The Al-Imdaad Foundation has sent a disaster response team to Haiti after Hurricane Matthew caused devastation across the southern peninsula of the country.

Hurricane Matthew was the worst hurricane to hit Haiti in decades, with wind speeds of over 230 km/h bringing torrential rainfall and 16 metre high waves. In the southern peninsula of the country, the levels of destruction were overwhelming. Whole towns were completely flooded with some areas up to 90 percent destroyed.

Despite this, Al-Imdaad Foundation Trustee, Qari Ziyaad Patel said that the foundation was confident about the mission as it had extensive experience in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Americas and was still recovering from 2010’s devastating earthquake when Hurricane Matthew struck. Tens of thousands of houses, civilian infrastructure, schools and large swathes of cropland have been decimated by Matthew. And the widespread flooding has pushed Haiti’s overburdened sanitation networks to breaking point. This has led to cases of cholera rising by 50 percent within a few days of the hurricane.

Al-Imdaad Foundation‘s Project Co-ordinator, Zubair Vallimulla, is leading the response team. He said that they had reached large numbers of people in areas that have not received food aid for up to two weeks.

“Our teams have been on the ground assisting thousands of families with food aid and water purification tablets,” said Mr Vallimulla.

This aid comes at a time when well over 800 000 are extremely food insecure according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Mr Vallimulla described how people were so desperate for food that they fought amongst themselves in lines. This situation has made UN Policing of aid distributions necessary.

“There are people fighting for food, fighting one another, hurting each other, queuing up waiting. People who have been waiting since morning, but because of the terrain the trucks are taking much longer,” Mr Vallimulla stated.

Besides the need for food aid, cholera has become a serious concern. As of October 18, over 1 421 suspected cholera cases have been reported in Haiti following Hurricane Matthew. Mr Vallimulla said: “We are seriously concerned about an epidemic of cholera, and that’s why we are supporting the Ministry of Health to take all measures possible to avoid this.” Hafez Abdussamad Mulla, Country Director for Al-Imdaad Foundation UK was clear that the organisation is doing its best to help all victims. “We are helping everyone, I have just spoken to our team and they are working around the clock,” said Mr Mulla.

He explained that the foundation was also looking to rebuild destroyed homes: “We also aim to rebuild homes so if anyone would like to donate, they can do so.”

The Al-Imdaad Foundation says that it will continue to provide aid to displaced families and victims of the hurricane.

Donors can help the Al-Imdaad Foundation response by sponsoring lifesaving food parcels and water purification kits. The parcels contain essential staples and emergency foods to help sustain victims for around a month. For more information or to contribute to this project please call 0861 786 243 or visit www.alimdaad.com