Conflicts and Disasters Archives - Page 129 of 138

Putting a roof over the heads of Chile’s quake survivors

31/03/2010 Aid Success Story, Chile, Conflicts and Disasters, Disaster Preparedness, Emergencies, Emergency in Chile, Latin America by Caritas Communications

By Andreas Lexer, Caritas Communications Officer in Chile Iloca used to be a beautiful little village everybody went to in the summer, about 100 km away from the city of Talca. The blue, red and yellow coloured houses built on poles were close to the shore, the river ran in to the sea just in ...

Chile for Chile: a country stands in solidarity

31/03/2010 Chile, Conflicts and Disasters, Emergencies, Emergency in Chile, Latin America by Caritas Communications

Victor Chandia is standing in front of what is left of his little yellow house. All the windows are smashed, the door is gone, part of the roof was taken off. Inside nothing is as it used to be. The once white walls are now brown and muddy, just like the floor and the stairs. ...

Gimme shelter

31/03/2010 Chile, Conflicts and Disasters, Emergencies, Emergency in Chile, Latin America by Caritas Communications

Phenol Estiverne’s home wasn’t reduced to rubble, like many others hit by Haiti’s earthquake, but he still hasn’t returned to live in it. “It’s too dangerous. During the last aftershock, the cracks in the walls got even deeper. Next time, we will all be buried under the rubble!” says Mr Estiverne. Mr Estiverne, 54, now ...

Chile quake catastrophe

31/03/2010 Chile, Conflicts and Disasters, Emergencies, Emergency in Chile, Latin America by Caritas Communications

A massive earthquake in Chile has left two million people in need of support in some of the poorest parts of the country. The quake struck on Saturday 27 February 115km (70 miles) north-east of Concepcion and 325km south-west of Santiago. At least two million people have been affected and 1.5 million homes have been ...

Baghdad’s beehive: a day in the life of Caritas Iraq

30/03/2010 Aid Success Story, Conflicts and Disasters, Development, Emergencies, Iraq, Middle East & North Africa, Peacebuilding by Caritas Communications

Caritas centres are dotted across the poorer areas of Baghdad. The typical working day of a Caritas employee begins with traffic jams, road checkpoints, closed streets, and, in some cases, bomb explosions. It takes some workers up to two hours to get to the centres, although they live less than 10 km away. They need ...

Chile’s worst hit region gets aid

30/03/2010 Chile, Conflicts and Disasters, Emergencies, Emergency in Chile, Latin America by Caritas Communications

By Andreas Lexer, Caritas Communications Officer in Chile “This region is the poorest one in the country“, says Jorge Brito, Executive Director of Caritas Maule. “And it is also the most affected one!” More than 400 people died here, more than in any other region in Chile. Some one million people live in Maule, more ...

First torrential rains blocking emergency aid in Haiti

26/03/2010 Conflicts and Disasters, Emergencies, Emergencies in Haiti, Haiti, Latin America by Caritas Communications

By Mathilde Magnier “Mud, mud, mud! There is mud everywhere! This place is a big mess,“ says Guylaine. Her feet are covered with mud. The rain has softened up the earth. With a dazed look, the old woman stares at what is left of her shelter, that was made of a pile of old clothes ...

Haiti two months later: shelter key concern

26/03/2010 Conflicts and Disasters, Emergencies, Emergencies in Haiti, Haiti, Latin America by Caritas Communications

By Mathilde Magnier, Caritas Communications Officer, Port-au-Prince Two months after a massive earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, leaving over 200,000 people dead, shelter for the displaced has become a major issue in Haiti. Caritas focuses on the distribution of emergency shelter kits and works on relocating relief camps out of the capital. “Finally a tarpaulin to cover ...

Haiti’s regions struggling to cope with displaced people

23/03/2010 Conflicts and Disasters, Dominican Republic, Emergencies, Emergencies in Haiti, Haiti, Latin America by Caritas Communications

By Mathilde Magnier More than 600,000 people have fled the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince in search of shelter, food and solidarity after an earthquake devastated the city on January 12. The affected regions are struggling to cope with the massive arrival of refugees. In the small coastal town of Jérémie in the south of the island, ...

School’s out in Haiti – but hopefully not forever

12/03/2010 Conflicts and Disasters, Emergencies, Emergencies in Haiti, Haiti, Latin America by Caritas Communications

Most pupils like to get a day off school, but for Haiti’s children it’s not just a day but months. January’s earthquake destroyed 90 percent of schools, leaving children without an education “The schools must be reopened, children have to go back to their studies as quickly as possible,” says Fr Zucchi, head of four ...