On April 6, the Chargé d’Affaires of the United States embassy in Haiti, Brian Shukan, visited the south of Haiti to assess how United States Agency for International Development Government Agency (USAID) could support Hurricane Mathew response and recovery missions in Haiti.
The United States was the largest emergency relief donor following the passage of Hurricane Matthew six months ago. The US provided humanitarian assistance and distributed $101.3 million between more than 20 organization and local agencies of the United Nations (UN).
Shukan visited Charles Lassègue school, which has benefited from emergency aid, in Boudet, a town of Les Cayes.
In partnership with UNICEF, 50 schools in the area were repaired and decontaminated, and received furniture and educational materials for about 45,000 students and 1,000 teachers. The roof of the school Charles Lassègue was repaired, and received school furniture and supplies. School students also received psychosocial support while teachers received training sessions.
In the commune of Coteaux, the Chargé d’Affaires visited the project “Build Back Safer,” an initiative of USAID, implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The program allows communities to repair their damaged houses using construction techniques improved with the support of technicians and carpenters certified and licensed under construction.
In response to Hurricane Matthew, the US government has provided humanitarian funding, including $ 42.6 million from the food aid from USAID Office of Food for Peace (FFP), $ 38.9 million from the office of foreign disaster assistance to USAID Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), $ 11 million from the US Department of Defense and $ 8.7 million from the USAID mission in Haiti.
Most of this assistance is intended to meet basic household needs for food, water, sanitation and hygiene, health care facilities and mobile clinics, to support schooling and repair shelter, and to stimulate local markets and the resumption of farming. The ongoing support also through initiatives to strengthen the capacity of local and central authorities to prepare to respond to possible extreme weather situations.
In his speech for the occasion, Shukan stressed the continued support of the US to affected areas, and welcomed the efforts of communities to recover themselves of the situation.
“We were there during the cyclone and we will continue working not only to assist in the recovery,” he said, “but also to support recovery efforts and reducing the dangers that could affect the lives and livelihoods in the future. “