News

HAITI EARTHQUAKE

On 12th January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing thousands and causing major damage to the Carribbean nation already struggling with political violence and poverty. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere where 85% of the population already live in poverty.

ChildFund Alliance is responding to the devastation, focusing on the needs of children, through:
1. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada, which is a member of the Policy Action Group on Emergency Response. MCC responded within hours, providing immediate delivery of relief materials including water, food, medical services and non-food items (NFIs).
2. Christian Blind Mission (CBM) which is the world's largest international non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the quality of life for people who are blind or have other disabilities has worked in Haiti since 1976 and has three child-focused projects in Port au Prince.

The ChildFund Alliance through its global partnership which includes Ireland, Taiwan, New Zealand and the United States has made an initial contribution to these partners of more than $400,000 in order to provide medical care, rehabilitation and orthopaedic services primarily geared to help children in Haiti.

CBM reports that inidividuals with disabilities, already amongst the poorest Haitians receiving only the most basic of services, have had their ranks swelled by those newly disabled in the earthquake. For every child who has died in Haiti, CBM estimates that three will be left with lifelong disabilities. The number of children now coping with loss of limbs, loss of sight and other disabilities is catastrophic. It is critical that organisations work together for the most effeicient and effective response. CBM is working in the community and hospitals to identify children and adults in need of rehabilitation so that their serious injuries do not become lifelong disabilities.

From the start of ChildFund's partnership with CBM, a priority was to establish Child Centred Spaces. The first centre is now open in Port-au-Prince. The spaces provide places for children to gather and offer alternative basic education in a structured environment. Children are able to resume a schedule and focus on something other than the loss around them. Children without disabilities are also welcome at the centre.

Typically very little relief aid is accessible to those with disabilities but CBM is committed to making sure that these survivors get not only life-saving care but that they will continue to receive long-term care after the immediate disaster is over.

To support ChildFund efforts, please send your donation by cheque or postal order, marked Haiti Appeal, to ChildFund Ireland, 63 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. Alternatively please contact our office on 01 6762128 should you wish to make a credit card donation over the phone. 100% of your donation will be sent to support the efforts in Haiti.

PROTECT THE OVERSEAS AID BUDGET!

OVERSEAS AID BUDGET

Since the start of 2009, the government has slashed €195 million from the overseas aid budget. We are in real danger of breaking our aid promise. Ireland has committed to spending at least 70c in every €100 (0.7%) of national income on overseas aid each year by 2012. Because of that link between aid and national income, aid can be reduced proportionally, if national income falls. This year, Ireland`s national income will shrink by about 8%, but Ireland`s aid budget has been slashed by an enormous 21.8% or €195m – almost three times as deep a cut. The downturn in the global economy has affected us all. But the world`s poorest people are paying an enormous price for problems not of their making. That is just not fair.

Ireland has a very proud reputation of supporting people who are living through famine and oppression. We are also well aware from our own history of how important foreign aid is for building an economy: Ireland itself received billions in EU aid between 1973 and 2004.

Overseas aid is a soft target. Department officials are already working on the budget for next year. Cuts other than those linked to the 0.7% target are completely unacceptable. You can help by letting your TDs know that you are in favour of Ireland`s commitment to reach the overseas aid target of 0.7% by 2012.

IRELAND`S AID WORKS! Irelands overseas aid saves lives,provides healthcare,builds up education, supports human rights and tackles hunger in some of the least developed countries. In short,Ireland`s aid works and has been making a real and lasting impact for the world`s poor, as noted recently by the OECD. In Tanzania, Irish support for a water purification project helped cut cholera in the capital, Dar es Salaam, from 15,000 cases in 2006 to none in 2007. With the support of donors like Ireland, Tanzania in now on track to achieve four of the eight Millennium Development Goals. In Mozambique, there has been big progress in reducing the transmission of HIV and AIDS from mothers to infants. In education, another key area of Irish support, targets for primary school enrolment and girls’ school enrolment were exceeded in 2007. From terrorist attacks to global climate change, and from the challenge of refugee flows to the spread of swine flu, it is clear that there is no one ‘rich world’ that can remain apart from the world’s problems or ‘poor area’ that will absorb them. The Government`s short-sighted and unfair aid cuts are damaging to Ireland`s faltering international reputation. They also undermine Ireland`s basic morality, decency and justice. For Ireland to keep its international esteem intact, we need to keep our word to the world`s poorest people. ChildFund Ireland, together with other members of Dochas, the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations, is determined to fight for the rights of the world`s poorest people and supports the WE DO CARE Campaign. For more information on the effects of these drastic cuts, visit www.wedocare.ie or www.dochas.ie