Mother’s Day: Starting life in Haiti’s rubble

Mother’s Day: Starting life in Haiti’s rubble

Catherine Charles (below) was born on 12 January – the day that a massive earthquake devastated Haiti.

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"I was in the final stages of labour when the earthquake struck,” said Catherine’s mother, Amide.

“Everyone ran out of the building.”

Catherine was born healthy, but she was born into chaos. The disaster left her family homeless; her first home is a tent at the side of a busy road in Port-au-Prince, a capital city reduced to rubble.

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Camp delivery

Amide is one of an estimated 37,000 pregnant mothers affected by Haiti’s earthquake.

Although she delivered Catherine alone, the birth at least took place in a hospital that remained largely intact. For other mothers, the story is very different.

When World Vision met 28-year-old Guerline Laguerre (below), she did not know where she would have her baby.

“I will give birth anywhere in the camp or hospital,” she said. “But all the hospitals are full of people. There is no place to deliver.”

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Injured survivors have overwhelmed hospitals and clinics; many health facilities are also completely destroyed.

World Vision has set up mobile clinics to provide basic healthcare in camps across Port-au-Prince.

Maternity kits have also been given to mothers like Guerline who may be forced to deliver in poor camp conditions.

The kits contain soap, surgical gloves, clean sheets, sterilised string and razor to tie and cut the cord, gauze and a swaddling cloth for the baby.

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“We would obviously urge women to try to get to a health centre if they can,” said Fiona Perry, World Vision’s health expert.

“But if this is impossible, the kit can be used for a clean ‘home’ birth.”

Comforts

Life in a camp is tough for a new or pregnant mother.

Entire families live in 6ft by 6ft spaces covered with bed sheets, blankets or plastic sheeting held up by makeshift poles. Privacy is hard to find. Recent rain has caused problems; the forthcoming seasonal rains are cause for real concern.

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On Guerline’s due date, there was no water at her camp; there are also no toilets. There is nowhere else to go.

Inside Guerline’s shelter – made from scraps of corrugated iron and sheets – there was no sign of any of the comforts a mother in the UK takes for granted.

“I have no mattress, just some sheets and a used carpet,” she said.

Because of the very limited healthcare available, Guerline has not received any pre-natal care since the earthquake. But she remains optimistic.

“I think the baby’s healthy because it moves inside me all the time,” she said.

World Vision workers gave Guerline a tarpaulin for shelter, a mosquito net and a cooking set.

Survivors

Two months on from Haiti’s earthquake, World Vision is still working to reach a million survivors like Amide and Guerline.

Families are receiving food, water, shelter and other essentials like those given to Guerline. The charity is running activities for children and installing latrines to improve sanitation in camps.

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There are also spacious, well-lit tents where new mothers can care for their babies away from the overcrowded makeshift shelters surrounding them.

While many of those left homeless are still struggling for the basics and wondering what they will do next, Guerline is determined to rebuild her life.

“I’m a woman who fights for life.

“I will find a job and look after my baby.

“If it’s a girl, I’ll call her Christelle, meaning follower of Christ. If it’s a boy, he will be Christopher,” she said, smiling.