Gwénaël Apollon, General Secretary of the YMCA of Haiti reports
that seven weeks after the January 12th earthquake "
life in Port-au-Prince looks like an unfinished painting painted by
a mad artist. Many continue leaving Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Grand
Goave and Petit Goave for more secure places and others persist
with their quest for a visa to leave for another country, while
most of us are helping the survivors survive. Generally speaking,
the foreign armies, the UN force, the 5,000 NGOs are busy.
Ambulances and fire trucks are all over, heavy trucks and
equipments create huge traffic as the demolition of cracked houses
and buildings continue. Many people participate in massive numbers
in a food for work program to sweep and remove debris on the
streets."
The YMCA of Haiti, with the support of international YMCA
partners such as the YMCAs of Québec, the YMCA of Dominican
Republic and the Latin American and Caribbean Alliance,
successfully coordinated two aid convoys into Haiti from the
Dominican Republic, carrying critical relief items such as food,
medicine and other supplies. While immediate relief work continues,
the YMCA of Haiti is quickly turning its attention to restarting
YMCA community programs, particularly critical services such as
psycho-social counselling and education for young people. The YMCA
is working to obtain large tents to serve as temporary YMCA
facilities.
The YMCA of Haiti Partner Support Group meets regularly to
coordinate the relief work and the long term recovery plans of the
YMCA. A small delegation is currently traveling to Haiti to assist
the YMCA with the longer-term planning.