Drought in the Horn of Africa: 10 million at risk

The worst drought to impact the Horn of Africa in 60 years has put an estimated 10 million people at risk of severe food shortages and famine. The Caritas network is making preparations to support those in the most need and DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is accepting donations to go towards relief in the region.

Here are some facts on the current situation and info on what Development and Peace, with Caritas Internationalis and YOUR help, are able to do to respond to food crises that have afflicted vulnerable communities.

Drought in the Horn of Africa     

What is the situation in the Horn of Africa? 

The Horn of Africa is currently experiencing the worst drought in the region in 60 years. According to the United Nations, there are currently 11.6 million people who are affected by this drought and in need of humanitarian assistance. The number of people affected per country is as follows:

• Ethiopia: 4.5 million people    

• Kenya: 2.4 million people

• Somalia: 3.7 million people

• Djibouti: 146,600 people

Famine has been declared in two parts of Somalia and the United Nations is warning that other parts of the country may soon be in the same situation. 

As a consequence, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, who are coping with food and water shortages in many communities, are experiencing a dramatic influx of refugees coming from Somalia.  An estimated 1,500-2,000 Somalis are crossing the borders into Kenya and Ethiopia every day in need of aid.

The health of the populations in all affected countries is excessively precarious and children are most vulnerable. In some areas, 25% of children are suffering from malnutrition, which can have lifelong health impacts. 
The situation could deteriorate further if expected rains in October and November are insufficient.  

The Horn of Africa is a dry arid region that is susceptible to drought conditions. Pastoralist and nomad populations have long developed ways to cope through poor rainy seasons, however, in recent times, several factors have made it increasingly difficult for communities to pass through lean periods.
Changes in climate, conflict, rising food costs and competition over diminishing resources have all exacerbated the situation and contributed to the crisis we see today. To learn more, read our Backgrounder.

What is DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE doing?

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE has a long history in the region, consistently responding to food crises affecting the most vulnerable communities for over 35 years. The symptoms of this crisis had already begun to reveal themselves as far back as two years ago and DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE put in place projects to respond to growing needs in Ethiopia and Somaliland, a sovereign region in Northeast Somalia, as early as 2009. These projects helped communities to gain better access to food and water. To learn more, visit this page.

Currently, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is working in collaboration with Caritas Kenya, Caritas Ethiopia and Caritas Somalia, which have all mobilized to provide aid and relief. Emergency interventions needed to save the lives and livelihoods of people, include the following:

• Supplementary food distribution to vulnerable groups, including infants, pregnant and nursing mothers, the sick and the elderly;

• Supplementary feeding for severely malnourished children;

• Food distribution to other affected people under a food for work/food for assets/vouchers system;

• Water and sanitation assistance such as providing storage facilities, drilling of boreholes for water extraction, scooping of water dams/pans, supply of fuel and generator spare parts for existing boreholes, and maintenance of broken water systems;

• Emergency medical supplies to health units;

• Managing livestock destocking (commercial sale and slaughter) and restocking, water, feed, and veterinary services;

• Seed distribution for short crops.

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE and its Caritas partners always try to reach groups that are most vulnerable. In this case, relief interventions will aim to reach the elderly, children under 5 years of age, pregnant and lactating mothers, people living with a long term illness and refugees who have not reached camps.

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE also expects that some long-term projects will be required to help communities re-launch their agricultural practices and to put in place preventative measures and long-term sustainable development projects so that communities can be in a better position to cope with drought conditions in the future. 

Is Development and Peace providing aid in Somalia?

It is very difficult for humanitarian agencies to intervene in Somalia as the government there has forbidden most from operating in the country. Caritas Somalia is unable to operate directly in the country, however, it is intervening through traditional local partners with food distribution and it also plans to distribute tents. Although Caritas Somalia’s humanitarian interventions cannot be easily coordinated, they will continue to intervene where they can. In addition, other Caritas partners are responding in Somalia and assessing the needs of Somalis who have crossed the borders into Ethiopia and Kenya. 
  
