×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Haiti ? helping build sustainable lives for the elderly two years on

by Age UK//Duncan Lewis | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Wednesday, 11 January 2012 14:35 GMT

* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Duncan Lewis, Group Marketing Director of Age UK recently returned from a trip to Haiti to monitor the progress of relief work in the wake of the 2010 earthquake.

Haiti is a country of the starkest contrasts; a place where the vibrant colour of Caribbean life beneath clear blue skies rubs shoulders with a grim struggle for survival.

The havoc wrought by the quake on 12th January 2010, that reduced Port Au Prince to a mangled mess of concrete and steel, was such that in a video shot from the hills above the city a voice declares ‘the end of the world has come’. Over half a million of the 1.5 million people made homeless are still living in the squalid heat of the camps that sprang up in the wake of the tragedy. The cholera epidemic that is continuing to affect over 200 people a day is overwhelming the already overcrowded hospitals and highlights the urgent need for improvement in sanitation. There is also still a massive UN presence on the ground, operating from huge complexes, some built from metal shipping containers, stacked like giant Lego blocks.

Conditions are incredibly tough – cramped living spaces that become like ovens in the unrelenting sunshine but offer scant protection from tropical storms and only the most basic sanitation. Light is fundamental, yet electricity is still scarce/sporadic (need to check) and many have to buy candles that are a huge safety risk in their makeshift homes.

Age UK, through its sister organisation HelpAge International and its local partners, had a presence on the ground before the quake and was one of the first non-governmental organisations to respond to the humanitarian crisis. When the fabric of society crumbles there are many who are quick to identify and assist some of the obviously vulnerable groups, such as the young and disabled, but for some reason the old can become invisible. Our work is to make sure that this doesn’t happen – partly because it is fundamentally wrong to assume that the rights of an individual should somehow decline with age and partly because many older people have a vital role to play in these situations; often shouldering massive burdens of care for the young – grandparents suddenly inheriting the responsibility for raising grandchildren who have been orphaned by tragic events.

In the early days after the earthquake our priorities were shelter, food and disease-prevention. Those older people most at risk were identified and food and equipment distributed. They were also provided with emergency payments through an innovative cash-transfer scheme operated on mobile phones which helped with providing vital amenities to those who had lost everything. We soon realised though that people could not effectively use the service without a phone charging facility. To charge their phone they would have to spend $3 of their $17 monthly cash transfer on charging.  We partnered with ToughStuff, providers of portable solar panels that charge not only mobile phones but lights and radios, saving the elderly a significant amount of money. ToughStuff provided us with over 10,000 of these kits that would connect to a variety of different phones.

Two years on, both Haiti as a whole and our work there are entering a phase of transition. Much good work has been done to date but there’s still plenty to be done to help people to help themselves.  Using innovative solutions, like solar energy, to facilitate vital transitional programmes is proving to be hugely successful.

HelpAge is now harnessing these solar energy solutions to focus on driving sustainable development. Emergency payments that helped put food on tables in the months immediately after the quake are replaced by loans to help people set up or resurrect businesses, or by the opportunity to get involved in ‘Cash for Work’ activity which fosters a sense of purpose and benefits the wider community. ToughStuff found that 40% of recipients used their kits to set up micro-businesses in their local communities. These kits along with the ‘Cash to Work’ scheme have allowed people to start generating an income. The benefits of this have spread through families as they support children and grandchildren by helping to fund food, clothing and educational needs.

Life here is stripped down to the basics of survival from day to day and joy is in short supply. Walking round and meeting the residents of the camps, I found my reactions torn. Initially I felt great sadness and a sense of disbelief. It is hard to comprehend the destruction that can be caused in just 60 deadly seconds. The camps are a stark reminder of the frailty of life and livelihood in such circumstances but I was also filled with huge admiration for the resilience of young and old alike.  We hope, by partnering with organisations like ToughStuff we can enable people to start getting back on their feet.

The process of turning the corner has only just started and for Haiti and its people of all ages, it will be a long and challenging process. We will be there for the foreseeable future, ensuring that the needs and, equally importantly, the contribution of older people are recognised, helping them to find a voice and the means to help both themselves and their families. 

-->