A Haitian couple assess the destruction of their house following Hurricane Matthew
Food for the Poor is reporting a strong response from the public and Corporate Jamaica to assist with relief efforts in Haiti.
The organisation has been requesting cash and canned items since sections of Haiti were devastated by Hurricane Matthew last week.
David Mair, Executive Director of Food for the Poor, said a shipment of goods for Haiti will leave on Wednesday.
He said shipment was sponsored by companies, such as Wisynco, National Bakery, GraceKennedy and Juici Patties.
Persons or companies who want to donate can do so by sending cash through an NCB account set up by Food for the Poor. Cash payment options are also available via the organisation's website.
Organisations such as the RJR Communications Group and some supermarkets have also been designated drop off points for canned items.
United Way of Jamaica
Meanwhile, United Way of Jamaica on Monday launched its “Haiti Restoration & Rehabilitation Fund” which will run until November 4.
The target is to raise $50 million to restore economic activities among affected families.
United Way is mobilising funds from corporate donors, institutions, associations and individuals locally and in the diaspora.
The funds are being raised to assist with restoration in the agricultural sector, with emphasis on cash crops.
United Way of Jamaica will be partnering with the Salvation Army, which has networks in Haiti.
UN World Food Programme
In the meantime, the UN's World Food Programme has tapped into food stocks previously set aside for schools to feed hundreds of desperate families in Haiti.
A UN World Food Programme spokesman said 26 more tons had been moved to the city of Jeremie for distribution, and more was on its way to Les Cayes, the other major cities affected on the peninsula.
American military helicopters are unloading boxes of supplies from the United States Agency for International Development to be stored by the UN in Jeremie before being taken to other parts of the south.
An official at the airport said almost 20 tons of supplies – tarpaulins, rice, cooking oil and hygiene kits – were being brought in. That added to 47 tons already flown in on US helicopters from the capital Port-au-Prince.
Honduras, which maintains a force of 60 troops in Haiti as part of a UN peacekeeping mission, is sending a planeload of aid on Tuesday, along with 50 military officers to assist the victims.
But getting aid to Haitians now reduced to drinking unclean water and living in roofless houses will be challenging.
At a point, crossing the mountainous center of the peninsula, some villagers blocked roads in an effort to stop aid convoys from passing through without delivering supplies.
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