In August and September 2008 Gonaives was destroyed by four hurricanes and a massive flood. Parts of the city are still flooded four months after the flood. Never ending rain which brought scree and mud into the valley from the surrounding mountains and nearly covered the entire city. In the tragedy of Gonaives all the environmental and social problems of Haiti come together.
Over...
more »

In August and September 2008 Gonaives was destroyed by four hurricanes and a massive flood. Parts of the city are still flooded four months after the flood. Never ending rain which brought scree and mud into the valley from the surrounding mountains and nearly covered the entire city. In the tragedy of Gonaives all the environmental and social problems of Haiti come together.
Over 165,000 families where directly affected by the natural catastrophes of 2008. Two thirds of the deaths and almost all of the disappeared were in Gonaives. Thousands of families still live in shelter-camps, warehouses and schools.
One of the biggest problems for people in Gonaives is access to clean water. Most of the sanitation and water infrastructure was destroyed first by the hurricanes and later in the cleanup while digging out the city. And now that the dry season is here, people are desperate.
ACF runs the water distribution to Gonaives. They treat around 450 cubic meters of water a day which is then delivered to 28 sites in the city of Gonaives.
Oliver Le Guillon, ACF Project coordinator in Port au Prince says, a central aspect of their work is to involve the local people in the coordination and application of the projects. Their goal is to support the community structure and have a long term effect on the development and success of the projects.

This September a huge wall of mud covered the home of 10 year old Jean, his parents and 6 siblings.
When the water first arrived, Jean and his family attempted to save their few belongings but soon they realized that only their live is important.
The entire family survived, but they lost everything in a few terrible moments including the fishing boat that Jonny depended on to provide food for his family.
The family has been living know since four months in a refugee camp outside of Gonaives. They can't go home, because it is too dangerous, and they have no title to their land.
« less