Haiti six months on
 Six months after the 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti with devastating loss of life and widespread destruction, Plan is continuing to play its part in the relief activity and is committed to making a long term contribution to the country's recovery.
Haitian children themselves see school as a priority and Plan has been working to enable thousands of them to resume their education in the wake of the disaster.
Adequate shelter remains a priority, especially as Haiti is now in its rainy and hurricane seasons. Since the earthquake Plan has provided shelter and support to some 39,000 people - over 6,500 families - with tents, family kits and supplies.
Education
 Plan has run campaigns to encourage parents and teachers to prioritise education, set up temporary schools and trained teachers to provide additional support for children who have been traumatized by the earthquake.
Plan's design for transitional schools has been endorsed and approved by the Haitian Ministry of Education. We are continuing to set up temporary school tents as the materials for transitional schools are being readied. Plan has built six permanent classrooms, assessed the conditions and needs of 483 school sites and established six early childhood care and development centres.
In addition to its work around education, Plan has been involved in efforts concerning protection, health, psychological support, future resilience in disasters and to ensure children have a say in their country's future.
Protection and health
Plan has built 30 'child-friendly spaces' to give children a place to play and engage in social activities with their peers. 4,000 children have been provided with psycho-social support. Plan is working in partnership with other organizations to raise awareness in camp sites and communities about the threat of child trafficking.
Plan is also involved in projects focusing on violence against women and environmental hygiene, particularly in the camps.
Plan has improved families’ livelihoods through Cash for Work programmes. Employing 11,800 Haitian people, activities have included clearing of waste disposal and irrigation canals; preparation of sites for temporary school classrooms; road repair and building latrines.
As well as providing the Ministry of Health with $13million worth of medical supplies, Plan has set up over 100 mobile clinics which have provided consultations and immunisations where required for over 6,000 adults and over 25,000 children.
Psycho-social support
 Plan has provided training in the provision of psycho-social support for school directors, teachers, Plan Haiti staff, staff of Plan Haiti partner organisations, and youth volunteers working in our child friendly spaces.
Our successful partnership with Clowns Without Borders reached more than 6,000 children through over 20 performances at camp sites, schools, and community centres. A second phase of performances has now been completed.
Future resilience
Plan is working with other organisations to ensure emphasis is given to improving Haiti's ability to prevent and survive disasters - by building disaster-resilient school structures; encouraging school contingency planning; raising awareness at the community/camp level; supporting capacity-building of relevant government departments; and lobbying the Government to make disaster risk reduction a part of the school curriculum.
Participation
Plan has promoted children's participation in the establishment of plans for rebuilding Haiti. We conducted a consultation with around 1,000 children and presented the findings at an event run alongside the international donors conference on reconstructing Haiti in New York in March.
For sponsors
If you sponsor a child in Haiti, see Information for sponsors of children in Haiti for the latest details.
From the field
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