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Notes from the Field
Disaster
Wednesday March 10, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 2:02PM EST on March 10, 2010
by Sabine Wilke, CARE Media Officer in Haiti Monday, March 8, 2010 Her first life was that of a teacher at a nurse's training school in Port-au-Prince, teaching skills to make sure that women have a healthy delivery. Today, Carline Morney spends her days in and around the earthquake-stricken capital of Haiti, helping expecting and young mothers to cope with the difficult situation. She is one of more than 70 new CARE staff members who have been hired in addition to the existing team to ensure a timely and efficient emergency response. ... (more)Monday March 1, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 1:20PM EST on March 1, 2010
by Rick Perera, CARE Media Officer in Haiti Monday, March 1, 2010 We're watching from Haiti with shock and sadness as the news comes from Chile: another merciless earthquake, more powerful than ever. So soon after the devastation here in and around Port-au-Prince. (Was that only a few weeks ago? It feels like an eternity.) ... (more)Tuesday February 16, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 4:48PM EST on February 16, 2010
by Anne Larrass, CARE in Haiti's Information Management Officer
Friday, February 12, 2010 "Mèsi Bondye paske ou bann lavi ankò" It is 6 p.m. and the sun has just set, leaving behind a gentle trail of pink and orange. We are on our way back to the office, driving on a road that takes us past the now very common picture of broken homes and mountains of rubble of Port-au-Prince. Today is the last day of three days of official mourning, which explains the thousands of Haitians we've encountered on the streets chanting hymns and calling out slogans of hope and gratitude. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 4:28PM EST on February 16, 2010
by Anne Larass, CARE in Haiti's Information Management Officer Wednesday, February 10, 2010 "Ne bloquez pas, ne bloquez pas!" a CARE distribution coordinator calls out to the giggling crowd of women and girls who have been lining up since 5:30 a.m. to receive their rice. With no easy way to carry the 50 kg bags, women and girls are dropping them every few steps, laughing and shaking their heads at the comedy of the situation. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 3:50PM EST on February 16, 2010
By Melanie Brooks, CARE International Media Officer in Haiti Friday, February 12, 2010 While professional rescue teams used heavy equipment to pull people from the rubble, Jacques Wylens' father, Jacques Wilkens, used a sledgehammer and his bare hands in a desperate effort to free his son from the coffin of what was once their home. Next to where two-year-old Jacques lie trapped and crying under the rubble were his dead grandparents. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 3:25PM EST on February 16, 2010
by Melanie Brooks, CARE International Media Officer in Haiti Saturday, February 7, 2010 Night falls, and one by one, the candles flicker on in the camps – tiny pinpricks of light in a city clad in darkness. As the sun retreats, the muffled cries begin. And the women creep deeper into their flimsy shelters of bed sheets and plastic tarps, praying for the morning to come. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 1:47PM EST on February 16, 2010
Excerpted from a note to CARE staff Sunday, February 7, 2010 Dear Colleagues, A week ago, I returned from a joint visit to Haiti together with CARE USA regional director, Peter Buijs. Peter and I visited Haiti to understand the situation first-hand and offer support and guidance to CARE's response to the extensive humanitarian suffering caused by the January 12 earthquake. Peter stayed-on in Haiti for an additional week while country director Sophie Perez was traveling. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 1:25PM EST on February 16, 2010
Story by Rick Perera, CARE Media Officer in Haiti Saturday, February 6, 2010 In earthquake-ravaged Haiti, where broken bones and open wounds far outnumber doctors, people have grown accustomed to long waits for medical attention. But many who turn up at Saurel Saintie's mud-brick home have waited longer than most. These patients have traveled five hours or more along a rutted, dirt road -- aboard battered old buses, in backs of trucks or perched by threes and fours on motorbikes – to escape the ruined capital, Port-au-Prince. Many have gone weeks without having their injuries attended to. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 1:14PM EST on February 16, 2010
Story by Rick Perera, CARE Media Officer in Haiti Friday, February 5, 2010 Woose Gammanuel Ulysse wipes his runny nose, as he hides behind his mother's skirts. The five-year-old has been wheezing and coughing since the terrible events of January 12, when his world collapsed around him. The boy was trapped for an hour an a half under the rubble of his uncle's house in Port-au-Prince, says mother Tulia. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 12:51PM EST on February 16, 2010
