People to People Haiti Relief
(a branch of People in Need Partnership, pinpartnership.org)
No food relief has reached many areas of Port-au-Prince. Most people are living outside in open areas. Many have lost their homes; other houses are cracked and unsafe to stay in. There is increasing hunger, starvation, and desperation.
In the vast slum of Cite Soleil, where 50% of our partners live, there has been no relief at all. We are providing food packages to every partner, and are also organizing food delivery from the Dominican Republic. Here is how the new program works:
Each time we reach funds totaling $1,000, from any number of sources, we will send a vehicle to the border of the Dominican Republic to purchase food. (We are also hoping to receive direct food aid from groups in Port-au-Prince.) Since we work and live in the slums where aid has not reached, we are uniquely capable of delivery supplies there. We are currently working on a secure, safe system to provide food and water among desperate people.
Neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince have already spontaneously organized their own local, decentralized committees to seek help and help themselves. At many intersections of main streets you will see signs from these neighborhood groups seeking help (see our Newsletters for photos). By coordinating with them we are able to create a organizational structure to provide assistance where and when it is needed, in a way that the very large aid groups cannot.
