HAITI / CASH AND FOOD FOR WORK

The World Food Programme plans to employ 70,000 Haitians through its food-and-cash-for-work projects enabling locals to help rebuild their country's infrastructure and ensure long-term food security. MINUSTAH

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:43
• Production Date: 30 March 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: HUMANITARIAN RELIEF; REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; DISASTER PREVENTION; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER RELIEF
• Geographic Subject: HAITI; UNITED NATIONS STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI - MINUSTAH
• MAMS Id: U100330d

Description

STORY: HAITI / CASH AND FOOD FOR WORK
TRT: 1:43
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CREOLE / ENGLISH / NATS

DATE: 29 MARCH 2010, CARREFOUR, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI

Shotlist

1. Various shots, women waiting in line Carrefour
2. Med shot, women taking food bags
3. SOUNDBITE (Creole), Jean Elmita, Earthquake Victim:
“I’m coming just for the aid that they give today, I have lost everything in the earthquake, and it’s the first time since the earthquake that I received some aid, I usually sell in the market, but right now I have no money.”
4. Various shots, men and women packing food
5. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Wisny Dupars, Responsible Distribution Centre, Carrefour:
“Today we have 2,150 families. We give them 25 lbs of rice, 1,250 of flour (farina) 1gallon of oil, 1 kilo of salt and 3 kilos of peas for each family.”
6. Various shots, people distributing and packing food
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jim Farell, Public Information Officer, World Food Programme:
“We got food for work and cash for work programmes in which we are looking into giving employment to 70,000 people and the way of paying them would be approximately 60 percent in cash and 40 percent in food. This way we get people back to work, we get some of the necessary work done and this way, we don’t upset the domestic supply chain too much. We don’t swamp the country with food where we start driving down prices or taking away the market for farmers.”
8. Wide shot, people leaving with food

Storyline

The World Food Programme (WFP) is launching food-and-cash-for-work projects that will enable thousands of Haitians help rebuild their country’s infrastructure and ensure long-term food security.

The agency says it also aims to stimulate markets by buying food locally and has launched a new tender to purchase 400 metric tons of locally produced rice in Haiti.

The projects are aimed at helping Haiti’s poor devote time and energy to taking the first steps out of the hunger trap. Today, many poverty-stricken communities hit by the earthquake are too busy looking for food to rebuild infrastructure vital for redevelopment.

SOUNDBITE (Creole), Jean Elmita, Earthquake Victim:
“I’m coming just for the aid that they give today, I have lost everything in the earthquake, and it’s the first time since the earthquake that I received some aid, I usually sell in the market, but right now I have no money.”

Since the earthquake on 12 January, WFP has reached nearly 3.5 million people with rice, flour, beans, oil and other supplies.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Wisny Dupars, Responsible Distribution Centre, Carrefour:
“Today we have 2,150 families. We give them 25 lbs of rice, 1,250 of flour (farina) 1gallon of oil, 1 kilo of salt and 3 kilos of peas for each family.”

WFP says that more than $150 million is still required to launch cash and food-for-work projects, as well as provide logistical support in advance of the hurricane season.

Through these projects WPF hopes to employ thousands of Haitians left hungry and homeless in the recent months.

SOUNDBITE (English) Jim Farell, Public Information Officer, World Food Programme:
“We got food for work and cash for work programmes in which we are looking into giving employment to 70,000 people and the way of paying them would be approximately 60 percent in cash and 40 percent in food. This way we get people back to work, we get some of the necessary work done and this way, we don’t upset the domestic supply chain too much. We don’t swamp the country with food where we start driving down prices or taking away the market for farmers.”

So far, WFP has received generous contributions from donors amounting to $260 million for its projects in Haiti. It estimates that $55 million is needed to maintain the delivery of humanitarian supplies for the whole humanitarian community throughout the affected areas of Haiti.

More than 100 countries will take part in an international donors’ conference for Haiti to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York tomorrow (31 March).

The meeting will be led by Haitian President René Préval, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State, as co-hosts, and UN Special Envoy for Haiti, former President Bill Clinton.