HAITI Emergency: Staff Support & Operational Issues
NGOs are working together to share information and resources as they support their staff and those they serve in Haiti. InsideNGO will post these recommended resources as they are shared.
You will find the following resources below:
- Working Groups & Listservs
- Staff Care Updates, Resources, and Consultants
- USAID & OCHA Information
- Logistics Resources
- Program Related Resources & Announcements
Working Groups & Listservs
Haiti Staff Care Working Group - Phone Meetings
Lynne Cripe from CARE will facilitate a call every other Tuesday at 2:00pm EST. Past topics have included field reports from International SOS and staff care updates from organizations operating in Haiti.
To join, please call 1-800-882-3610 or +1 (412) 380-2000 and use passcode 1127940. To be added to the mail list for meeting announcements and minutes email Lynne at: lcripe@care.org.
Haiti HR & Staff Care Listserv
Over 60 individuals have joined the Listserv created by FHI, for InsideNGO members and NGOs to share information and resources. If you have staff in Haiti and want to participate in the list serve send a blank email to: subscribe-haiti@listserv.fhi.org
HR Operational Issues- Working Group
A Working Group of NGOs formed to discuss managing operational issues during the emergency: payroll, loans, financial support of Haitian staff, evacuation etc. If interested in being part of these discussions contact Swati Patel at MSH: spatel@msh.org.
The results of the HR Operations mini-survey are complete and will be discussed during the next HR Operation Working Group conference call on Thursday, April 29th at 12 pm EST. For a copy of the results or to participate in the conference call, please contact Elizabeth Musar at emusar@InsideNGO.org.
Staff Care Updates, Resources & Consultants
Update from the Field
Michael Hegenauer with WorldVision briefed the Haiti Staff Care Working Group on his recent travel to Hait. Michael worked with staff in Port-au-Prince and upcountry from the capital city. Of note:
Port-au-Prince:
- Staff are frequently requesting mental health services following mandatory debriefing session. A majority of workers are also reporting physical symptoms of stress including significant chest pains, nightmares, flashbacks, and disassociation.
- Staff reported that the number one stressor was the concept of the partial work and not meeting their workplans. They are very worried about getting back to their workplans and required written reassurance form senior management and donors that plans will be modified to allow for self and family care. There is an inability of workers to “leave the mission” that further exacerbates the post-traumatic stress of the quake situation. Staff required firm reassurance that family and wellness could be placed ahead of work.
- Staff in Port au Prince report that they are very tired because of lack of sleep while trying to protect home/family overnight due to lack of security in Port au Prince.
- Additional pressing concern for most staff - preparing for the next earthquake. Staff report that it is difficult to stop thinking about the possibility of further quakes, which is a drain on all staff – local and international. Staff would benefit from a focus on using coping skills.
Upcounty:
- Primary stressor is still maintaining workplans. Again, staff wanted written confirmation that modification would occur.
- Very little physical damage, but tens of thousands of people who have left Port-au-Prince and returned to these areas and villages are putting a strain on the residents. Families are taking in relatives, exploding the population and leading to shortages of food and living supplies. There’s a larger relief effort happening upcountry to help relieve this new burden on families.
Linda Poteat of InterAction described the work of the NGO Coordination Cell in Port-au-Prince. She reports “InterAction has an NGO coordination support center here in Port-au-Prince. We’re working together to provide all-inclusive coordination support for NGOs. We want to make sure that all of the emergency responders and all of the folks coming down fit in to the larger coordination structure which is hosted by the UN. As many of you will know, there are clusters for most of the sectors and some for the cross cutting issues. We encourage everyone to be active participants in the clusters so that everyone can know what’s going on. We’re part of the humanitarian country team. On Mondays and Thursdays, there are meetings on humanitarian issues.” A full listing of active clusters can be found out http://oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Pages/Clusters.aspx.
Regarding conditions on the ground, Linda reports: “Shelter, sanitation, and food aid are emergency priorities. Rain in the past week has caused problems in congested camps. There are several camps that we’re particularly worried about because they’re packed with people and it’s difficult to provide services. The government has identified a number of new sites away from the city. We’re trying to figure out which sites would be best, but many people want to stay close to their homes. It's a comfort to be within your own community. We have a challenge of how we are going to move the folks in a short period of time without retraumatizing them.”
On-line Resources
Antares Foundation free online staff care resources and consulting services www.antaresfoundation.org
Headington Institute – consulting services and free online staff care resources www.headington-institute.org. See below – Resource Links.
