Hurricane Matthew survivors gathered in churches across Haiti on Sunday for funerals and to pray for much-needed aid.
Thousands of kilometres away, members of Montrealâs Haitian community attended a special Sunday mass. It capped off a devastating week in their home country that has killed at least 900 people and left thousands with nothing.
âA tree fell on my motherâs house,â one church-goer told CTV Montreal. âShe is okay but the house was destroyed.â
His mother is among more than one million Haitians affected by Hurricane Matthew. Roughly 350,000 are in desperate need of assistance, Haitiâs government estimates.
The Canadian government has set aside $4.58 million in humanitarian aid for Haiti and other affected Caribbean countries. That amount includes $300,000 for the Red Cross to provide emergency care and $280,000 for drinking water and child-friendly hygiene kits.
Much of the federal aid is earmarked to help Haiti deal with Matthewâs aftermath. About $1.3 million will go towards containing diseases like cholera, which has killed 13 people in the latest outbreak.
"When lots of people are crowded together in a place not set up for that kind of thing, there's alwasy risk of disease transmission so we're looking at the risk of cholera breaking out,â Laura Sewell, assistant country director of Care Haiti, told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ from Port Au Prince.
Quebec is home to approximately 119,000 Haitians and its provincial government has donated half a million to relief efforts. The City of Montreal has donated $60,000.
The Canadian military is on standby and ready to deploy if asked, but sources say the Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, is unlikely to be sent because there is no shortage of aid already in Haiti. The real challenge now is delivering supplies to the remote areas where they are so desperately needed.
Minister of International Relations and Francophonie Christine St-Pierre said several Quebec-based organizations are working in difficult conditions to help address victimsâ basic needs.
St-Pierre said Haiti is a priority for Quebec in terms of international solidarity.
âWe need to be making sure people are aware that people know whatâs going on in Haiti and if you are able to help if its only one dollar if one million people give one dollar it's still $1 million,â said one man outside the Montreal church.
Donations to the Red Cross can be made by calling 1-800-418-1111 or online at
- With a report from CTV Montrealâs Amanda Kline and ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝â Mercedes Stephenson