©InfoAlthough Marie Elida Mimgot’s home was destroyed when the earthquake struck Haiti on 12 January, she survived because she was at the supermarket when it happened.
Since the earthquake, Marie, 60, has been living in Automeca – one of many temporary camps in the city, which sprang up on a patch of waste land next to a car manufacturing company. People are crammed in side-by-side in tiny, makeshift homes, made out of whatever they can get their hands on – tarpaulins, blankets, scraps of wood.
Like most residents of the camp, Marie comes from a nearby neighbourhood called Delmas 19, an area of Port-au-Prince which was badly affected by the quake.
Homeless
“I was renting my home that collapsed,” Marie says. “Now the owner is pressurising me to take all my belongings that remain in the house. Many things were stolen but there are some things left. But I haven’t had anywhere to go.”
Fortunately for Marie, she is one of around 4,000 families who are receiving a cash grant as part of the British Red Cross recovery programme, which is using mobile phone text messages to distribute the money.
When Marie receives a text message telling her she is entitled to collect $250 (£160), she says: “This money will allow me to pay for six months’ rent and I can finally collect my things.”
Cash grants
To collect the money, Marie must go to a bank and show her ID and the text message. This is the first of three planned instalments that residents of Automeca camp will be receiving from the British Red Cross over the course of two years.
This first grant is unconditional – the money is given to everyone in the camp with no strings attached. Most people in Automeca lost everything in the earthquake. They have either built up debts that need to be paid, or have pressing immediate needs such as feeding their families.
The second and third stages of the grant are planned to be given on a conditional basis; recipients will have to prove they are going to use the money to restart a business or income-generating activity through the presentation of a simple business plan. The British Red Cross will also provide vocational training to support the grants.
Supporting grandchildren
Marie says: “I live with my three grandchildren, and with the money I have received from the Red Cross I would like to pay for Nadine, who is 13 years old, to be able to go to school. I don’t have enough money for all of them but at least Nadine can go.
“If I get more money, the next thing I will do is restart my business. I used to sell food in the market in Delmas 19, but that was before the earthquake.
“I thank God for this assistance. I am overjoyed to receive this money. I will be praying to keep the people who sent us this money alive.”
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