The staff of the EIB Group (European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund) and the EIB have rallied together to aid Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, collecting a total of EUR 250 000 which was transferred symbolically on Tuesday to the representatives of six NGOs working in Haiti.

Last October, Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, devastated Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, killing more than 900 people and destroying almost 200 000 homes. Almost 1.5 million people were affected by the hurricane, including 350 000 who needed emergency assistance.

In an effort coordinated by the EIB Institute, EIB staff and the EIB rapidly raised EUR 250 000 which was donated to six NGOs operating in Haiti.

This amount was shared equally between Handicap International (Luxembourg), Care (Luxembourg), Médecins du Monde (Luxembourg), Croix-Rouge luxembourgeoise, Welthungerhilfe (Germany) and SOS Village d’Enfants Monde (Luxembourg).

This Tuesday, EIB Vice-President Pim van Ballekom, responsible for the EIB Institute, handed over token cheques for EUR 41 666 to the representatives of the NGOs, in the presence of the Advisor to the EU Diplomatic Mission in Haiti. The NGOs presented the measures undertaken with these funds.

The EIB Group has already organised similar operations in the past following other humanitarian disasters such as the earthquakes in Ecuador, Nepal and Italy.