MIAMI – Leaders of the South Florida Haitian community, as well as the relevant members of the Non Government Organization (NGO) community, met at the Jean Jacques Dessalines Community Center in Miami, Little Haiti, this past Monday (Nov. 8th) to discuss the current status of Haiti in regards to the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas, and the recent cholera outbreak.
The meeting was coordinated by the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition (HAGC) along with other community stakeholders, including Consul Ralph Latortue of the Consulate General of Haiti in Florida, the Haitian-American Professional Coalition (HAPC) and other groups in order to see how the South Florida Community can respond to the current conditions in Haiti.
According to Haiti Health Ministry Officials, Hurricane Tomas has registered 20 casualties. In addition, the hurricane may have facilitated the spread of the cholera bacteria in different areas of the country as the population sought higher ground to find shelters as the hurricane approached.
The meeting was supplemented by a briefing from Mrs. Andrea Koppel, American Red Cross Official, who flew to Port-au-Prince for a hands-on assessment. Mrs. Koppel gave an assessment of the current situation in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Jacmel and Les Cayes located in the Southern Regions of Haiti. She outlined that Tomas did not cause much damages to Port-au-Prince as it was expected. She indicated that part of the Artibonite Region was flooded, mainly Gonaives.
Major concerns for the Red Cross, was the potential for the cholera outbreak to spread in regions that were left untouched by the bacteria before the hurricane. It was established by Consul Latortue that the most pressing issue, on which the South Florida community can work, is providing support to help in the prevention of the spread of cholera. This is most effectively done by providing basic amenities, such as soap, hand sanitizer, washcloths, and other sanitary supplies to the general population. High importance is also placed on access to clean water, therefore all means of water purification (but not water itself) is needed.
Meeting participants stressed the need to come up with a strategy to get the South Florida community involved in collecting hygiene kits, which include the essentials for killing germs, keeping sanitary and stopping the spread of cholera.
Among other locations in the South Florida area, hygiene kits can be dropped off at Laparkan, 3775 NW 77 Street in Miami (contact Rafael Mejias, 305-836-4393), which houses Americas Relief Team’s Community Emergency Response Center. No appointment is necessary. For more information, please contact Americas Relief Team at [email protected]. Hygiene kits can also be dropped off at the City of Miami Little Haiti NET Office 6301 NE 2 Avenue, Miami, Florida 33138, Contact Person Von Carol Kinchens, NET Administrator.
Monetary donations are being accepted by the Haitian-American Emergency Relief Committee (HAERC) by visiting their website (www.haerc.org) or contacting DJ Fabien at 305-588-2200 or Yvans Morisseau at 305 896 1364. HAERC is also accepting monetary donations at 17150 SW 184 Street, Miami, Fl. 33187.
