Riots are a danger in disasters like Haiti’s, when people are desperate for food. But, Derek Sciba, World Concern communications, reports that we have discovered a method to both minimize the risk to its staff from riots and ensure the most vulnerable people receive help.
During the past few days, World Concern has organized food and water distributions in Port Au Prince through churches and neighborhood groups, similar to block-watches. World Concern enlists the help of these community groups to identify families in need. At a designated time, these groups send a representative from each family to pick up their food at a secure location off the street, such as a church courtyard or a gated area near an office. Once the group leaves, another arrives.
Yesterday World Concern provided food and water to 500 people using this method. “The way we did it was entirely different from normal,” says Peter Nuttall, World Concern disaster coordinator. “We are trying to keep ahead of the game.”
We’ve distributed all food we’ve acquired so far, and we will begin distributing to up to 30,000 people as soon as we gain access to that food supply. In the meantime, our staff will purchase rice, beans and oil for about 3,000 people today to meet immediate needs of families.
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