Through a combination of grants from Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, American Jewish World Service, Child Relief International, and Grapes for Humanity/US, BRAC will soon be opening a Limb and Brace Center in Haiti. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that the number injured by the January 12th earthquake in Haiti earthquake is between 200,000 and 250,000 people. The number of people who needed amputations as a result of their injuries is estimated to be between 2,000 and 4,000. BRAC has over a decade of experience running a limb and brace center in Bangladesh and will leverage that knowledge to provide low cost ICRC approved prosthetic and orthotic services to 1,500 Haitians in the first year of operations.
For those who are too poor even to benefit from microfinance loans, BRAC has a special program providing the ultra poor with a pathway out of poverty. Instead of giving these women loans, BRAC gives them assets: a cow, chickens, seeds, fabric for sewing, etc. depending on the livelihood they want to pursue. We provide them with training and extra support, like feed and vaccinations, and visit them every week to check on the progress of their new business and make sure they’re able to meet their basic needs.