DAVID TERESHCHUK
United Methodist Committee on Relief
Haitian families uprooted by the 2010 earthquake, and largely unreached by earlier humanitarian efforts, are now getting new homes thanks to their own labors and assistance from UMCOR and its partners in Haiti.
Nearly six years after Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake killed a quarter of a million people and displaced 1.5 million from their homes, UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and partner Church World Service (CWS), have been working in unreached communities to rehouse homeless families. The agencies are centering their efforts on serving residents of camps for displaced persons in Boen and Ganthier, not far from the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
UMCOR already has supported the construction of nearly 200 new homes, in partnership with CWS and Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas, a local organization that originated in neighboring Dominican Republic.
But the new permanent residences—which replace some of the many tents that have sheltered survivors since the earthquake—are being built in large part by their future occupants.
The houses are made of concrete blocks, and constructed in full accordance with accepted standards for earthquake and hurricane resistance. Right from the start, community participation has been emphasized and required for the entire process.
Margot DeGreef, CWS’s country representative in Haiti explained: “People actively join in the construction work for their house, by for example carrying materials, mixing mortar, carrying water, preparing food for the crew, etcetera. In addition, they give a financial contribution to buy sand and other materials.”
A telling example of such participation is Marie Josette Joseph, a 52-year old mother of 4 daughters. After their rented home was completely destroyed in the earthquake, they went to live in the Boen camp. Now Marie and her children live in a sturdy new home that she helped build.
“Marie was involved in every step of the process for the building of her home. It was so fascinating to see how she had learned so much about construction.”
With her new skills-set, Marie became an employee of the project. “I am now a monitor,” she said. “It is my task to oversee how the construction work is progressing with new building, open the warehouse, and distribute materials.”
She was also well-placed, Dessources observed, to help her fellow survivors as they too went through the process of home-building.
“Marie could visit other beneficiaries,” said Dessources, “and was able to explain in non-technical terms the reasons behind any issue that anyone was experiencing with their home. For all intents and purposes, she had become an “engineer!””
“In doing this job, I am able to put something into the project, as all of us benefiting from it need to do,” Marie said.
“I’m very grateful to all the supporters of the project, and I look forward to other people still on the waiting-list getting their new houses too.”
Your gift to UMCOR Sustainable Recovery and Development, Advance #3021951 strengthens communities through long-term recovery following disasters and transitions into sustainable development.
Last Updated on January 11, 2023