Over the past year, the children and communities of Haiti have faced overwhelming challenges, ranging from the devastating earthquake that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives on January 12 2010, to a cholera outbreak, to floods and other disasters. The following photos focus on nine different areas in which UNICEF has helped - and is continuing to help - to protect the rights of children in the country over the past 12 months, including nutrition, water, cholera prevention and education.
Shelter. Eleven-month-old Davidson sleeps in a camp for quake victims, in the Delmas District of Port-au-Prince. His mother, Marie-Estanie Luxama, lost her left leg in the earthquake. She went into labour the same day, giving birth to Davidson in the ruins of her home. Just over 1 million people
remain displaced - 380,000
of them children - as a
result of the earthquake.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2652/LeMoyne
Education.
Nathana-Elel Lavilette (far right), 12, stands with her sister (far left) and other girls, at a school in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. Nathana's house collapsed during the earthquake, but her family survived. They now rent a house in another part of the city and Nathana had to change schools. UNICEF has provided the school with semi-permanent classrooms.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2636/LeMoyne
Nutrition. A woman leans against her baby daughter's crib in a UNICEF-supported nutrition centre in Port-au-Prince. Her daughter is being treated for malnutrition. Thanks to centres such as these, one year on from the quake there has been no increase in levels of acute malnutrition in children under five.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2612/LeMoyne
Water. Children carry jugs of water at a camp for quake victims, in the Delmas District of Port-au-Prince. At the height of the emergency, UNICEF and partners were reaching close to 680,000 people with safe water. We are now working with partners to extend water networks in slums to
serve an additional 130,000 people.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2659/LeMoyne
Cholera. A girl washes her hands near a UNICEF tent in the Dei Gloria School, in Port-au-Prince. She and other students have participated in cholera-prevention lessons. To date, UNICEF
is supporting 72 health facilities to treat patients with cholera and is leveraging networks and partners to
reach 1.5 million children with essential
supplies and prevention messages.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2632/Roger LeMoyne
Protection. Jacqueline Paul, 7, (centre, in blue) stands with other girls in a displacement camp for quake victims in Port-au-Prince. Jacqueline is a 'restavek', a child given by impoverished parents to relatives or unknown families in the hope that they will have a better life. Jacqueline does dishes and cleans, but does not go to school or own any toys. Even before the quake, more than 1.2 million children in Haiti were deemed to be
extremely vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2564/Roger LeMoyne
Youth. Children play football in Fort National, a heavily damaged neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, the capital. A total of 94,800 children are benefiting from daily opportunities
for sports and recreational activities in a network of 369 UNICEF Child-Friendly
Spaces in earthquake-affected areas, enabling them to access their right
to play as well as psychosocial support to help reclaim their childhood.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2641/Roger LeMoyne
Psychosocial support. A girl shows a picture she has drawn during a psychosocial exercise at a child-friendly tent, in a camp in the Port-au-Prince municipality of Pétionville. The tent is operated by the Haitian NGO MOSAJ, which teaches children about cholera prevention and conducts psychosocial activities to help them cope with trauma. UNICEF provides MOSAJ with supplies.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2663/LeMoyne
Orphans and vulnerable children. Ludnie Cherlande Audat (centre) plays a clapping game with other girls in a transit centre for children without parental care in Ganthier, a town outside Port-au-Prince. UNICEF has supplied the centre with tents and advises organisers on child protection issues. To date, nearly 4,850 children who have lost their parents or carers in the quake have been registered and 1,265 reunited with family.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-2626/LeMoyne
