海角大神

Days after hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, hundreds of thousands of people are looking for help and starting to rebuild their lives. Assistance is pouring in from abroad 鈥� and progress is already being made, officials say.聽

The hurricane is the 鈥渓argest humanitarian event鈥� to affect Haiti since the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, according to Mourad Wahba, the top UN official in Haiti. Recent estimates suggest that abut 900 people lost their lives. In addition, the hurricane destroyed thousands of homes and a bridge connecting the hard-hit south with the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Many people are unsure what the future looks like. Hunger and sanitation are particular concerns. But officials sound more optimistic about Haiti鈥檚 recovery prospects than they were after previous natural disasters.

鈥淲e are on the right track,鈥� Yvonne Helle, 聽Country Director for Haiti, tells 海角大神 in a phone interview. Both she and Haiti鈥檚 minister of planning are 鈥渟o relieved鈥� with the death toll numbers, she says. 鈥淲e had expected it to be so much higher."

Since the 2010 earthquake, international organizations have helping to improve Haiti鈥檚聽disaster preparedness and response. The UNDP聽has been working with Haiti鈥檚 Directorate of Civil Protection to develop a national disaster risk management system and support sustainable development.聽

That program is now having tangible effects, Ms. Helle says.

鈥淲e see that the impact is actually less than it could have been [without] simulation exercises [and other educational programs] that have allowed people to evacuate in time,鈥� she explains. Better construction of buildings has also helped with these resilience efforts.

Support is flowing into Haiti from around the world.

The United States has聽dispatched nine helicopters聽to help with search-and-rescue efforts, including medical evacuations, and transporting supplies. Adm. Kurt Tidd told reporters at the Pentagon that the US also plans to聽deploy a 鈥渏oint task force鈥澛爋f between 150 and 200 troops to Haiti.

The European Union sent a team of civil protection experts to the country and is offering shelters and safe drinking water聽to those in need. UNICEF聽positioned emergency supplies聽in the country ahead of the hurricane.

Online collections are channeling funds to programs in the region. Even a Florida museum got involved in its own small way: P茅rez Art Museum Miami is offering free admission to visitors, who are encouraged to write postcards to people in Haiti or bring canned goods to donate.

鈥淭he museum is a site for people to connect and inspire each other, so our hope is that PAMM Postcards engages our community to聽connect with those in need聽through artistic messages of support and encouragement,鈥� PAMM director Franklin Sirmans told NBC Miami, explaining that Miami鈥檚 proximity to the Caribbean made the events particularly salient.

In Haiti, an Oxfam 鈥渃risis cell鈥� program sent groups of volunteers into rural towns in northern Haiti to advise people on storm preparation. Others are using social media to connect those in need of help with those that can provide it.

The efforts are another sign of lessons learned from the 2010 earthquake, as the Monitor's Laurent Belsie reported on Wednesday:

Helle says local NGOs have been important to relief efforts by聽鈥減roviding data and information.鈥�

What鈥檚 next for Haiti? Roads are being cleared and people are already getting back to work. The UNDP hopes cash-for-work schemes will help 鈥渃ommunities to get back on their feet as quickly as possible.鈥� It鈥檚 about giving people back their dignity, Helle explains.

Food security has been a particular concern. A million Haitians were already affected before the hurricane hit. Marc Soniel Noel, deputy mayor of the town of Chantal in the hardest-hit area of the country, told CNN that he doesn鈥檛 know how to combat the loss of crops. Bananas, avocados, and mangos have all been heavily affected.聽

鈥淲e have nothing left to survive on,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll the crops have gone. All fruit trees are down. I don鈥檛 have a clue聽how this is going to be fixed.鈥�

Quite a lot of Haiti鈥檚 food is already imported, Helle tells the Monitor, and food is being trucked in from the Dominican Republic to help cover the shortfall. In the long term, the plan is 鈥渆arly recovery,鈥� which aims to make sure that households can begin replanting soon, ideally within the next six months.

It鈥檚 important to keep attention on these issues in order to continue to make progress, Helle emphasizes. She hopes donors will continue to fund projects in Haiti聽after the immediate humanitarian response dies down.

While the high winds and heavy rainfall 鈥渨ould also have impacted very developed countries,鈥� she says, 鈥渢here are certain things you can do 鈥� and we will need a concerted effort over the coming 15 years to build better, to build more sustainably.鈥澛�

For those who want to donate, Charity Navigator has a page that lists charities working in Haiti and offers a rating system to assess their effectiveness.