Are donations made to Development and Peace being matched by the government?

 Yes, donations that are made by individuals to DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE between July 6th and September 16th, 2011 for the drought in the Horn of Africa will be matched by the Canadian Government. Please note that the matched funds go into a common fund that is managed by the Canadian International Development Agency. The government then distributes the funds based on proposals submitted by eligible organizations responding to the crisis, including DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE, and which meet established criteria.

What are DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE’s administrative fees?

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE applies an administrative fee of 15% against donations made by the Canadian public for emergencies. This is needed to cover associated financial and administrative costs along with the cost of developing and managing emergency relief programs. This 15% fee is divided as follows:

•  5% is needed to cover extra work generated by the emergency, such as accounting procedures, registration of donations, answering phones, fundraising, sending receipts, etc.
• 10% is allocated directly to the costs of managing emergency relief programs, employing staff, to offset operational costs, for travel, communications, etc.

How can I donate?

Solidarity in Lebanon: the Caritas connection

Meeting CARITAS MONA

Today we met with Caritas MONA- Moyen Orient et Nord Afrique (Middle East and North Africa), and learned a tremendous amount about the Caritas network and what it means when we are talking about “capacity building”.

What is Caritas? Caritas Internationalis is the international association of 165 national Caritas networks. It is one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations. Communication and coordination between national networks is made more effective by seven regional offices that serve Africa, Asia, Europa (Europe), Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa (MONA), North America, and Oceania. 

The principle themes that Caritas tries to address on a global scale, are economic justice, peace and reconciliation, refugees and migrants, HIV-AIDS, climate change, and emergency relief.

16 member organizations in the MONA region work, often in situations of conflict, to meet the greatest needs of local communities. Local Caritas groups have emergency plans to respond to needs generated by conflict, but do not play a political role in war time.

The main projects of the Caritas organizations in the MONA region, given by order of frequency of project type, are:

• Education
• Health care
• Emergency relief
• Assistance to migrants
• Social development
• Youth services
• Humanitarian assistance
• Empowerment of women

The mission of Caritas MONA is to: work on exchanges and assistance between member organizations and to facilitate their working together in harmony while ensuring that everyone in the region applies the objectives and values of the Caritas confederation.

This is capacity building: supporting the growth and health of organizations through:

• training sessions and organizing seminars,
• providing tools for campaigns and fundraising with the programs of Caritas Internationalis,
• assisting with the foundation of new Caritas organizations,
• helps the member organizations in achieving their goals,
• connecting the work of members with the wider Catholic church

This is capactity building: trainings so that organizations, social movement and citizens are informed and equipped to take on the challenges they face in a way that is participative and peaceful.

This is capacity building: Partners are well linked into communities, are strong and credible, and can develop appropriate strategies to deal with the challenged that they face.

Caritas MONA opened our eyes to the depth and breadth of the humanitarian efforts being made by the Caritas networks in each country of the MONA region. The staff shared with us the global picture, with the challenges being faced in the region, as well as the inspiring efforts of single individuals, such the single nun who is Caritas Libya, and the 1,538 staff who run the many programs in Caritas Egypt.

Long may the good work of our Caritas family continue!

by Jacques St. Laurent

Solidarity in Lebanon: Domestic Migrants & Discrimination

On June 21^st, the Lebanon Solidarity trip team was fortunate to spend a second day with Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre.  The Centre was established in 1994, in response to the large number of refugees from Sudan arriving in Lebanon. CLCM aims to serve migrant workers, asylum seekers, and refugees by offering a variety of social services to migrants, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity or political persuasion.

One might expect that they work the most with a large number of Iraqi refugees that have fled to Lebanon over the last decade (click here for blog post on their work with Iraqi refugees). 

However, the issue of migrant workers within the country, and their need for protection, was not an issue that the group had imagined prior to traveling to Lebanon…

BUT according to statistics, there are more than 157,000 migrant workers legally entitled to work in Lebanon. Additionally, there are more than 100,000 Syrian workers in the country, with rules around travel and work in Lebanon are somewhat more lax.  There are also a large number of illegal workers whose status in Lebanon is even more precarious. 

