Lessons learned mean better relief for Haiti

Huge waves, the earth trembling, mass destruction, screams, prayers and hundreds of thousands dead.

A little over five years separate the tsunami off the coast of Indonesia and the earthquake in Haiti. But both disasters have resulted in vast humanitarian relief.

Boxing Day 2004 saw the shifting of two tectonic plates about 150 kilometres from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This resulted in a magnitude-9.0 earthquake, and a tsunami that rushed the shores, leaving very little in its wake.

Homes along the coast of Indonesia were swept away by massive tidal waves after the earthquake struck in 2004.

Fast forward to Jan. 12 of this year, when a magnitude-7.0 earthquake rocked the already very poor island of Haiti, devastating the country and specifically, its capital city Port-au-Prince.

In both instances, Canadians rushed to aid, opening wallets, writing cheques, with the Canadian government sending millions to help support the broken lands.

But with Haiti relief efforts in full-swing, Canadians are left wondering where this level of response was five years ago. More than anything, the tsunami relief efforts taught Canadians what it was like to respond to a disaster.

Certainly Canada is better equipped for disaster relief these days. It's also easier to focus efforts on one area than several countries and thousands of kilometres of coastline.

Former president and chief executive of CARE Canada, John Watson said in an interview with CBC News in February 2005, that Canada’s response to the tsunami disaster was “amateur” and that “NGOs should get together to set up an efficient, unified aid delivery system.”

Collaborating on humanitarian efforts

Since 2005, CARE Canada has worked with Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children to form the Humanitarian Coalition. The four member agencies have a mandate to join together to raise funds for the people of Haiti affected by this crisis.

“The humanitarian effort has been extraordinary.”

The current president and CEO of CARE Kevin McCort says the reason for combining the relief efforts is to make it easier on the donor.

“The intention is to raise more collectively, partly due to eliminating the costs of competition, and partly due to making it easier for donors to make a choice,” says McCort.

Karen Palmer at Oxfam Canada echoes those statements because working through the coalition decreases administration costs.

“[They] normally run at about 10 per cent during a crisis so when you donate,10 per cent will stay behind to Oxfam to cover those costs,” she says.

“With the humanitarian coalition, it’s running at about seven or eight per cent, so that way we’re much more efficient in terms of getting more of what you’re donating actually out to the field.”

One-third of Haiti's population has been affected by the quake. Léogâne's stadium now serves as a temporary relief camp where city residents live in tents and line up for food and water.

All donations for Haiti are to be matched by the federal government.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had originally placed a $50 million cap on matched donations, but has since removed the cap. 

"Giving has exceeded wildest expectations and we will continue to match pledges dollar for dollar," Prime Minster Steven Harper said in a late January news conference.

In total, Canada pledged $655 million to the tsunami relief efforts, which combines all government donations along with public donations. So far the Canadian government has pledged $135 million to the Haiti relief efforts, with an additional $104.5 million coming from Canadians.

“The humanitarian effort has been extraordinary,” NDP leader Jack Layton told reporters during the January 19 NDP caucus. “I was witness to what happened in the case of the tsunami, I think all our government officials and our service personnel have learned a lot and I told the Prime Minister that I was pleased with the rapidity of the response.”

The relief efforts in Haiti are ongoing. If you are interested in donating, the Government of Canada has more information.

A look at Canada's response

Canada was quick to react when an earthquake paralyzed much of Haiti over two weeks ago. What is the government doing and what was done when the tsunamis swallowed up Asia's coastline five years ago?