing evaluations of the situation show death tolls on a steady rise as official reports estimate more than 1,400 deaths so far, with those numbers expected to grow. Nearly 7,000 people were injured in the disaster, more than 5,400 homes were damaged and 2,870 were completely destroyed, leaving thousands displaced and without shelter. The humanitarian impact is devastating and people in the South, Grand’Anse and Nippes regions of Haiti need emergency support.

Humanity & Inclusion teams have been assessing the situation, planning emergency response and have identified three areas of priority:

• medical support (including care for the wounded and emergency rehabilitation)
• logistics support
• essential needs (food, shelter, sanitation and hygiene)