by Elizabeth Babister, CARE Senior Shelter Advisor Friday, February 5, 2010 In the mornings, as the little tent circle of staff in the garden of CARE's office wakes up our most precious items here the small padlocks for locking the tents. A token gesture towards security since anyone could cut through the fabric, but with the garden busy with CARE staff this would be noticed immediately. We are relieved from the inconvenience of staying with our possessions while I work. Many of the camps in the city are congested with people, strangers to each other situated in the same place by necessity because open land is so scarce. There are no locks or fences between families. CARE will be supporting community leaders to organise committees in order to empower families to work for their recovery as community. ... (more)Friday February 5, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 5:14PM EST on February 5, 2010
by Rick Perera, CARE's Emergency Media Officer in Haiti Friday, February 5, 2010 This will be my last blog entry from Haiti – but certainly not the last about Haiti, a country that has worked its way into my heart. I leave tomorrow on a special charter flight for aid workers. ... (more)Monday February 1, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 6:11PM EST on February 1, 2010
by Rick Perera, CARE Emergency Media Officer in Haiti February 1, 2010 We're all starting to feel a little safer, and more relaxed – though that's a relative term, of course. We've noticed that there have not been aftershocks in a week or so. The mass distribution of rice that got underway yesterday has gone smoothly so far – a huge relief since many survivors have had nothing to eat since the quake. Of course it will take a long time to reach everyone in need, but the system is working well so far. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 6:02PM EST on February 1, 2010
by Rick Perera, CARE Emergency Media Officer in Haiti Saturday, January 30, 2010 I've just returned from one of the most heartbreaking visits of my two weeks here: to meet the family of Dr. Franck Geneus, CARE's gentle, dedicated health program director. Their homes destroyed, his extended family of 30 is packed into Franck's brother's tiny house and yard -- from the littlest niece, five-month-old Joelle, to grandmother Inosie, who says she's 94. ... (more)Friday January 29, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 1:35PM EST on January 29, 2010
by Abby Maxman, country director, CARE Ethiopia and former country director for CARE International in Haiti Taken from a longer piece written by Abby to her CARE colleagues on January 14, 2010 As we all reel with grief and concern in the aftermath of the horrific and massive earthquake that struck near Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince on January 12, I am drawn back to my own personal and professional relationship with the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. As a humanitarian and development professional for more than 20 years, I try to unpack its troubled history, fast forwarding to this week's events, and rewinding again to my own experience as country director of CARE International in Haiti from 2004-2006. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 12:50PM EST on January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010 One of our staff members in Haiti reports on the bleak living conditions for people displaced by the earthquake:
... (more) Tuesday January 26, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 10:20AM EST on January 26, 2010
by Rick Perera, CARE Emergency Media Officer in Haiti Monday, January 25, 2010 You can handle a lot if you keep busy, but watch out when you get a chance to stop and think. On a long drive last night I had a talk with an exhausted CARE driver, and felt for a moment what it must be like to be Haitian. ... (more)Sunday January 24, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 9:49PM EST on January 24, 2010
by Rick Perera, Emergency Media Officer in Haiti Saturday, January 24, 2009 "I can't describe how frightened I was," recalls Joanie Estin, remembering that terrible day barely a week ago when her world fell apart. "We've lived through a lot in Haiti, but this is the first time anything like this ever happened." But Joanie doesn't look scared. Sad, yes – but resolute, confident, and committed. Every inch the Girl Scout. "I always keep a cool head, because otherwise you won't be able to help other people," she says calmly. ... (more)Friday January 22, 2010
Posted by: Rick Perera at 4:42PM EST on January 22, 2010
by Rick Perera
Thursday, January 21, 2010 You might expect to see Wilner Ulysse helping a little old lady cross the street. That's the classic image of a dutiful Scout. But Wilner, age 23, has a much more important good deed for today. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 4:26PM EST on January 22, 2010
