Konbit Pou Ayiti

Haiti is melting into the sea.

Quite literally, each heavy rain washes more of Haiti’s land into the ocean. Rocks are stripped bare of soil, and mountainsides are turned into waterfalls in a heartbeat. As the land melts, people are left clutching at pieces of their lives as their homes are washed away in the muddy waters of the flood.

October was not a gentle month in Haiti. Nearly one hundred people lost their lives during severe weather. Floods and mudslides turned rural Haitians into refugees, many of whom lost everything. Southeast Haiti, home to KONPAY, was the hardest hit area. As November begins, communities are assessing the damage and wondering what they will do next.

Haiti’s environmental crisis is becoming more urgent with every storm. It has reached the point where each time the rain begins families huddle in terror, wondering where the unthinkable will happen this time.

Can you make a donation today for emergency assistance to the victims of the floods in southern Haiti?

As I write to you today the rains have stopped in southern Haiti. United Nations helicopters are finally getting out to survey the extent of the destruction seven days after the rains began. The foundation for a humanitarian crisis has been laid by the storm – with their harvests washed away and their homes damaged, thousands of Haitian families will be unable to make ends meet.

Please make a donation today for emergency flood relief in southern Haiti! Your donations to this emergency appeal will be split between direct urgent assistance to those affected by October’s tropical storms in Jacmel, Les Cayes and surrounding areas, and our sustainable long-term projects to transform the environment in Haiti.

Together with our friends and colleagues, Haiti KONPAY is bringing hope to people whose lives have been washed away. The need is urgent and the response is multi-dimensional:

• First, direct assistance to help those most in need with emergency food donations. Many people have lost their gardens as well as livestock such as goats and cows. Without their harvests to eat or any animals to sell, thousands will face severe hunger. Due to nation-wide storm damage, the price of basic food will increase for all Haitians.
• Second, investment in long-term projects to prevent future disasters in Haiti. Believe it or not, the solution to these severe weather emergencies is a simple one, and Haitians are already working together to make it happen. Massive and intensive reforestation will prevent future mudslides and reduce flooding during episodes of prolonged rain. Basic techniques to protect gardens and plant trees in dangerous ravines can have immediate impact.
• Third, the new Haitian National Coalition for the Environment, coordinated by Haiti KONPAY, will share resources and collaborate to accomplish reforestation and poverty alleviation, while promoting alternatives to charcoal. Community and organizational leaders are preparing to meet on December 1st in Jacmel to prioritize work for the environment and strategize on regional coordination for the national grassroots network.

Please don’t wait another day to respond to this crisis. Families in Jacmel and villages throughout southern Haiti are asking themselves how they will recover from the floods and loss – your donation can make a different to them today!

For the staff of KONPAY, working together for Haiti,

Melinda Miles

P.S. Please make your donation today – in the wake of Hurricane Noel, 2007’s deadliest storm, people in Haiti need your immediate help!