Haiti's damaged presidential palace

At just 16, Jean Evelt says he understands how important the elections are to the future of his country, adding that if it were not for Lifeline Energy’s radios, he would have been unaware elections were even taking place. The teenager told our project manager Chhavi Sharma, that with elections looming, he has been listening to political news non-stop. “Thanks to this radio, I now know that there are 19 presidential candidates, as well as who they are and which parties they belong to,” he enthusiastically explained.

Evelt, who lost both his father and family home in the earthquake, now lives in an International Relief and Development (IRD) shelter – a home made of wood and corrugated metal. These type of shelters and temporary “tent cities” cover the island.

Evelt was one of hundreds who received Lifeline Energy’s wind-up and solar-powered radios last month. Chhavi Sharma travelled to Haiti to help integrate 1,000 radios into relief efforts.

Launched immediately following the earthquake, Lifeline Energy partnered with IRD, National Democratic Institute (NDI) and local organisation Sosyete Animasyon Komunikasyon Sosyal (SAKS) to ensure Haiti’s vulnerable and displaced receive vital, ongoing information to help rebuild their lives.

IRD was allocated more than half of the radios. The US-based organisation began its Haiti operations on 18 January, six days after the earthquake struck, and has since provided water, food, sanitation, medicines and shelter material. Most of its relief work has been focused in the Leogane district, the area closest to the earthquake epicentre with more than 93% destruction. According to an IRD report, every resident of Leogane was sleeping outside in makeshift shelters following the 7.0 earthquake.

IRD has set up 727 shelters to house families and aims to set up a further 1,700 by next year. Lifeline Energy’s radios are being circulated among the shelters.

NDI – an NGO that we have worked with in southern Sudan – is distributing the radios to people living in areas around citizen information centers throughout the country. One such area is Carrefour – an impoverished area near Port-au-Prince.

According to NDI and IRD representatives who spoke to Chhavi Sharma, along with listening to information on reconstruction efforts between the government and the international community, people are also interested in early weather warnings, so they can strengthen shelters, keep their legal documents safe and take care of their cattle in anticipation of adverse weather conditions.

Another meaningful use of the radio, the representatives said, was psychosocial support.

A 52-year-old mother, Raymonde Saint Suren, said that the radio has proved to be an “all day long coping mechanism.” She says: “I listen to music all day and dance along with it. It helps me deal with the conditions that we now live in.”

Lifeline Energy’s radios are not only assisting Haitians now but will also continue to assist them for years to come. Given that the Caribbean island is prone to hurricanes (in 2008, Haiti was rocked with four storms, which killed almost 800 people and effected a further 800,000), our radios will provide these displaced populations with critical information to help their future. In addition, the January earthquake has caused most communities to suffer from chronic power shortages, so our solar-powered and wind-up radios are vital tools.

To help the thousands of displaced Haitians, including 300,000 children, please visit Lifeline Energy’s appeal page.