by Loetitia Raymond Thursday, January 21, 2010 At the fragile moment in time when a life enters the world, when a child leaves the warm, protective cocoon of her mother's womb, one gesture can change everything. It can transform what could have been a happy occasion into the saddest of all. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 2:12PM EST on January 22, 2010
by Steve Hollingworth, CARE USA COO and EVP, Global Operations Wednesday, January 21, 2010 I received an e-mail today that I deeply appreciated. It also made me proud to be a part of CARE!! ... (more)Thursday January 21, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 3:58PM EST on January 21, 2010
by Patrick Solomon, CARE USA SVP, Global Support Services Thursday, January 21, 2010 Yesterday, the CARE staff went to the Place Saint Pierre in Pétion-ville extremely close to the CARE office to do pre-work for today's distribution of hygiene kits. The team did an assessment and registration process to identify pregnant and elderly women to make sure they were recipients of the distribution. Today, the team ensured that these women were given priority in the distribution process. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 12:03PM EST on January 21, 2010
by Patrick Solomon, CARE USA SVP, Global Support Services Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Distribution of mattresses at one of our main sites today did not go as smooth and had to be canceled. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 11:26AM EST on January 21, 2010
On Wednesday, January 20, 2009, CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviewed Steve Hollingworth, CARE USA's chief operating officer and Executive vice president of global operations. The interview was aired on CNN's The Situation Room. Check back for video. Here is the transcript: ... (more)Wednesday January 20, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 6:05PM EST on January 20, 2010
by Steve Hollingworth, CARE USA COO and EVP, Global Operations Wednesday, January 20, 2010 I wanted to say a few words about our staff here in Haiti. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 5:40PM EST on January 20, 2010
by CARE staff in Haiti Wednesday, January 20, 2010 A 6.1-magnitude aftershock rocked Haiti around 6:00 a.m. local time this morning, only eight days after the earthquake destroyed the capital city, leaving tens of thousands dead and injured and many more homeless. CARE's emergency response team send the following by text messages (SMS) and e-mail: ... (more)
Posted by: Rick Perera at 5:08PM EST on January 20, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media officer in Haiti Tuesday, January 19, 2010 This entry is a small collection of photos of senior staff inspecting damage in the hard-hit Delmas section of Port-au-Prince. ... (more)
Posted by: Rick Perera at 4:56PM EST on January 20, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media officer in Haiti Tuesday, January 19, 2010 CARE Haiti staff held a moment of silence Monday in memory of their own lost family members and for their country. ... (more)
Posted by: Rick Perera at 4:33PM EST on January 20, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media officer in Haiti
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 It's obvious that people here are still in grave shock. You can see in the grim faces as people try to pick up the pieces that they are in desperate need. Everywhere we go, we see hand-painted signs on bed sheets pleading for help, asking for medicine for children or letting people know bodies are there. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 4:13PM EST on January 20, 2010
by Loetitia Raymond, emergency media officer in Haiti Tuesday, January 19, 2010 Depuis une semaine des centaines de camps de fortunes ont tristement fleuri le parterre des trottoirs de Port-au-Prince et de ses environs. Sans logement et sans aucune source de revenu pour la plupart, les sinistrés ont besoin de l’aide internationale pour survivre. Depuis mon arrivée dans les bureaux de CARE Haïti, transformé en camp de fortune pour certains des employés qui ont perdu leur maison, je découvre une équipe admirablement engagée et mobilisée, alors que bon nombre d’entre eux ont perdu leur habitation, parfois des membres de leur famille. De 7h du matin à 22h pour certains, 7j sur 7, chacun tente de faire face à l’envergure des besoins pour mettre en place l’aide à la population. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 3:26PM EST on January 20, 2010
by Patrick Solomon, CARE USA SVP, Global Support Services Tuesday, January 19, 2010 Patrick Solomon and Steve Hollingworth, CARE's COO and EVP for Global Operations, spent the day with in the hart-hit town of Léogâne, southwest of Port-au-Prince, where CARE distributed water bladders, jerrycans and hygiene kits to 135,000 people. ... (more)
