World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Nutritional assistance provided to people still struggling to rebuild their lives three years after the earthquake helps mothers raise healthy children.

In Haiti, the World Food Programme provides meals daily to 685,000 children in the country’s schools. The meals help children learn better and encourages them to come to school everyday. In La Saline, like in many other places in Haiti, the school meals programme also provides the guarantee that children get at least a meal a day.

WFP’s Marcela Ossandon was recently in Haiti to see how people were coping in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. While there, she met three Haitians who seemed to sum up the determination and resilience of a nation struggling to build a better future for itself. In this article she describes these people and WFP’s role in helping.

For many Haitian families who were struggling to recover from a drought and hurricane Isaac, Sandy brought more devastation.



Kristene used to earn his living by milling flour near the town of Jacmel, but that ended when Hurricane Sandy smashed into Haiti earlier this month. He’s now among over 1.5 million Haitians unable to provide for themselves in the wake of a string natural calamities to hit the island this year.

On her way to the Rio+20 summit in Brazil, WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin stopped off in Haiti to see some of WFP’s projects there. She sent back this blog after seeing how children in several schools are now receiving local milk as part of a truly sustainable project that supports local farmers while ensuring children get the nutrition they need.

Two years after the earthquake, many Haitian schools are serving their children with food grown locally. Knowing they have a buyer, farmers are motivated to produce more food. Knowing they'll get good food, kids are keen to go to school - where they get the nutrition they need, plus an education. It's the virtuous circle at the heart of the strategy by the government and WFP to make Haitians more food secure.

Haiti has spent two years rebuilding. In testing times, the people of this country have managed to partly erase the scars of the January 2010 earthquake. Above all, Haitians are now seeking stability. They are looking for a permanent roof, jobs, education and enough food to properly feed their families. But as the country is slowly recovering, many Haitians continue to struggle to have enough to eat.
 

Two years after the quake, many Haitian schools are serving their children with food grown locally. Knowing they have a buyer, farmers are motivated to produce more food. Knowing they'll get good food, kids are keen to go to school - where they get the nutrition they need, plus an education. It's the virtuous circle at the heart of the strategy by the government and WFP to make Haitians more food secure.

When two-year-old Michael started treatment for severe malnutrition, he was so weak that his mother thought he would die. But, with the help of the highly nutritious food products provided by UNICEF and WFP, he's now on the mend. Fighting malnutrition is one of the ways WFP and its partners are helping Haiti move forward two years after the devastating 2010 earthquake.