In our meetings with CLCM staff members, we learned about the plight of migrant workers.  Many women from countries including Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Madagascar and many others, arrive in Lebanon every year as domestic workers. 

Agencies recruit the women, and connect them with households in Lebanon. We learned that there are over 600 recruitment agencies working in Lebanon.  The agency holds the worker’s passport. Women have to sign on for 3 year minimum contracts, and collect around $150 – $250 dollars per month. 

At times, these domestic workers are physically or sexually abused and/or harassed in the homes where they live and work. 

Tragically, we learned that there has been an increase in the numbers of murders and suicides of migrant domestic workers, and it is believed that some deaths go unreported. 

The Centre for Migrants offers support to domestic workers in need of assistance.  The Solidarity Trip team was able to visit a shelter for vulnerable women and their children. 

The women are from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and come from a range of very difficult experiences.  Some are newly-arrived Iraqi women and children, with the father in prison for entering “illegally”, while others have had awful experiences of being mistreated by their employers. We spent the day with the women, sharing in each other’s cultures, dancing, playing soccer with the kids and eating traditional food that the women had made.  We really enjoyed their company! 

CLCM offers key services to migrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers, including providing basic needs, social and psychological support, providing for medical needs, educational support and payment of school fees and supplies, and legal support. 

And, importantly, the organization is also working with the government to develop a special law relating to domestic workers.  This law would better protect the rights of both Lebanese and foreign-born domestic workers. With the frequent changes to governmental leadership in Lebanon, it has been difficult to get the law ratified. 

It is positive to know that Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre is doing everything they can to assist the large number of migrants and refugees, both by advocating for changes in law, and by providing vital services. 

by Amanda Nolan

Solidarity in Lebanon: Iraqi Refugees

Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre: an experience of displacement

On June 20^th, 2011, the Lebanon Solidarity Trip team had the opportunity to meet with Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre, and learn about the essential work that they do with refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant workers. 

One of the important groups of people the organization works with is refugees from Iraq.  Lebanon has been receiving a flood of Iraqi refugees for a number of years now.  Previously, more Muslim refugees were fleeing to Lebanon, but lately, there has been an increase in Christian Iraqis arriving in the country.

Our presenter from Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre shared with us that overall, Lebanon offers more individual freedom in comparison to other Middle Eastern nations, such as Syria and Jordan, and so that’s why many Iraqis have fled to Lebanon. She told us about the routes where one can enter Lebanon illegally from Syria.  The CLCM staff members strive to work with the over 1,000 Iraqi families living in and around Beirut.

Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre supplies immediate basic needs to newly arrived and desperate Iraqi refugees, as well as medical assistance in the form of helping to pay for medications, and paying for emergency medical bills.

Additionally, CLCM offers legal information and acts as an intermediary with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to help them access basic resources.  Many of the Iraqi families are hoping to move on to receiving nations like Canada, the United States, Australia and Europe.  A big source of stress that the families experience is waiting to move on to one of these nations/regions. I can imagine it would certainly be difficult to live with so much uncertainty!

The organization also helps to pay for school fees and supplies for young students.  One challenge that the staff member we met with explained to us was that a number of youth are dropping out of school in order to work.  Rental accommodations in Beirut are quite expensive, and so it is a struggle for many Iraqi families to live in the city. 

We were also told that Iraqi refugees do face some discrimination in Lebanon, mostly due to their accent.  These pressures weigh heavily on many people and so alcoholism and domestic violence does occur among the people.  CLCM employs social workers to work with the Iraqi families, and conducts follow up visits with them over their time here.

In really bad situations, there is a shelter for women and children in need of protection.  We learned that Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre also runs a 24 hour hotline. 

