MCC Responds to Haiti Earthquake

MCC’s relief kits, comforters, meat and more en route to Haiti

Abbotsford, BC - Mennonite Central Committee continues to ship relief supplies to Haiti despite obstacles that slow delivery.



“We understand that the Port-au-Prince port is still only operating at about 10 percent of the capacity it had before the earthquake,” said Phil Schafran, Director of Resource Development for MCC BC. “Alternate ports are available, but delivery is hindered because of distance or because the ports are not equipped with cranes to facilitate easy unloading.”



Airlifts are prohibitively expensive so they are used sparingly. When MCC did use an airlift to bring 31,751 kilos of canned meat into Port-au-Prince on Jan. 24, the shipment had to be rerouted to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, reportedly because of airport traffic.



The meat, which is canned by MCC volunteers, was transferred to trucks that were escorted to Haiti by United Nations (U.N.) personnel. Once the trucks reached the U.N. World Food Program warehouse in Port-au-Prince on Friday, Jan. 29. 



The MCC Haiti staff was able to start collecting the meat on Wednesday, Feb. 3. From the shipment, Assemblée de la Grace, a Mennonite church on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, distributed more than 1,000 cans of meat to church and community members, many of whose houses were destroyed in the earthquake. 



Five other MCC partner organizations distributed portions of the shipment. TIMKATEC, Timoun Kap Teke Chans, one of MCC’s partners, is conducting a feeding program for 500 children, some of whom were homeless prior to the earthquake and others who are newly homeless. 



Meanwhile, two more shipments of meat, each about 15,875 kilos arrived at the port of St. Marc, Haiti, on Feb. 19. Trucks transported the shipments three hours south to Port-au-Prince. 



Relief kits, heavy comforters and other supplies also are on the way and will continue. Already sent are two shipments that contain 2,688 relief kits, 4,591 comforters, various medical supplies, 250 tarps and 192 boxes of water bottles, flashlights and deodorant. MCC also expects to supply about 9,000 tarps before the rainy season begins in April.



In the first week after the earthquake, MCC sent 1,000 water filters and $53,000 to MCC Haiti and its partners to be used in the first days of relief efforts. The Mennonite churches in the Dominican Republic also donated and delivered food and supplies. 



Twenty medical boxes, designed to supply 800 adults and children for two to three months, currently are being distributed in Haiti. Staff in Haiti said that the Haiti Response Coalition, a new MCC partner in Port-au-Prince, was grateful for the supplies that “were exactly what was needed for the mobile clinics currently serving several camps of internally displaced people.” In addition, at least 5,000 first aid kits, purchased by MCC, will be distributed to families.



As of Feb. 12, 2010, contributors in BC gave over $1.1 million (over $5 million across Canada) for relief efforts in Haiti, which will be matched 1:1 by CIDA and donations continue to come in.

Across North America, MCC donors have given an estimated $8.3 million (before matching), the majority of which will be used for rebuilding once the initial crisis has passed. An MCC assessment team is scheduled to convene in Haiti on Feb. 22 to evaluate the situation and make recommendations for ongoing work.

To make a donation, click on the donate link on the right.

Photo: Mennonite pastors from the Dominican Republic and MCC Haiti staff and service workers work together to unload relief supplies at the MCC office in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Photo by Ben Depp.