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 3:13PM EST on January 20, 2010
by Steve Hollingworth, CARE USA COO and EVP, Global Operations Tuesday, January 19, 2010 11:00 a.m. Patrick Solomon, CARE's SVP for Global Support Services, and I are traveling with a CARE convoy to distribute water bladders, jerrycans and hygiene kits to 135,000 people staying in an areas southwest of Port-au-Prince in a town called Léogâne. We have 21 staff moving out in four SUVs and a large truck. There is lots of apprehension in the car about keeping together through the extremely congested traffic. The trip should take around two hours. ... (more)Monday January 18, 2010
Posted by: Rick Perera at 9:55AM EST on January 18, 2010
by Rick Perera, CARE's emergency media officer in Haiti Its name, Hôpital La Paix, means Peace — but this massively overflowing hospital is anything but peaceful. The largest medical facility still standing in devastated Port au Prince, La Paix is beyond overflowing with critically injured people. ... (more)Sunday January 17, 2010
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 8:19PM EST on January 17, 2010
by Steve Hollingworth, CARE USA COO and EVP, Global Operations Sunday, January 17, 2010 11:30 a.m. I am traveling to Port-au-Prince with my colleagues. One expert will assess overall staff well-being and how we provide support for folks in Haiti and those coming to help. The other is a technology expert, who will be in charge of improving communications; he will install a VSAT system for our use. Cell phone and satellite phones are working better, and e-mails are getting through. ... (more)
Posted by: Rick Perera at 7:25PM EST on January 17, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media officer in Haiti Sunday, January 17, 2010 If charity begins at home, CARE is in the right place. Just outside our Haiti headquarters, many hundreds, perhaps thousands — no one has counted them — of newly homeless people are camped out in the main square of Pétionville, a near suburb of Port-au-Prince. They wait patiently in the hot sun, but their desperation grows by the hour. At night, groups of people can be heard clapping and chanting. Some have hung banners, painted on bedsheets, with messages like "We need help!" in English and Creole. ... (more)
Posted by: Rick Perera at 7:13PM EST on January 17, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media coordinator in Haiti Sunday, January 17, 2010 I keep hearing the same question from journalists: why isn't aid getting to these desperate people faster? The answer is: aid workers are moving as fast as they can, but the conditions are grim. Haiti has never seen a catastrophe of this magnitude in modern times; it was already desperately poor to begin with; and in the aftermath of so many disasters in recent years, the people and infrastructure were utterly unprepared to cope. ... (more)Saturday January 16, 2010
Posted by: Rick Perera at 2:26PM EST on January 16, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media coordinator in Haiti Saturday, January 16, 2010 I'm with a convoy of three CARE vehicles carrying water purification supplies form the airport to three different points of distribution. In order to avoid the risk of mobs trying to take materials, we're using ordinary SUVs — Toyota Land Cruisers — and piling the materials low enough so they can be covered and out of view from the windows. ... (more)Friday January 15, 2010
Posted by: Rick Perera at 12:59PM EST on January 15, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media coordinator in Haiti Friday, January 15, 2010We're crossing the border at Jimeni, between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Things are moving fairly quickly, at least on the Dominican Republic side. We're seeing supplies crossing the border including search and explore teams with dogs, many large tanker trucks with water, backhoes and other construction equipment, mobile kitchens from the Dominican Republic, and many journalists. ... (more)
Posted by: Rick Perera at 10:54AM EST on January 15, 2010
by Rick Perera, emergency media coordinator in Haiti Friday, January 15, 2010A group of CARE staff and journalists – 12 of us in all, landed in the city of Puerto Plata in the northern coast of the Dominican Republic early this afternoon. We were welcomed as tourists by a steel drum band, scantily clad dancers and free cocktails. It was a surreal experience. ... (more)
Posted by: Jon Thompson at 10:47AM EST on January 15, 2010
by Hauke Hoops, regional emergency coordinator in Haiti Friday, January 15, 2010This is one of the biggest disasters I’ve ever seen, and it is a huge logistical challenge. Everything has to come in by plane or boat, but the port is destroyed. The airport is overstretched, overcrowded with flights. ... (more)Thursday January 14, 2010
Posted by: Jon Thompson at 2:15PM EST on January 14, 2010
