Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti last Tuesday as a powerful category four hurricane with winds up to 145 mph and leaving 1.4 million people there in need of humanitarian assistance. The official death toll from the country’s central civil protection agency stands at 336, but according to Reuters, reported deaths by local officials indicate more than 1,000 people lost their lives in the storm.
More than 61,000 people were still living in tents following the devastating earthquake that hit in 2010 killing more than 300,000 people. The Miami Herald reports a lack of supplies in the country’s shelters is of particular concern. Besides the challenge of getting food water and medication to the thousands displaced by the storm, the World Health Organization announced this week its sending one million cholera vaccine doses to the Caribbean island nation to help quell the spread of Cholera. We’ll hear from the Naples-based non-profit Hope for Haiti about their ongoing humanitarian and recovery work. We’ll also hear from members of Southwest Florida’s Haitian community about how they’re coping and their efforts to help friends and loved ones in Haiti.
Guests:
Lulu Carter, Founder and President of House of Gaia
Mark Hindley, Chief Operating Officer of Hope for Haiti
Beatrice Jacquet, Haitian-American Democratic Club of Lee County
Stephanie Jepsen, Chief of Donor Experience, Hope for Haiti