Another positive program for many youth is a summer camp for Iraqi, Palestinian and Lebanese youth ages 6 to 14.  The youth are brought together and live at a summer camp for a month.  Many activities take place, including peace-building and social and recreational opportunities.  There are also post-camp sessions to reunite the youth who have become friends but live in divided worlds.

Our team also had the opportunity to visit a CLCM Community Centre, which opened in March 2011.  The Centre assists the Iraqi population in various ways.  There are daycare/drop-in times for children aged 6 to 16.  Sessions for women take place as well, where they can share their experiences and concerns, and make some crafts to sell.  Some of the sessions are conducted with a psychiatrist.  There is also an equivalent men’s group.  Once a week, families get together to share a hot meal, and this allows newly arrived refugees to meet and learn from Iraqis who have been in Lebanon for some time.

It was certainly an eye-opening experience for the Solidarity Trip team to learn about Iraqis in Lebanon, the issues they face, and the work being done by Caritas Lebanon Migrants Centre to serve them.

by Amanda Nolan

Solidarity in Lebanon: D&P in Middle East

Development and Peace in the Middle East!

The stimulating, challenging and inspiring experiences we are living out during our Solidarity Trip in Lebanon are being added to the blog throughout the summer. But before you continue to see what we did, who we met, and what we learned about peace-building and development, here is more information about Development and Peace’s programming in the Middle East region.

Ever since it’s founding, Development and Peace has been coming to the aid of people in the Arab world who find themselves in difficulty. Here are a few programs you might remember supporting, from a snapshot of our presence and support in the last ten years:

- during the ”war on terrorism”: emergency relief and reconstruction in Afghanistan and in Iraq

- during the huge earthquakes: emergency relief and reconstruction in Iran and in Pakistan

- during and after the Israeli wars: emergency relief and reconstruction in the Palestinian Territories and in Lebanon

Development and Peace is continuing to build and strengthen action for peace and development in the Middle East – that is our goal and you and I are involved in helping to realize this goal through our support of partners in Lebanon.

Cruise through our blog posts to find out more!

Humanitarian Crisis in Cote d’Ivoire

Political turmoil in Cote d’Ivoire leads to humanitarian crisis: Development and Peace supporting aid – more needed

The deteriorating political crisis in Côte d’Ivoire has left over 350,000 people displaced within the country with little access to food or health services. If tensions and violence continue to rise the humanitarian situation could worsen as more flee with little hope of returning to their homes in the near future.  

Development and Peace is responding with a contribution of $50,000 towards emergency relief, being organized by local agency Caritas Côte d’Ivoire. Aid is being provided to the displaced and host families, and includes the distribution of food, hygiene kits, blankets and other household items, as well as health services such as screening children for malnutrition, improved access to clean water, and ensuring the safety of those displaced.

Côte d’Ivoire has been in a political crisis since 2002, when electoral candidate Alassane Ouattara was excluded from elections. Divisions within the country led to conflict and the country in fact split in two. Scheduled elections for 2005 were postponed repeatedly and finally took place in October 2010. However, the in-office president Laurent Gbagbo refused to admit defeat to Ouattara, which plunged the country into turmoil. 

Ongoing violence has forced thousands to flee their homes, either crossing into neighbouring countries or moving to other regions of Côte d’Ivoire. It is estimated that the number of internally displaced people has increased five-fold in as little as two weeks, placing strains on host families and leaving people vulnerable to hunger and disease.

“A critical humanitarian situation is unfolding in Côte d’Ivoire and it can’t be forgotten. People are living in fear and need help,” says Barbara Trachsel, Emergency Programs Officer at Development and Peace.

Development and Peace is encouraging Canadians to further help with this emergency response by making a donation to Development and Peace by telephone (1 888 664-3387), online or by sending a cheque made out to Development and Peace and indicating Côte d’Ivoire Crisis and sending it to:

Development and Peace
1425 René-Lévesque Blvd. West. 3rd Floor,
Montreal  QC  H3G 1T7

We are also currently leading its annual Share Lent fundraising campaign. 10% of donations go towards an emergency relief fund, which allows Development and Peace to respond immediately to humanitarian crises in the Global South, especially those which risk being overlooked or forgotten, such as this one. By supporting Share Lent, you help Development and Peace respond throughout to year to situations like the one in Côte d’Ivoire.

