EcoWorks International

Breaking the cycle of poverty by building thriving,
self-sustainable communities where the need is the greatest

Current Situation

The situation on the ground is evolving.  People still struggle with daily needs of food, shelter and healthcare not only in Port-au-Prince and the cities directly affected by the earthquake, but also throughout the country because close to one million people have internally migrated to their places of origin.  These towns and villages do not have the capacity to absorb them and provide them with the basic necessities.  Thus, street and roadside camps have sprung all over the country. 

At the same time, earthquake victims are being discharged from hospitals in great numbers as they progress in their healing process; at Bernard Mevs, for example, most patients will be leaving by March 15th.  Informal street markets and regular food stores are now open, and many governmental agencies and private businesses are reopening as well.  This prompts Haitian and foreign organizations to adjust their programs to fit present needs.

EWI Disaster Relief Programs

EWI has made a long-term commitment to the Bernard Mevs Hospital whose mission is to provide surgeries and other medical treatments to individuals who could not afford them otherwise.  Therefore, all the investments we make at Bernard Mevs will continue to serve the populations most in need beyond the earthquake relief period.

Food at Bernard Mevs

EWI was the only organization that provided homemade, hot and nutritious meals to hospital patients, their families and staff.  When we started on January 20th, most patients and their families had not eaten in at least four days.  We began with providing 250 meals each day, then as the patient population diminished we reduced the number of meals accordingly.  At the present time, less than 60 patients remain and most will be discharged within one week.  We currently provide 180 meals per day. This feeding program will end March 7th.  In total we provided around 13,000 meals. 

EWI has established a relationship with two orphanages and a home for young delinquent boys and is continuing to be the connecting link between these institutions and the multilateral organizations that are supposed to distribute food in grand quantities, such as The World Food Program and the Dominican Red Cross.  This has not been an easy process as these organizations have had a very difficult time getting organized. Still, we distributed food from the World Food Program, USAID, and recently, we have connected with a Haitian organization and hope that this will be a better fit for the needs of the organizations we support that care for children.

Medical Teams

Within one week of the January 12th earthquake, EWI provided healthcare teams and we continue to do so.  The request from the Bernard Mevs hospital is no longer for orthopedic surgeons but rather for reinforcing their OBGYN/Maternity departments.  We are working with Dr. Debra Jones on starting a rollover OBGYN team coverage by US doctors and nurses who will provide treatment for hospitalized and out-patients and training for Haitian medical students.

Children at the Bernard Mevs Hospital

EWI pays special attention to the children at Bernard Mevs hospital providing them with paper and crayons in order for them use drawing as a way to express their pain and fears.  We also visit them regularly and provide them with toys and clothes as many of them lost all their possessions and some have been amputated and are highly traumatized. 

We have been giving small stipends to some adult patients who are being discharged to enable them to get a ride home and buy basic food ingredients.

Two new programs are being initiated by EWI:

Physical and Occupational Therapy

As patients heal and are being discharged, the need for physical and occupational therapy has become acute.  The profession of physical and occupational therapist does not exist in Haiti yet there is now a very large number of earthquake victims who will have permanent physical disabilities.  EWI together with the Afya Foundation and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) will provide urgently needed physical and occupational therapy treatment of patients combined with a training program for Haitian healthcare workers to form the first cadres of Haitian rehabilitation therapists. The first program will take place March 16th  to 30th at the Bernard Mevs hospital.  The ultimate goal is to establish a permanent rehabilitation center at Bernard Mevs that will provide continuous treatment and training programs.  A 40-foot container has been shipped and will arrive prior to the treatment and training program filled with walking aids such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes, etc. that will be given to the patients undergoing therapy.

Accompanying Patients with Physical Disabilities When they are Being Discharged

EWI is hiring a Haitian professional to establish a program that will help people with disabilities or serious injuries reintegrate daily life outside of the hospital by connecting them with the available services and community resources. Some are leaving the hospital with no money, no home and with serious wounds or amputations that require special attention. These services will help them in their transition from the hospital to everyday life.   EWI will cooperate with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Affairs as well as local and foreign NGOs. This program will start March 31st

Continued Support of Bernard Mevs Hospital

EWI purchased and donated to the Bernard Mevs Hospital a dermatome, a sophisticated medical device that improves the ability of surgeons to perform crucial skin grafts.  EWI’s partner organizations, the Afya Foundation and the JDC have made it possible to obtain a 20 foot container full of medications, medical equipment and school supplies which will arrive the week of March 8th; and a 40 foot container with physical aids such as wheelchairs, walkers and canes scheduled to arrive the week of March 15th in time for the first physical therapy treatment and training program.

Ganthier

Ganthier, the partner community EWI works with on the long term project has had some damage.  A few buildings have been destroyed, but the overall damage is not extensive.  EWI is helping in the assessment of structural damages of the city hall and in restoring the Internet access.

However, like most towns throughout the country, Ganthier has a large internal refugee group of 7,196 who need immediate food, water, and healthcare support programs.  At the same time, there is a need for longer term programs to permanently integrate them into the resident population, and the only way that this can be done is through economic development.

The Centrality of Economic Development in Disaster Relief

The larger issue for the country is the dire need for a new urban plan for Port-au-Prince that will get rid of the slums and provide the city with green spaces and a much more disciplined urban development.  For this to happen, two things must be achieved:

1. Extend the outer parameters of the city to create new residential areas and transform the hardest hit, inner-city neighborhoods (ex. Jean-Jaques Dessaline Blvd/ Grand’ rue) into plazas, parks, civic buildings and restaurants.  In short, achieve what Central Park did for Manhattan which is to give it a green recreational and meeting space so that residents can stroll, enjoy nature and cultural events.
   
   
2. Create new cities that will attract a fair number of residents so as to decongest and decentralize Port-au-Prince.  This decentralization is crucial for the economic well-being of the country.  The ultra-centralization of the administrative and political powers exclusively in Port-au-Prince has been one of the major hindrances in the country’s development. The unique opportunity to decentralize must be seized and acted upon without delay.

The question is how will these new towns, villages and extended Port-au-Prince parameters succeed? What will make Haitians settle in these new urban areas? In the end it will not be the new homes, the good schools and healthcare facilities, although they are very important.  It will be the jobs. The ability to earn a living wage will be the most decisive factor in the success of these plans. And although some may think that job creation is not part of disaster relief efforts, in our experience it is the main factor in making the relief efforts successful on a long-term basis. 

The Haitian government understands this and has included economic development / job creation in its immediate needs assessment now that the rescue and emergency phase of the disaster response has been completed.

EWI is part of a professional group that includes the University of Miami and reflects upon viable models for urban and rural post-disaster development.  It is clear that our original project for Ganthier is needed now more than ever.  This is a good opportunity to implement a comprehensive project such as ours to anchor the permanent residents and the newly arrived displaced population.