“I lost everything I had: my furniture, my car, everything I had in my house,” Ketia lamented.
Ketia and her family are among the approximately 225,000 people receiving assistance from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in the aftermath of the storm. She is receiving assistance from a voucher system that allows families to purchase products from select retailers, a program that supports those affected by the storm while helping to stimulate the local economy.
“The store uses an electronic system that records the transactions that are made and the WFP pays the retailer,” explained Channon Hachandi, head of the WFP supply chain in Haiti. “It is a good method to help affected families, because instead of going to receive help at a distribution, the recipient acts as a normal buyer, going to the market.”
Even before Hurricane Melissa, more than half of residents in the most affected regions were already facing severe food insecurity, an indication of the serious humanitarian crisis Haiti has faced for many years.
It is a good method to support affected families: instead of receiving assistance in a distribution, they are like normal buyers in a market.
– Channon Hachandi, PMA
The storm killed more than 40 Haitians and many others lost their homes, businesses and belongings. In a region highly dependent on small-scale agriculture, there was widespread damage to agricultural land and near-total crop loss.
WFP provided assistance before, during and after the hurricane. Together with the government, the agency sent 3.5 million early warning text messages via cell phones and provided cash payments to people to help them prepare and mitigate the effect of the hurricane.
During the storm itself, families who moved to temporary shelters received rations. Immediately afterwards, as families assessed the devastation, 15 days’ worth of food rations were distributed.
To help the community recover, the response has evolved, providing cash and vouchers, giving families what WFP described as “the dignity of choice.”
Currently, approximately 10 percent of Haitians receiving assistance after Hurricane Melissa are benefiting from the voucher program, an approach that WFP intends to expand.
Wilfred Nkwambi, Head of WFP Programs in Haiti, emphasized that vouchers are more than just a means to feed people: they are a breath of fresh air for the local economy.
“In this store alone, the owner employs eight more people for these distributions. In this part of Petit Goâve there are five other stores that employ a total of 40 people, mostly women and young people. It is not only good for the recipients, but also for the local traders and producers in the city,” explained Mr. Nkwambi.
At the same time, WFP employs day laborers for logistics, generating additional income for local families. This approach benefits everyone and transforms aid into an engine for economic recovery.
According to the WFP, placing dignity and choice at the center of the intervention demonstrates that humanitarian assistance can be synonymous with resilience for the Haitian people.
“Thanks to the distribution of food vouchers, we will not go hungry in the coming weeks and we have the opportunity to start rebuilding our lives,” said Ketia, as she loaded her purchases into a motorcycle taxi and headed back to her family.