Summer News 2022: Facing Food Insecurity in Pignon
Facing Food Insecurity in Pignon by Darling Seriphin
It is once again our great joy to share with you about the daily situation here in the community of Pignon, Haiti.
In the media, there is constant news about the state of life for the Haitian people. But we want to tell you that the diet of many families is going from bad to worse. For this reason, Pierre Pido, an entrepreneur residing in Pignon, married (a wife and a little girl), invests in the field of printing and stationery and he considers it of capital importance to support for a few days around 200 families. With the great support of our Loving Haiti, Pierre Pido had the chance to distribute 200 cards. (“Cards” or tickets are given to individuals/families, and must be presented in order to receive the food ration. This system helps insure that as many people are served as possible without redundancy. See photo, below.) 250 families were able to receive food kits who are not able to meet their daily nutritional needs. (see the link to the food distribution video, below)
PidoFoodDistribution-2022-07-17
Note that: “300 families used to receive a kit but nowadays with the scarcity and the increase in price of products, the amount received (i.e., $ 1,000.00 US from Loving Haiti) is not worth the same as in the past. It is described above on the receipt of the kits” declared Pierre Pido.
The families were all happy to share it and so we shout, “THANK YOU, THANK YOU for this support”. This helps us more and we will spend a few days without headaches, according to the representatives of these families.
In terms of infrastructure, lately, the Pignon community has suffered greatly from a drinking water problem. Because of the maintenance services at the level of the Haiti Outreach system, which moreover does not yet have the capacity to distribute water to all households, the city suffers enormously. Apart from this difficulty, know that we are in summer. The heat, as in many countries of the world has reached its climax, no torrential rain to alter our lands. More than one believes that this problem will be solved in the coming days, but so far, it persists.
It’s the summer vacation period, of course, but people can’t enjoy this period. Were it not for the organization of football tournaments, people would not be entitled to any leisure. There are holidays, yes, but it does not feel like it.
July is coming to an end and August is not yet clear from all points of view (month which announces the reopening of classes/new academic year). Local and national authorities, citizens must act accordingly to overcome these difficulties, which are enormous and far-reaching, while hoping that everything will be better.
Translated from French by Lauren Thompson.