by Hauke Hoops, regional emergency coordinator in Haiti Thursday, January 14, 2010Hauke Hoops, CARE’s Regional Emergency Coordinator, flew from Panama to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, just after midnight Jan. 13. We reached him at the airport in Santo Domingo Jan. 13 at 6 a.m. local time, as he was preparing to board a humanitarian flight to Port-au-Prince. ... (more)Wednesday January 13, 2010
Posted by: Jon Thompson at 3:55PM EST on January 13, 2010
as told by Sophie Perez, CARE's Country Director in Haiti Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Sophie was in the CARE office in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit at about 5 p.m. local time January 12, 2010. Tuesday October 6, 2009
Posted by: Staci Dixon at 2:41PM EST on October 6, 2009
by Seki Hirano, CARE shelter advisor On September 30, Indra, a 20-year-old student in Padang, West Sumatra, received a desperate phone call from his mother. The island has just been struck with a massive earthquake. Indra left Padang and rushed back to his home in the remote village of Pulo Air. Fortunately, he arrived to find his mother safe. However, he found that half his village, along with two neighboring villages, had completely disappeared under a four-hectare-wide landslide. The edge of the slide had stopped just four metres from his house. ... (more)
Posted by: CARE at 2:26PM EST on October 6, 2009
by Adjie Fachrurrazi, CARE emergency coordinator in Indonesia It has been raining non-stop for the past six hours. Heavy, heavy rain. People are traumatized. They are asking for help. Everyone is suffering. People say to me, "Don't count the number of destroyed houses. Count the number of houses still standing. It will be faster." In most villages I have seen, only 15 percent of houses are still standing. Some houses are totally flattened. The roof is flat on the ground. People lost everything. Their houses are destroyed, everything in them is destroyed. And everyone is afraid so those with houses will not go inside. There have been aftershocks over the past few days but today was mostly quiet. Everyone is afraid of another earthquake. Disaster Strikes Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands
A series of natural disasters – including two typhoons, four earthquakes and a tsunami – recently hit Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. These disasters have devastated communities, killed and injured thousands of people and left millions homeless millions due to flooding and destruction. CARE is on the ground in the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia, assessing survivors' immediate needs and providing lifesaving aid, including clean water, food and temporary shelter. An estimated $15 million will be needed to provide humanitarian assistance in these hard-hit areas. So people are sleeping outside, living outside. We are all wet. They have no shelter. Some people are sleeping under broken pieces of roof. Shelter is the main issue. People also need mosquito nets. They are sleeping outside, and with all this rain, there will be mosquitoes and malaria. Children are already starting to get sick. They need blankets, mosquito nets and plastic sheeting for shelter. *** People are drinking coconut juice, or river water. People in these village used to get their water from springs, but the pipes are broken. In Padang city, the municipal water is not running yet. The water from the river is not clean, and people don't have stoves to boil water. They need clean drinking water or there is going to be a rise in waterborne illness. We have supplies to help 5,000 people to start, but we need funds to help more. *** There are many injured people and people still buried under buildings. It is very hard to reach the affected areas. Landslides have blocked roads and there is debris everywhere. Our team went out by motorbike today. We have 20 people on the emergency team, including staff from our local partner. This damage looks worse than the Yogyakarta quake in 2006. It has been five days now. It's not clear how many people are affected yet. We don't have all the information from the rural areas. There are many dead bodies. And the smell is coming. Friday October 2, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 3:30PM EST on October 2, 2009
by Celso Dulce Celso Dulce is CARE's Project Representative in the Philippines, and he is leading CARE's emergency response to Typhoon Ketsana in Manila. Celso is from Manila. It started to rain a few hours ago, and it's dark. Today we were supporting the government order to evacuate people from high-risk areas as a precautionary measure. I just returned from securing the warehouses for relief distribution, because the goods might be damaged. Another storm is coming. We don't know how bad, but the rain is getting harder. Some areas are still flooded. In some areas, we don't know why, the water started to rise again yesterday. Some areas are still hard to reach. With the oncoming typhoon, definitely we will see the floodwaters rising again. So people who returned to their homes, but they