Hesperian Health Resources – Haiti Health Information wiki including free resources for health workers in Haitian Kreyòl intended for use in Haiti. It includes original material from Hesperian and others as well as adaptations of those materials. Includes link to free downloads of Hesperian and MEDICC’s Health for All: 4-Language Glossary of Community Health Care Terms (Creole-Spanish-English-French), a glossary containing more than 4,000 entries and it is especially helpful to anyone working in Haiti, since Creole is the most widely-spoken language there; Haitian medics are often instructed in Spanish; Haitian clinical records are written in French; and many volunteers speak English. http://creole.hesperian.net
Helper’s Fire – online staff care resources http://helpersfire.org/
Haiti Relief Toolkit. To help assist the thousands of aid workers responding to the Haiti earthquake, Knowledge for Health (K4Health) has organized the Haiti Relief Toolkit (at www.k4health.org/toolkits/haiti_relief). K4Health will upload toolkit to flash drives and ship to Haiti. Use the toolkit’s discussion board (at www.k4health.org/forum/4704) to discuss issues, suggest additional
InterAction has in stock hard copies of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, in French, English, Arabic and CDs with all languages. If you would like to request copies, please contact Heather Powell (hpowell@interaction.org). In your email, please note how many copies you would like and the preferred language.
The Guidelines can also be downloaded online in the various languages (www.who.int/hac/network/interagency/news/mental_health_guidelines/en/). The Guidelines address provision of care for both displaced/affected populations in disaster settings, as well as staff care needs.
InterHealth: Has posted information on Travel Health for Staff and volunteers traveling to Haiti. www.interhealth.org.uk
Psychosocial. A website that focuses on the dissemination of practical information and research about psychosocial issues. www.idealist.org/en/psychosocial/about.html
People in Aid have posted HR resources on their website www.peopleinaid.org/haiti including Managing People In Emergencies website www.managing.peopleinaid.org. which includes a checklist on Induction, briefing and handover. The website is Available in French and English and is FREE.
Resource Links recommended by Headington Institute, Amber Gray, CARE and others
- Guidance Note for Mental Health and Psychosocial Response specific to the emergency in Haiti produced by IASC
- Communities Emergency Guide
- Literature review on what is known about mental health in Haiti before the earthquake from McGill University
- Staff Care in Emergency Situations Handbook
- Dance/Movement Therapy with Street Children and Victims of Organized Violence in Haiti by Amber Gray
- Common Causes of Stress During Disaster Relief Work (in Haitian Creole)
- Common Causes of Stress During Disaster Relief Work (in English)
- Understanding and Coping with Traumatic Stress (in Haitian Creole)
- What Managers Can Do (in French)
- Psychological First Aid: Field Operations Guide
- The American Psychological Association (APA) – Tips for recovering from disasters and other traumatic events
- The APA Disaster Resources for First Responders site
- Understanding and Coping with Traumatic stress – (written specifically for humanitarian staff)
- The CARD directory – CARD is an international online directory of professional counselors interested in providing services for humanitarian relief and development workers.
- Taking Care of Yourself after Trauma
- Trauma Critical Incident Care for Humanitarian Workers (English version, French verison)
- Helping Children Cope with Stress & Trauma
- Taking Care of Your Staff after Trauma
- Resources for Staff in Haiti
- NIMH Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Self Monitoring Questionnaire from Greenleaf Integrated Strategies
- Aid Worker Pocket Card (French)
- Coping with Disaster – CARE Haiti (French)
- Coping with Disaster – CARE Haiti (Haitian Creole)
- Coping with Disaster – CARE Haiti (English)
- Haiti Earthquake Comprehensive Staff Care Framework guide sheet from International SOS
Link to field operations guide: www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/manuals/manual-pdf/pfa/PFA_2ndEditionwithappendices.pdf
Staff Care/Trauma Consultants
Amber Gray, Director at Restorative Resources Training & Consulting/Trauma Resources International. Digicell #: 38555847; email amber@ecentral.com
The Alliance for Resilient Communities, LLC. Donna Read, Trauma Clinician. Critical incident debriefing, tension/anxiety management and trauma symptom support. Fluent French. Email: resilientally@aol.com. Mobile: 571-217-1434.
