Some 12 percent of all children in Malawi do not survive to celebrate their fifth birthday. Photo: Concern Worldwide
I have arrived in the Concern office in Lilongwe, capital of Malawi. The goal in the next week is to gather as much information on the current health situation of mothers and children in Malawi, and develop a program strategy about how to address the problems.
Child is treated for malnutrition at Concern's stabilization unit. Photo: Ed Kenney, Concern Worldwide
We know that distributions are only part of the answer and in our focus group discussions, women made it clear: jobs are a priority and work is seen as freedom. ‘If you work, you can have a house and not depend on others … you can eat regularly … Without work you are still a slave,’ said one. Read the rest of this entry »
82nd Airborne provide security at a distribution in the Place de la Paix camp. Photo: Tom Dobbins, Concern Worldwide.
I have just spent the day visiting Concern’s emergency team in the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince. It was a long, hot day—but it was a great day. I feel very energized and excited about what we have been able to achieve in the past few weeks, and also excited to be able to tell you how your support is allowing us to make a real and immediate difference here.
We have a great team of more than 250 staff now working in Port-au-Prince; 230 of them are Haitian, and we are recruiting more every day.
Hadija (left) pictured with her mother at new water point supported by Concern. Photo: Isla Gilmore, Concern Worldwide.
Water has always been readily available to me
As a city girl it’s hard to imagine life without clean water. Being in Tanzania I have had to adapt to not being able to drink it, and constantly being cautious about boiling, filtering and washing food in clean water. But I live in Dar es Salaam and I have access to all the water I need.
Life in rural villages in Tanzania is completely different
I visited Concern Tanzania’s water programme earlier this month. Biharamulo District is in Kagera Region, close to Rwanda. It looks a bit different to other parts of the country where we work because the villages are located in hills and valleys. Read the rest of this entry »
Typical scene in informal slums of Haiti. Some 42 percent of Haitians had no access to clean drinking water even before the earthquake. Photo: Megan Christensen, Concern Worldwide
I arrived in Haiti the end of 2009, when the earthquake had not yet devastated the capital of Port-au-Prince. Initially, I was intimidated by the robust presence of the United Nations police and peacekeeping forces. But, according to Concern’s Haiti staff, the UN presence had played a major role in stabilizing this island nation and improving the security situation for the people living here.
At that time, Haiti’s streets were vibrant and full of life and despite the many challenges people seemed happy and hopeful about a more prosperous future.
According to reports from my colleagues in the field, that resilience has not been hampered by the recent disaster. Read the rest of this entry »
Supporters of Concern Worldwide Michael Londra, Susan Finucane (Concern worker), Patty Mulvihill McMenamin and Kathy Adler attended a pre-event celebratory reception for the 2010 Women of Concern Brigid Awards. All proceeds will go to Concern's relief efforts in Haiti.
I was obliged to return to base in New York last week in order to fulfil my role as Program Officer. It was a difficult decision to make as I felt like I was abandoning the team and the people in need in Haiti, but our programs in other fields beckon, and sadly, time waits for no man. Read the rest of this entry »
Magdala Teracine (center) and family in their home in Boliman Brandt camp, Port-au-Prince. Photo: Ed Kenney, Concern Worldwide
In her black skirt and prim white top, Magdala Teracine, 31, looks as though she is dressed for a day at the office. A few weeks ago, in a different reality, that’s exactly where this school secretary would have been.
This morning however, she sits in a home built out of metal and wood scraps, sheets, plastic bags and discarded plastic shipping panels. Read the rest of this entry »
Patients at Wesleyan Hospital on the island of La Gonâve lie on outdoor beds, both by choice and because of overcrowding. Photo: Ed Kenney, Concern Worldwide.
There are thousands of families who have fled the mainland to the small island La Gonâve, just 20 kilometers off Haiti’s northwestern coast, and their numbers are growing. In a place where the supply of food and clean water for the normal population is uncertain at the best of times, and where the hurricane season is four short months away, the challenge for organizations like Concern is immediate and massive. Read the rest of this entry »
Jeaninie Mascelin and son Valner Valbuen at Wesleyan Hospital, La Gonave.
We visited Wesleyan Hospital, largest on the island, and La Gonâve’s dilemma was brought home in one family’s story. We saw a very thin older woman lying motionless, expressionless on a bed in the middle of the hospital courtyard.
Brian Tabben consults with La Gonave Vice Delegate Esper Feno on the island of La Gonave.
We arrived at the port of Anse-a-Galets, La Gonâve’s largest town, and nothing seemed amiss. Boys were still fishing off the pier, roughhousing and mugging for visitors, and islanders were slowly trickling into the dockside with their bundles to wait for the main Port-au-Prince ferry, still a couple of hours away. Read the rest of this entry »
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