will have to go back to the evacuation centers or whatever safe place they have identified. This is very difficult, because people were just starting to clean their houses and now they have to leave again. Almost 300 people are dead. This is my city. I have never seen it like this. They call the new storm a 'super-typhoon', and people are becoming panicked. Just this afternoon, we received an SMS saying that the super-typhoon will hit by 9 p.m. tonight. Then we received another SMS saying it will hit Manila by 5 p.m. It creates a lot of fear and panic. We need to teach people what to do to prepare for the coming super-typhoon. They need to move to a safer ground. They shouldn't wait for the strong winds and floods, that will be too late. They have to follow government warnings. Survival steps, prepare water, prepare food that will cover for one or two days. The electricity company has already said there will be cut off in electricity. There is a high level of awareness, and the government units are doing their best to prepare. I hope there are no deaths this time. The biggest need right now is for food, safe water and emergency shelter, especially since it's raining again. People had been sent back home, because the schools were being used as shelters. Children have to go back to school. Classes had been cancelled for a week already. But now we will need emergency shelter again, mainly tarpaulins. Families have yet to rebuild their homes. Two days ago I visited one area. One family had a shelter barely larger than two metres by two metres made of salvaged material. As many as 10-14 people lived in this. They have to take turns sleeping, some during the night, some during the day. And then they were hit by the typhoon. For me, it was so depressing, because even before the disaster they were living in such a horrible condition, and the floods made it worse. The urban poor eat only twice a day, and have very poor quality food, maybe just plain rice and soy sauce. At times, they scavenge food from the garbage, but they can't now, because everything is contaminated by the flood. CARE is distributing drinking water and food that will last them for a week. We are also distributing emergency supplies like blankets, jerry cans to store water and plastic tarpaulins. One man said, we need assistance, my wife is sick. She was doing the cleaning after the floods, because a lot of mud and debris were in the households. It is the responsibility of the women to take care of the children and clean the house. They have to get food and take care of the children, and the children are getting sick. The requests for medical assistance is increasing. It has been a long week. I think of those families tonight. I watch the news and the path of the new typhoon. The rain is getting harder.
Posted by: CARE at 3:21PM EST on October 2, 2009
Oct. 1, 2009 Thursday October 1, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 11:12AM EST on October 1, 2009
By Lisa Ognjanovic of CARE Laos As we waited for Typhoon Ketsana to hit, our first priority was the safety of our staff. Any at risk were immediately called back and commonsense things like closing windows and doors, making sure we had enough drinking water and ensuring that our staff prepared their own houses were done so we were ready to concentrate on people’s needs as soon as the storm passed.
Yesterday morning the team in Sekong, where the Typhoon hit hardest, sent through pictures of how high the river had come. It really hit home what kind of disaster the villages CARE works with along the river have experienced; they tell us the river rose from 7 metres to 28 metres high. We are still to get access to many of those villages so the extent of the damage and human impact remains unclear. I have been in storms in Laos before where rooftops have been blown away and trees uprooted, but this storm was far worse than what we have ever seen. I can only imagine what impact a storm of this size may have on these poor communities.
We have heard unconfirmed reports of people seeing houses washing down rivers. Houses in Laos along the river are constructed out of bamboo and wood and would not have been able to withstand a storm of this size – the homes of the poorest people are even flimsier. As always, those who are already so vulnerable will suffer the most in this emergency. Today as news of the damage and the need start to trickle in, we are well and truly beginning our response. While we wait for the formal assessment we are preparing to reach very remote locations, procuring water purification tablets that will be essential to be able to provide clean water, finding out where we can get large quantities of rice. I have seen on CNN and BBC reports of the Typhoon hitting Vietnam and Cambodia, but it has hit us here in Laos as well and hit us hard. The remoteness of the country means information is slow to emerge but we know that many people are going to need our assistance; now and well into the future.
