A mass registration exercise for Haitians displaced by the January
12 earthquake is rolling out across Port-au-Prince's most congested
settlements, as part of a major strategic push to ensure safe
shelter before the rains.

IOM is coordinating international efforts to support the
government-led initiative, both conducting its own operations and
also working with other partners.

The aim of the exercise is to identify where the residents of
the largest post-earthquake settlements come from, and to explore
future options – including facilitating a return to their
home areas, helping host families to accommodate them, improving
conditions in ad hoc settlements, and the planning and
establishment of new sites.

Data from the first of the mass registration exercise – at
the Champ de Mars Park by Haiti's destroyed presidential palace
– is now fully processed, providing detailed information on
4,943 families. One hundred and eighty home streets have been
identified and maps submitted to partners involved in site
assessments, debris removal and other urgent actions.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has registered 8,000 families at
the Petionville Golf club, and IOM completed registration last week
of 9,348 families in Port-au-Prince's old military airfield –
known as aviation.

Preparations are underway in IOM to register a further 5,000
families in four different sites later this week. However, the
precise locations will not be announced until the registration
begins, in order to maintain security and prevent a "pull" of new
families to those sites.

IOM's first new planned site is due to be formally opened on
March 13. It will host 200 families in tents provided by the
Government of Colombia. The camp is a joint project of the Haitian
and Dominican Civil Defence organizations, and water and sanitation
will be coordinated by the aid agency Oxfam.

Work to identify sites exposed to floods and landslides
continues. An assessment carried out by IOM in the 21 congested
priority sites shows that 3,000 of the people living in four camps
located on the Vallée de Bourdon (by the Bois de
Chène river) are at high risk of flooding from heavy rain
and the accumulation of rubble in river beds.

Meanwhile, during the first week of March, six five-member IOM
psychosocial teams (comprising team leaders, psychologists, social
workers, artistic animators, and educators) visited 23 sites, in
order to prepare for the launch of IOM's Swedish-funded
psychosocial support programme.

Opening days are now planned in several sites and will involve
shows organized in association the national dance association
"Tchaka Dance". Eighteen animators (six teams of three
animators each) from Tchaka Dance will accompany the six IOM
psychosocial mobile teams on the field. An estimated 5,000
individuals will participate in the ceremonies, which are intended
to mobilize communities through culture and craft.

IOM will also mobilize several small community kite-crafting
groups. Kite-flying is a traditional and popular activity during
this time of year, and makeshift simple kites can already be seen
flying throughout Port-au-Prince.

For more information, please contact:

Mark Turner

IOM Port-au-Prince

Tel +509.3702 5066

      +509.3490 6678

Email: "mailto:mturner@iom.int">mturner@iom.int