Micheka at one of our Child Friendly Spaces
Read more on our response below
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Haiti earthquake disaster response
Our Emergency Response
More than 200,000 people have died as a result of the earthquake and aftershocks that struck Haiti. 3 million people -- more than half of them children - have been effected.
With vast areas of Port-au-Prince lying in ruins, Save the Children is helping the families living in temporary make-shift camps. We plan to reach 800,000 people with emergency assistance and we are already planning longer term rehabilitation and reconstruction.
"This is a wide-scale disaster that affected all aspects of society, and it will take years for Haiti's families and cities to recover," said Annie Foster, Save the Children's team leader for the emergency. "Haitians are very resilient, but it is going to take serious and sustained assistance to help them build back and ensure a better future for their children."
Child Friendly Spaces
To date, Save the Children has 12 Child-Friendly Spaces in Port-au-Prince and seven in Jacmel, with an average of 3,038 children participating in activities each day.
One of them is Micheka. When the earthquake struck, she and her family had to flee their home with little but the clothes on their backs. They now live in a tent on the grounds of a school. Port-au-Prince continues to experience frequent aftershocks, a reminder that danger is still a reality. Micheka says that every time an aftershock occurs she feels like she will be "swallowed up by the ground."
At our Child-Friendly Spaces, Micheka and thousands of other children affected by the earthquake have a chance to forget their fears. Here they have a supervised place to play where they can talk about their feelings and feel protected and secure. Read more of Micheka's story.
Family Tracing and Reunification
Save the Children is also managing a Family Tracing and Reunification call center and a drop in center which has been set up with several NGO's.
Emergency Supplies and Mobile Health Clinics
So far, we have reached a total of 7,575 households with non-food items, including rope, plastic sheets, soap and other materials. Save the Children is also reaching 62,400 people each day with 312 m3 of water.
We are working in 45 locations and have seen 10,630 patients in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel through our 14 Mobile Health Clinics.
Education
Save the Children is also supporting the authorities so that they can develop an education strategy for children. We have recently helped to open the first temporary school. We provided classroom tents and supplies so that hundreds of children could resume their studies and regain a sense of normalcy.
More on Our Response
Personal Accounts
Read how we helped reunite Marie - Ange with her mother and sisters
Read Voices, where you can read the stories of Jimmy and Leka, two of the 300 children that started classes again thanks to Save the Children's first temporary school after the earthquake.
Read Voices from the Field, our blog with updates from Laurent Duvillier on an orphaned boy in a Haitian Community School and from Tanya Weinberg on our mobile health clinics (2 March 2010)
Click to show / hide more personal accounts
Read Voices, where you can find the case studies for Rebeca, Davidson, Reginal, Marie Anne and Micheka. (24 February 2010)
Read A Fierce Rain in Port-au-Prince, a blog by Tanya Weinberg, Save the Children's Media Manager (22 February 2010)
Read Voices, where you can find the case studies for Naomi, Daniel and Sophia.
Read Voices from the Field, our blog with updates from Kathryn Bolles , Save the Children's Emergency Health and Nutrition Director (15 January 2010)
Read Voices, where you can find the case studies for Mirlene, Angelo, Francina and Winnie.
Read Voices from the Field, our blog with updates from Annie Foster , Save the Children's team leader (15 January 2010)
Read Voices from the Field, our blog, with updates from Ian Rodgers, Emergency Response Advisor (13 January 2010)
Listen to an interview by Gareth Owen, Emergencies Director for Save the Children UK (13 January 2010)
Updates and Press Releases
Save the Children Opens First Temporary School for Quake-affected Haitian Children (8 March 2010)
Rain Is Coming: How Songs Can Help Save Babies' Lives (16 February 2010)
Click to show / hide more updates and press releases
One Month after Major Quake, Ongoing Crises for Haitian Children (11 February 2010)
Save the Children Supplies 30,000 Haitian Children and Families with Rice at Sites in Marissant and Tabarre (3 February 2010)
Save the Children Statement on Child Protection in Haiti (1 February 2010)
Save the Children to Distribute Food Rations to 200,000 Children and Families in Haiti in Partnership with World Food Program (1 February 2010)
Save the Children's statement to the Human Rights Council on the recovery process in Haiti (29 January 2010)
Two Weeks after Quake, Save the Children Steps Up Efforts to Provide Lifesaving Supplies to Children (27 January 2010)
Radio Outreach Program in Haiti to Promote Newborn, Infant Health (25 January 2010)
Save the Children’s Mobile Health Teams and Clinics Reach 85,000 Haitians (25 January 2010)
Save the Children Teams Traveling Across Haiti’s Earthquake Zone to Ensure the Protection of Children (23 January 2010)
Save the Children Working Rapidly to Re-Establish Schools as an Urgent Part of the Humanitarian Response (21 January 2010)
Save the Children Creating Long-Term Plan to “Build Back Better” in Haiti; Delivering Immediate Relief Now (19 January 2010)
Save the Children USA CEO Arrives in Haiti with UN Secretary General (18 January 2010)
Save the Children Says Health Risks on the Rise for Haiti’s Youngest and Most Vulnerable Children (17 January 2010)
Save the Children Gives Medical Aid to Miracle Baby Recovered in Haiti; Agency Continues to Provide Relief (16 January 2010)
Save the Children Races to Get Relief to Families in Desperate Need; As Many as 2 Million Children Affected by Haiti Earthquake (14 January 2010)
Save the Children Assesses Widespread Damage in Haiti, Organizes Emergency Relief for Children and Families (13 January 2010)
Major Earthquake Hits Haiti, Save the Children Staff Working On the Ground (12 January 2010)
Follow Save the Children US on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates
Photos and Videos
Our Stories: Children's Voices from Haiti (06 June 2010)
Baby Tents support quake's youngest survivors (13 April 2010)
Click to show / hide more photos and videos
One month on: Thank you to our supporters (12 February 2010)
Kathryn Bolles, Emergency Health and Nutrition Director, describes what Save the Children is doing to meet the urgent health needs of earthquake survivors (25 January 2010)
Hear the story of Andrise, a 9 year old whose home was destroyed by the earthquake (25 January 2010)
Save the Children moving to respond to Haiti earthquake, an audioslideshow by John Bugge, Emergency Communications Manager of the response (19 January, 2010)
Save the Children provides protection and temporary education, a video of our first Child-Friendly Space in Haiti after the earthquake. Haiti: a race against time, a slide show (18 January, 2010)
Kathryn Bolles, Emergency Health and Nutrition Director, desribes our emergency response in earthquake stricken Haiti.(17 January, 2010)
ABC News '20/20' Talks to Save the Children's Carolyn Miles about the situation for children (16 January 2010)
Save the Children prepares supplies for our response to Haiti (16 January 2010)
In the wake of the devastating earthquake Kate Conradt, Save the Children's spokesperson reports on the situation in Haiti (15 January 2010)
Charles MacCormack, CEO of Save the Children US, speaks on Fox News about Save the Children's emergency response. (14 January, 2010)
On BBC, Jasmine Whitbread, the chief executive of Save the Children UK, describes her concerns for quake-hit children in Haiti. (14 January, 2010)
Watch CNN's Anderson Cooper interview Ian Rodgers, an emergency response advisor for Save the Children, and eye witness to the devastation in Port au Prince following the earthquake. (13 January 2010)