Alan Thomlinson is in Haiti to help with proposal writing as CARE tries to raise around $100 million for a five year response strategy.
Alan Thomlinson is in Haiti to help with proposal writing as CARE tries to raise around $100 million for a five year response strategy.
Flying over from the Dominican Republic into Haiti I noticed the barren mountains surrounding Port au Prince. In the Dominican Republic the mountains looked green and lush but in Haiti due to the population pressures and in particular deforestation they have been cleared of much of the plant life.
As the plane swooped in, I began to see lots of blue and white dots grouped together. As they came closer into view I could see they were small and large tent cities set up in the open areas.
After clearing through customs I saw a small sign being held up by a smiling face with the CARE badge and my name on it. It was the CARE driver waiting to pick me up.
The hour-long journey through the winding streets of Port au Prince to the CARE office seemed to be a mix of dodgems and a game of chicken with the other road users to see who would blink first and give way.
From this journey I could see the real mixed picture of needs, from partially to completely destroyed buildings and numerous tent cities in all the open spaces. Given that the rainy season is now on its way the conditions are going to make the lives of the people living in these tents and temporary shelters even more difficult.
My role here is going to be helping CARE Haiti write proposals to seek funding for our long-term response strategy working to improve conditions in health, water and sanitation, shelter and food security.
It’s pretty hot and humid and several of the mosquitoes here have fallen truly, deeply and madly in love with me.
After two days I have learnt a number of things:
- The scale and complexity of the response needed.
- The dedication of CARE’s team here working through the massive challenges.
- And that my international plug adaptor is not international after all.