HAITI: One Year Report

ONE-YEAR REPORT: SEE HOW YOUR SOLIDARITY IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN HAITI!

A few numbers:

• DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE receieved $20 million from the Canadian public for reconstruction in Haiti.
• $1 million came from schools and student fundraising. 
• DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE has been present in Haiti for over 40 years.
• With the Caritas Internationalis network, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE  provided humanitarian assistance (food, water, tents, mobile clinics) to more than 2.3 million Haitian men and women, in the first 6 months.
• So far, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE has spent $5 million on emergency and reconstruction projects with its 25 partners in Haiti and has committed an additional $10 million for the next three years.

Our reconstruction program with some concrete examples:

Support to our civil society partners so they can re-establish their activities:

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE has helped its partners restart their activities by financing a solidarity fund that has enabled staff to get back to work and is also providing financial aid for rebuilding their offices and replacing essential equipment.

Reconstruction of houses in areas directly affected by the earthquake:

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE, in partnership with Caritas Switzerland, is supporting local group Iteca in their program to rebuild 1,700 permanent houses in Gressier using local materials.

Getting children back in school:

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is helping children directly affected by the earthquake to return to school by financing school canteens, purchasing equipment and subsidizing teachers’ salaries;

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is collaborating with CECI in rebuilding a primary school for 850 students that is operated by the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.

Promoting the special needs and interests of women:

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is supporting women’s organizations that are taking action on the issue of protecting women and children in the IDP camps – security patrols in the camps, raising awareness about violence against women, supporting victims of violence – and are promoting the rights of women in Jacmel and Port-au-Prince.

Promoting food security, with a focus on food sovereignty through ecological and responsible agriculture in response to environmental degradation in the country:

With the support of DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE, the Papaye Peasants’ Movement (MPP):  

• Has distributed seeds to more than 20,500 farming families affected by the earthquake;
• Is implementing a major three-year program to strengthen the food security of farmers in the Central Plateau.

Monitoring human rights in the post-earthquake context:

The National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH) works on defending, promoting and protecting human rights in post-earthquake Haiti; it also promotes a state of law, has participated in election monitoring, etc.

Strengthening communications in order to ensure that the viewpoint of civil society is known to the public and to better inform communities about reconstruction and disaster-prevention issues:

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE supports two community radio associations in the country. REFRAKA, which produces women-oriented programming, and SAKS are both creating content adapted to the post-quake context for broadcast on member community radio stations across the country. They also offer their members technical training and journalism courses.

TO LEARN MORE and to send a MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY to the people of Haiti, click on the banner below!

Youth & the Reconstruction of Haiti

Getting youth involved in the reconstruction of Haiti

JACHA, a youth organization in Jacmel, has long been working to improve the future of Haiti by looking after two of the country’s best resources: its youth and the environment.

The organization brings the two together by teaching youth about the importance of the country’s environment and by actively engaging them in preservation activities, such as tree planting and organizing awareness campaigns in their communities. 

Jacmel was not spared by the January 12^th earthquake. This cultural capital of Haiti lost many of its heritage buildings and a large portion of the city’s residents are now living in camp sites that dot the landscape of this coastal town.  

With the city covered in rubble and people moving into the crowded tent cities, JACHA recognized an urgent need to ensure that these spaces did not quickly fill with rubbish and increase the potential for the spread of disease.  

The organization quickly put together a cash-for-work program supported by DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE that mobilized over one hundred youth members of the organization and dispatched them to camps to organize clean-up committees and speak to residents on how to manage waste and keep their surroundings clean.  

“Life in the camps is impossible. No one looks after us,” says Dayana Alexandre, 21, who lives with five other people in a tent. “At least with the activities from JACHA, I feel better and safer. They are helping me develop,” she says.  

