“Everything changed when I held a four year old Haitian boy in my arms,” explains Sharon Sands, single mother from Elviria, whose experiences in Haiti inspired her to establish CampAid. She continues, “The little boy was called Horosto Hoklor and after the disaster he only had one surviving member from three generations of family that he lived with on the island; his father Kersizan. I was on the island as part of my work with the ‘Love a Child Foundation’ charity, and as I sat with Horosto in my arms, Kersizan explained to me how his son had survived five days in the rubble before being rescued.”

This remarkable story was to be a turning point for Sharon’s work on the island. Although there with the original view of helping rehabilitate amputee children and establish an orphanage, it rapidly became clear to Sharon from talking with some of the people of Haiti like Kersizan, together with non governmental organisations (NGOs) like UNICEF, that the real, pressing need was to help the almost one million people displaced by the earthquake. Most are still living in makeshift, temporary camps, six months after the natural disaster.

“Kersizan and Horosto had no where to live. The primary, emergency care was being put in place, but once discharged from the General Hospital in Port au Prince their lives were set to get worse” confirmed Sharon. “They would have to find a place in one of the emergency camps, where living conditions were unimaginably bad. I just felt compelled to do something.”

Short-term solutions to the destructive earthquake that struck on that tragic Tuesday afternoon on January 12th would not be enough; Sharon believed more had to be done in the medium and long term as well, to rebuild communities. She explains, “I began to see a much bigger need than just the rehabilitation of injured people; it was housing. I could clearly see, just with the example in front of me, that there was a need to take a more holistic approach to the situation, and focus on a solution which would benefit entire families and not just the children.”

Sharon returned to her home in Spain and reluctantly resigned from her position as Chief Executive Designate with the ‘Love a Child Foundation’, so that she was able to found CampAid. “CampAid is a humanitarian organisation (non profit and non denominational) which is responding to the needs of people displaced by the earthquake and living in camps in Haiti; we will provide sustainable communities and solutions for future development” confirms Sharon. Her co-founder is William Law, a fellow Brit who, like Sharon, has been spending a great deal of time on the island to make sure the charity will really make a difference.

Aid programme

The charity’s first initiative was to be part of the immediate aid programme, and with the financial support of William Law, Sharon delivered medical supplies and children's toys (including the ‘Shoeboxes of Love’ put together by Sharon's daughter Martina Guilherme Florencio and her classmates at Colegio Platero de Marbella) to the General Hospital in Port au Prince. This was a lengthy process fighting through bureaucracy, red tape and officials at the border with the Dominican Republic.

The United Nation’s Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti believes that there are almost one million people without a home in Haiti and now the weather is deteriorating, the camps are an extremely challenging place to live.

International aid from NGOs and other organisations on the island is making a difference, with the distribution of food, and with providing emergency healthcare, but the day-to-day lives of people in the camps is very hard. Heavy rains cause regular flooding, and Sharon saw for herself how exhausted single mothers would have to stand, cradling or grasping children for hours to protect them from the deep water that would gather in the camps. Accidents are also commonplace as thousands of people cook, eat, wash, and sleep in cramped and unhygienic conditions. Fire is the greatest fear, as Sharon explains, “I saw children and parents with terrible burns, where make shift stoves had caused tents to catch fire. The whole situation is not sustainable at all.”

First visit

CampAid estimates that there are over 300 camps on the island. When Sharon travelled further from the capital Port au Prince, some temporary communities would say that her visit was the first from an aid worker since the earthquake struck.

“The resilience of the people of Haiti is amazing. Despite everything that has happened, I see parents going out of the camps each day to try and sell things in the markets and to make a living so they can survive and keep their children in school. The conditions are appalling, yet I see children leaving the camps for class, immaculately dressed; it’s inspirational,” explains Sharon. These are not people with a ‘victim mentality’ that are passively waiting for aid, instead Sharon strongly believes that the Haitians have a great deal of natural intelligence and are highly resourceful.

“CampAid is about creating sustainable communities. We are dedicated to employing the motivated and energetic local people and teaching them new skills. To date we are working with British architects and surveyors to enable us to teach the communities to build sustainable, safe housing. We are also working at purchasing land or securing areas through donations from Haitian land owners so communities can be rebuilt locally, where they used to live and work, and where their markets were. We don’t believe relocating people far from their original homes is the approach” - Sharon is passionate and articulate about the issues that face Haiti and is very well informed. “There is also great potential for restoring the agricultural economy, and we can help with fair-trade solutions, and other expertise and know-how.”

Inspirational stories

In fact CampAid is looking at all the different ways that sustainable communities can be rebuilt on Haiti; and that even includes research with Iberian firms about renewable, natural energy sources for the new homes and workshops.

There have been many heart-warming and inspirational stories from the island. “Ben, a twenty year old man who narrowly escaped death when his home collapsed, killing his family, has begun to rebuild his life. Despite losing his leg, he has learnt to use a prosthetic limb and can even play football again. His story is so full of hope that he has become an Ambassador for CampAid and features in our short film which will feature on our soon-to-be-launched website.”

Sharon is also preparing a launch event on the Costa del Sol, so local and foreign resident communities can get involved; details will be on the new web site.

CampAid is planning its first project; a community for 500 families, of which Kersizan and his son Horosto will be a part. “I made a vow to Horosto's father in the hospital that day, to do everything in my power to ensure that he and his son receive the home they deserve so much; and that has been my driving force ever since; their love, joy and hope was the inspiration to continue.”

Challenges

The early days have not all been easy for CampAid, with the challenge of navigating the complex world of international aid and NGOs, as well as balancing the needs of Haiti with Sharon’s own life and family, but she enthusiastically explains, “I am thrilled at the way things are progressing now and we are beginning to get support in the right places at last, and soon I will be able to tell Horosto's father that we are on our way, and can begin with the first community.”

CampAid is launching in Spain and the United Kingdom this month, and the charity’s website will go live shortly. The next phase will be to launch in the USA.