In the capital of Port-au-Prince and its suburbs, there are many foster homes for children who are unable to live with their families or who have disabilities. Many of these facilities, which had been struggling even before the earthquake, remain unusable 1 year later with rubble left in place due to the financial burden of having it removed.

St. Vincent School, the largest facility for persons with disabilities in Port-au-Prince, suffered enormous damage to its buildings and equipment in the earthquake. AAR JAPAN constructed temporary school building and provided textbooks that have enabled the children to learn comfortably in a pleasant environment. We also supported a clinic for persons with disabilities run by St. Vincent School by construction of a temporary hospital building and maintenance for its medical equipment. Reconstruction of all the buildings was completed in December 2010. AAR JAPAN supported the reconstruction of two additional foster homes as well.

Since July 2011, AAR JAPAN has been undertaking the reconstruction of three more foster homes, as well as supporting the reestablishment of the Haitian Society for Assistance for Persons with Visual Impairments in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Taking into consideration the needs of the facility’s users, we plan to build a one-story temporary facility with no variation in floor heights. We will also provide equipment that was lost in the earthquake, with the aim of reestablishing a vital community-based facility for persons with disabilities.

When the magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12th, AAR JAPAN dispatched 4 members of our staff to implement the emergency relief operations on January 25th. This effort concluded on April 30th, 2010. We express our sincerest gratitude for your support.

In cooperation with local organizations, AAR JAPAN has sent traveling clinics to foster homes and implemented efforts to fight the spread of cholera. This program concluded in June 2011. We express our sincerest gratitude for your support.