The importance of this kind of work in the camps became frighteningly evident with the rapid spread of cholera in the country.  

As soon as news of the dissemination of the disease broke, JACHA asked its youth members to speak to residents on precautions they can take to prevent the spread of cholera. Although, there have been some cases in Jacmel, the city has mostly been spared from the disease.  

In fact, disaster prevention has become a large part of JACHA’s work and when the hurricane season was approaching, members worked diligently in the camps to warn people of what and what not to do to remain safe. 

“If people had known what to do in the earthquake, we would not have lost so many people. That is very sad. That is why we wanted to start a prevention program. Why we had to,” says Jackson Marcelin, one of the coordinator’s at JACHA.  

JACHA, however, is also concerned with giving youth the opportunity to improve their future prospects so they can flourish. They organize a variety of classes for their youth members, who range in ages from 15 to 30.  

The courtyard of the organization is always full of young faces chatting and laughing. Some are there for English or computers courses, while others gather for cooking classes. JACHA even organized a papier-mâché workshop for some local kids. It is an art form that Jacmel is renowned for, and despite the city losing some of its heritage in the earthquake, at least other forms are being preserved and appreciated by a new generation of Jacmelians.

Read more at: One Year of Solidarity with Haiti

One Year of SOLIDARITY with Haiti

On January 12, 2011, the world will be marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti. This is an important time to take stock of the current situation in Haiti, to assess what has been done to support the Haitian population in recovering from this terrible disaster, and to reflect on the enormous challenges remaining to be met.

We are using this occasion to say thanks, once again, to all who so generously responded to our appeal on behalf of the people of Haiti, with donations of more than $20.5 million, and to acknowledge the tireless and determined work of our partners with whom we are participating in rebuilding this shaken country.

Development and Peace is launching a new special dedicated page on our Website, reporting on the first year of reconstruction activities and projects. We encourage you to visit our page and to share this link as widely as possible: http://support.devp.org/site/PageNavigator/Haiti   

Two major Canadian daily newspapers – The Globe and Mail and La Presse – will be featuring a series of profiles of our work in Haiti, from Jan 11-13, featuring a different theme and perspective on the inspiring work of our Haitian partners in leading the recovery efforts. Check it out: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/partners/sif/dp/

Thank you to everyone who has helped in this campaign and for your continued generous support to our reconstruction program in Haiti. I am certain that you will share in the justified pride and inspiration that we all feel in learning of the work of our partners, as we join together in expressing our solidarity with our Haitian sisters and brothers.

Michael Casey, Development and Peace

Devastating floods in Pakistan

As of September 20, Development and Peace has recieved over 1 million dollars for the victims of flooding in Pakistan.

Through Caritas Philippines a 3 month project has started, bringing aid to 250,000 people in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab.

Click here for up to date info on Caritas Pakistan, and here for info on the emergency relief projects.

Beginning in late July, heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan have causing the worst flooding the country has ever experienced. The floods have displaced thousands of people, destroyed houses, hospitals and schools, and have washed out roads and bridges.

According to the Government of Pakistan, 13.8 million people have been affected in all five provinces of the country and 1,600 have died.

Flood-ravaged communities are faced with food shortages, undrinkable water, destroyed crops, and lack of shelter. Many people have also suffered injuries or have become ill due to the unsanitary conditions.

Several communities have been cut-off by high waters and collapsed infrastructure, which is hampering the emergency response. Communications are also very difficult as telephone and electrical poles have come down.

“There are so many people who are in grave difficulty. It’s such a traumatic situation for those who have lost everything and who have to rely on others even for a drink of water,” says Anila Gill, national executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan.

As the monsoon season has progressed, the situation has become increasingly critical and could still worsen as rains continue. The full extent of the damage is still unknown, however, the United Nations estimates that billions of dollars will be needed in order to restore livelihoods and rebuild infrastructure in the country.

Click here to donate!

Follow this link to get more information about the situation in Pakistan and how D&P is responding to this emergency.