Faces of Recovery: Rediscovering our Dignity

Miguelina Jean is a 52 -year-old mother of 3 children and an orphaned niece. She sells dried fish and vegetables by the roadside and is one of those affected by the August earthquake in Grand'Anse.

“After the earthquake, I was staying at the assembly point of the Notre Dame du Mont Carmel Pointe Sable Catholic parish where other displaced people were also located. At first it was very tough because we weren't getting any assistance, or at least not everyone was being helped at the same time. This led to tensions between displaced people during food and other distributions. We were already under a lot of stress because of the earthquake.

But I was able to return home after 65 days, after clearing and coordination activities carried out by the UN (UNDP and OCHA), the Town Hall and local organizations with the help of local communities.

Although much remains to be done to allow the displaced people who remained in tents in the temporary sites to regain their dignity when they return home, I am very grateful for the support provided by humanitarian organizations working in the department of Grand'Anse which supported us.”