Families at eight churches in Haiti have received clothing and footwear donated by the Bermudian public.

Almost 9,000lbs of donations were sent to the Church of God Liberated in St Raphael earlier this month after Bermudian Natalie Simmons organised a charity drive.

“The report is that the people are so happy,” Ms Simmons said. “I would guess that there were at least 100 families that would have benefited in total.”

Hurricane Matthew tore through the impoverished nation, which is still recovering from a devastating earthquake in 2010, on October 4, sparking a humanitarian crisis.

According to Ms Simmons, the donations went to five of the Churches of God, four of which were in remote areas, and three other churches. She said the people had thanked the Bermudian public, The Royal Gazette, Steve Thompson, of Mailboxes Unlimited, and Caribbean manager of DHL, Rob Brown, and his staff. She said they “both were instrumental in the collection, boxing and shipping of the 9,000lbs of clothing to Haiti free of charge”.

“Without their agreement and help, this would not have been possible.”