SILVER SPRING, Md. —When heavy rainfall pounded the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti in late October, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) was the first non-governmental organization to respond to the needs of families in the low-income district of Carrefour by distributing clean water and urgently needed emergency supplies, such as clothing, hygiene items, and water purification supplies.

The deadly rains, which overwhelmed the region on October 20 and 21, triggered severe flooding and landslides, carrying away people, houses, cars, and livestock.

To continue to meet the needs of survivors, ADRA is launching an emergency intervention that will assist 125 families, or approximately 750 people, in the district through the distribution of blankets, hygiene items, and additional food kits. The project is being coordinated by the Civil Protection Directorate (CPD) and the Mayor’s office of Carrefour.  The project is expected to begin this week in the communities of Bizoton, Thor, Waney, Bois Thioute, Diquini and Route des Rails.

Each family will receive a hygiene kit packed with toothbrushes, soap, toothpaste and a comb, as well as emergency food items, including rice, beans, sugar, flour, and oil; two wool blankets, and one polyester blanket. The articles provided for each family are designed to meet the needs of a family of six.

Funding this ongoing response is ADRA International, the ADRA office in the Inter-American region, which is based out of Miami, Florida, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Haiti.

The torrential rainfall caused the deaths of at least four people and damaged more than 500 homes, according to the Associated Press.

In 2008, ADRA provided humanitarian assistance throughout the island nation for more than 8,600 families affected by hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike, distributing food, hygiene kits, education supplies, shelter materials, and more.

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To send your contribution to ADRA’s Emergency Response Fund, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online at www.adra.org.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

Author: Nadia McGill

Picture provided by: REUTERS/Evens Felix, courtesy www.alertnet.org