Antares Foundation free online staff care resources and consulting services www.antaresfoundation.org
Greenleaf Integrative Strategies – trauma recovery expertise, cross-cultural adaptation, stress control training, mind-body interventions, self-monitoring tools and resources. Pre-deployment, during deployment, post-assignment programs. www.greenleaf-is.com or contact Dr. Shah at: drshah@greenleaf-is.com or by phone at 917.405.3316
Headington Institute – consulting services and free online staff care resources www.headington-institute.org.
Nicholas Higgins - (clinical psychologist. Trained in the United States)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Main Tel : (Mobile) 1 809 224 5580 (Office) 1 809 227 5424 (Office) 1 809 227 6644
Please call office to arrange appt.
KonTerra Group, providing stress management and staff care support resources www.konterragroup.net
Shirley Morant - (Psychologist trained in the United States)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Main Tel : (Office) 1 809 531 8313
French Speaking Trauma Counselors
USAID & OCHA
USAID – General Information
To receive updates from USAID, send email to RebuildHaiti@usaid.gov with the subject Add me.
Cluster Leads Contact information
USAID Haiti Fact Sheet – dated 4.16.2010 and describing recovery and program updates
Three Things to Know About the US Government's Work in Haiti - updated on 3.30.2010
USAID – Conference Call Updates
USAID schedules weekly conference calls to update NGOs on a variety of issues. To receive notice of these calls, register at RebuildHaiti@usaid.gov.
USAID – Re: Goods Available to NGOs
If your organization is interested in learning more about these offers, please send an email indicating your interest to RebuildHaiti@usaid.gov. In the subject line of the email, please type “Matched Interest.” In the content of the email, please provide specifics on your needs for the items of interest and a point of contact for additional follow-up. Click here for more information.
OCHA
Updated Situation Report – dated 4.16.2010
UNOCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) has a dedicated website to coordinate relief efforts in Haiti called OneResponse: www.oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Pages. It also has information on its own website at http://ochaonline.un.org. Critical for NGOs on the ground to connect with OCHA who is creating a Who What Where matrix to help prevent the duplication of services and ensure that vulnerable populations are being addressed.
Early Response Cluster/Network Announced – From their website, the Early Response Cluster is responsible for laying the “foundations for longer-term reconstruction and development by supporting and generating self-sustaining processes for psot-crisis recovery, planning and financing. The Early Recovery Cluster/Network is led by UNDP.” More information at http://oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Early%20Recovery/Pages/default.aspx
Logistics Resources
MSH Announces: They have made arrangements with Kraft and Nestle’s food distributor in Haiti, who is fully stocked and open for business. They kindly set up a wholesale account for us for the next few months so we can ensure that our staff will have the basic supplies that they need. Steven Miller, VP of Operations for Agro Products & Services, is my contact in Aventura, Florida. You can reach him at 305-792-4650.
Salvation Army: We are shipping almost daily MIA-PAP, or MIA-SDQ----truck----PAP with 757-200F (28tons) aircraft on behalf of the Salvation Army. If you have Relief Supplies or personnel that you would like to include in these shipments, please contact
Ken Cavallero, SAWSO, Haiti Field Operations, The Salvation Army
e-mail: ken.cavallero@usw.salvationarmy.org
Program Related Resources & Announcements
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization, and the World Food Program have released an important joint statement calling for support for appropriate infant and young child feeding during the Haiti emergency to prevent malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality among children.
The message emphasizes the following points:
- Breastfeeding is the safest feeding option for infants during an emergency. Every effort should be made to support mothers to breastfeed and avoid the use of breast milk substitutes, which should be a last resort only after fully exploring safer options.
- Relactation should be prioritized for infants under six months of age who are no longer breastfed. When this is not possible (e.g., for orphans), or when skilled personnel identify a need for artificial feeding, breast milk substitutes must be accompanied by training for caregivers on hygienic preparation and use. Liquid ready-to-use breast milk substitutes are preferred over powder mixes.
- In an emergency, the use of breast milk substitutes can endanger children’s lives and, in accordance with international guidelines, they should not be donated. UNICEF is the coordinating agency in Haiti for the appropriate use of breast milk substitutes and can provide guidance to organizations.
- Children older than six months of age require nutritious, age-appropriate, and safe complementary foods in addition to breast milk. Priority should be given to providing local, culturally-acceptable foods. When cooking facilities are unavailable, ready-to-use fortified foods are an option. However, once cooking facilities have been set up, fortified blended food is recommended.
Download the statement at www.iycn.org/resources-alphabetical.php#Haiti.