- ATD Fourth World

To do this, our team, reinforced by ten local young people, invested a great deal of energy. A first step was that of counting the number of families with children in that age group. Wearing ATD Fourth World t-shirts, about fifteen people went all over the district—going up to the far reaches of the area—to get to families whose tiny living spaces are perched on the steepest parts of the ravine. They met with nearly 3,500 families who spoke to them of sometimes feeling angry over being so abandoned. It was necessary to cover the same ground several times to make sure nobody was forgotten. The very active presence of the young Haitians, several of whom were from the neighborhood, was invaluable. During the distributions, these youths were able to share their knowledge of the families with members of AAH in order to help them modify their ways of doing things so that the maximum number of people could benefit from the program. Other neighborhood youths spontaneously came to offer their help during the distributions to make sure everything went smoothly.

Using computerized lists, the first distribution lasted nearly two weeks and reached about 3,000 families. The aid workers had to constantly compare the lists with the names of people in front of them, trying to understand the inevitable errors due namely to the fact that most people are illiterate and without formal identification. People would therefore say their name to someone who would make an effort to write it down as he/she heard it. Later, a different person recorded the name, increasing the risk of error. On top of that, the local families sometimes gave different names in reference to different members of the family. ATD Fourth World’s team was constantly concerned that no one be left behind, without foregoing a certain orderliness without which chaos remained a great risk.

J., a youth from Grande Ravine, explained to the head staff member of AAH how he could count on safety created over many years. "We know of course that local leaders can have personal interests, that there can be power struggles. But our safety comes from the fact that for a very long time, the families—even if some of their members are connected to violent acts—have seen the volunteers, youth, and friends of ATD Fourth World come with this concern of being able to reach everyone and gather them together."

The dignity and patience of the families who must wait in line every day for hours in the sun is extremely impressive considering that many had to come back several days in a row because their names were not found the previous times. There was no violence or pushing. Irritation due to long waits and the need to come back several times was limited and never lasted long.

The general feeling is that of huge success. Out of some 3,300 families counted with children under age five, close to 3,000 have so far received nutritional supplements for their children. The two young members of the team who were born in the district and still have family there said with much intensity: "We did something extraordinary, we did something that had never been done in these neighborhoods… It’s the first time that people were reached by something that was aimed at everyone. We showed that it’s possible to reach people in the most remote and forgotten areas. Usually, the people high up on the hills, the farthest away, are always forgotten… Many people thought that, as usual, they would have nothing, that it wouldn’t work—but they did receive something, they saw that it was working. And it went well, that shows that it’s possible and that the neighborhood is worth more than its reputation."