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!!

It begins:

Subject: Congratulations on the best interview I have heard so far on the news given by Steve Hollingworth

To The President and Chief Executive Officers of Care USA it is with much gratitude that I give accolades to Mr. Hollingsworth who gave this morning, January 20th, the best interview I have heard yet on the news media concerning what is going on in Haiti. He was interviewed on NPR. The reporting in general has been so terrible by everyone and demonstrates a keen misunderstanding of Haiti and its wonderful people as a whole, development, and what happens to anyone when they have been traumatized as the Haitians have been for years and now acutely with the earthquake.

Mr. Hollingsworth's interview demonstrated that there is an aid agency out there that gets it. You know the community comes first. You have to work within their culture, folkways, mores and let them take the lead, regardless of mistakes that are made along the way. To hear that CARE has over 140 Haitians working in country on their relief efforts was "jaw dropping" to say the least and to hear Steve describe how CARE let the community leaders organize themselves and how they were prepared for the food, water and other supplies when the convoy made it to their community and how orderly and peaceful the entire process was. No one else has done that or really reported that. I dare say that what Steve described is more of the norm throughout the country when they people are left to their devices, ingenuity and the use of their language and to work within their culture. It was so wonderful. Thank you for really showing the true spirit of the Haitians and their country.

Wow! Again, this note made me feel proud of CARE.

At CARE, I have worked in many emergencies: food crises, natural disasters, prolonged civil conflicts.

I have a lasting impression from how these quickly emergencies unfold, and what CARE staff go through during times of emergency. With emergencies like earthquakes or tsunamis or the rapid displacement of communities in civil conflict, the event causes a huge shock – a fast and hard blast that turns their world upside down. As a result, there often is confusion. What has happened? Where did it happen? Who is affected? How are they affected? What still works?

There are so many stories of loss, grief and human suffering. And there are stories of acts of immense humanity.

In this barrage of confusion, commotion and emotional overload, CARE workers look for patterns to try to understand who survived, where the survivors are located, and what their needs are.

This task is hard under any circumstance, but close to impossible, when your friends, colleagues and their families, and your friends have suffered as well. This is the case in Haiti. Eighty percent our staff were affected. They lost family members, their homes and their belongings. CARE has an experienced person now in Haiti helping staff solve practical problems related to rebuilding their lives.

Careful preparation

Past disasters, along with careful planning and preparation for emergency response in all of our 70 offices around the world, prepares our staff to respond quickly in times of need.

We gather as much information as we can. We have situation updates and try to figure out our role. We send teams for assessments. We respond and gather information. We establish communication with the community and local leaders. We make sure we hear from women – often the most reliable information comes from them!

Our of this action and information emerges a picture that tells us where the most affected areas are and who is most vulnerable.

CARE's response in Haiti

In Haiti it became clear early on what was needed.

Basic needs are for clean water and the prevention of waterborne diseases. This is where water purification and bottled water are useful in the short term. But re-establishing clean water sources is cost-effective and more sustainable. Health is the other short-term need,which much include disease prevention, atention to trauma, the potentional for tetanus and obstetrics care.

And, of course, there is a great need for food, shelter, warm clothes and other basics.

CARE's mission is to carry out well-planned and executed distributions. To be the link between the poor and most vulnerable people and all of the support flowing in.

Defending dignity

People are resilient and can cope, if they are not injured or sick. Assessing and distributing aid to the most vulnerable is critical. To do so, we need to carry out good assessments in the community and involve the community to make sure the most vulnerable are served first as their resilience is less.

One of the most important things for us to do is to respect the dignity of the people affected by disasters and pay them repect. They need to be consulted and play a role in determining who should get what, when and how. The same goes for local leaders, whose authority needs to be supported during times of crisis. Unless, we do so, people remain 'victims' during response and recovery efforts. Instead, we want them to partner with us, thereby, satisfying the need of people in crisis to assume ownership of the process and their lives again.

Humanitarian aid done right take all of this into account.

And aid carried out right establishes the right foundation for rehabilitation. This is how communities are strengthened. This is how bonds of compassion and social capital are strengthened.

We all need to think of the long term rehabilitation and recovery efforts. Right now, we are assembling wheelbarrows. That may seem strange, but we will use them for cash-for-work programs that will remove waste and rubble and provide wages for thousands of people in Haiti.

We are doing this fast.

At every step, I think of the resilience and energy poor people have to solve their own problems and find lasting solutions. We strive to affirm the humanity of those who receive aid as well as give aid.

That is what makes a successful emergency response in my book – and CARE Haiti has truly hit the mark.

• :: You can help! Donate now to support CARE's lifesaving emergency relief efforts in Haiti.
• :: Read more about CARE's emergency response in Haiti.