Friday July 10, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 3:11PM EST on July 10, 2009
Blog by Sarah Blizzard, Development Writer, CARE Thursday June 11, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 11:36AM EST on June 11, 2009
Blog by Rick Perera, Media Officer, CARE International in Pakistan: Friday June 5, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 10:48AM EST on June 5, 2009
Blog by Thomas Schwarz of CARE Germany-Luxemburg, May 28, 2009: It is about noon up here in the northwestern province, or maybe a little later. In one of the camps for displaced people we meet a teacher, who is now volunteering to help his fellow countrymen. He tells us his story: "When all of the refugees arrived, I did not hesitate. I contacted the government to register as a volunteer. 'What can I do,' I asked them. 'How can I help?'" ... (more)Thursday June 4, 2009
Posted by: CARE at 1:26PM EST on June 4, 2009
Blog by Thomas Schwarz of CARE Germany-Luxemburg While travelling to places like Pakistan, I naturally meet many different people. All of them have their own story and background, their traditions, cultures and personal experiences. Talking to the displaced people in Pakistan, I realized right away how different their path of life is compared to my own. Living in Buner, Kohistan, Dir and the village of Swat bears no resemblance at all to lifestyles in so many western countries. The gap could not be much bigger. ... (more)
Posted by: CARE at 1:26PM EST on June 4, 2009
Blog by Thomas Schwarz of CARE Germany-Luxemburg Today I visited a place close to Mardan, where tens of thousands took refuge from the ongoing fighting in Dir, Buner and the village of Swat. Their overall situation is horrible. ... (more)
Posted by: CARE at 1:24PM EST on June 4, 2009
Blog by Thomas Schwarz of CARE Germany-Luxemburg Wednesday October 8, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 2:37PM EST on October 8, 2008
Recently, I accompanied our water and drainage specialist for an assessment of needs in the field. I love these privileged moments, to go in search of those with whom we will work hand-in-hand to develop projects. To form an answer to a problem is, above all, to talk with the people, to understand how they live, to take in their daily existence, and especially, to hear their problems, listen to their needs - to not show up with preconceived ideas. Sunday September 28, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 11:15PM EST on September 28, 2008
Facts A woman gives birth in a temporary shelter, the bare ground covered in trash.Without medicine. Millions of barefooted people in mud laden with sharp objects. Without shoes. ... (more) Friday September 26, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 4:23PM EST on September 26, 2008
A clammy heat that clings to your skin, a blazing sun that withers you to the core, I’m at the Télecom sans Frontières tent to send the latest news to CARE’s network. At the entrance, an alert announces that a storm system has formed from the ensuing rains and unfavorable winds in the Caribbean area. We have been following the weather development since yesterday, which we hope will not announce its lot of torrential showers on the country. Wednesday June 25, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 5:29PM EST on June 25, 2008
Below, Chris Northey continues her reflections from the field while working as CARE's
... (more) Monday June 23, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 2:23PM EST on June 23, 2008
Chris Northey was deployed to Yangon on May 23 to begin her rotation as CARE's Wednesday May 14, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 5:50PM EST on May 14, 2008
Many articles have appeared in the news today reporting that a new storm is approaching the cyclone-devastated area of Myanmar. Early indications predict that the storm will dump heavy rains on already-saturated areas of Myanmar but is unlikely to develop into another significant tropical cyclone. In either case, the outcome will be dire, adding to the flooding and misery across the Irrawaddy Delta and the capital city of Yangon.
... (more) Monday May 12, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 1:26PM EST on May 12, 2008
As CARE’s emergency teams complete initial assessments in the Irrawaddy delta, gruesome scenes of bodies decomposing in the very ponds the Myanmarese use for drinking water are being reported. Corpses still cannot be buried and entire villages remain underwater, many with few survivors. ... (more)Thursday May 8, 2008
Posted by: CARE at 5:42PM EST on May 8, 2008
Today, we distributed rice to 3,000 people, using locally available food. On Wednesday, we distributed water to about 10,000 people in townships in Yangon. The recipients were those staying in temporary shelters and others who have no access to town water supplies. In addition to supplying them with bottled water, we cleaned the wells and toilets at the collective shelters, many of which are located in schools and pagodas.
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Posted by: CARE at 8:49AM EST on May 8, 2008
Cyclone Nargis has created a major humanitarian disaster in Myanmar - one that will require substantial international response. Even with the full extent of devastation yet to be determined, 60 years of disaster experience have taught us that clean water, food and certain basic items, like shelter materials, are initial priorities. Water and sanitation are also always key concerns. After a storm like this, most of the available drinking water is likely to be polluted. If you don't act quickly, there is a very real risk of an outbreak of disease. People need counseling on what's safe to do and what is not.
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