A stream of women carry stones in their hands and heads as they descend a creek on a hillside in southern Haiti. They are bringing in rocks so their community can build barriers that slow the flow of water through this verdant valley and protect the land, so important to this rural farming community, from eroded.
Barricade construction workers include women and men from vulnerable communities in one of three areas on Haiti’s southern peninsula that was affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake magnitude on August 14, 2021.
More than 2,200 people died in the disaster and more than 137,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, as well as hospitals, schools and critical transportation infrastructure, including roads and bridges.
Just down the valley, another team of about 36 people was working hard to clear the way. They are being paid around 500 Haitian gourmets (about $5) for a 4-5 hour day and will spend 20 working days improving their community.
UN Haiti / Daniel Dickinson
Road reclamation work was carried out by people living in Laurent, southern Haiti.
Support vulnerable people
“The money I earn helps me pay for food, school and other family needs,” says Tesse Medgune. “Many families lost their livelihood because of the earthquake so this helps us to survive.”
Hillside and valley road restoration work supported by the World Food Program (WFP) and is part of the Haitian government’s effort to improve the resilience of vulnerable people threatened by natural disasters. Many of these people are also supported to improve their food production and nutrition.
There are 16 similar teams in this immediate area and many more across Haiti’s southern peninsula, where the earthquake caused the most damage.
“The money people make is important in the short term to help them get through the tough post-earthquake period,” says Sophia Toussaint of WFP, but it is also crucial to their long-term future. Protecting hillsides prevents soil erosion and makes farmers less prone to crop loss due to natural disasters; there is a good path that allows the product to be brought to market more easily,” she added. “It also means that aid can be distributed more efficiently and people can go to the hospital if there is another earthquake.”
Jerry Chandler is the Director General of Haiti’s Civil Protection. “We have worked closely with our international partners, including the United Nations, to ensure that our disaster response is stronger. So we are planning for another disaster but also making sure the impact is mitigated. ”
A year after the earthquake, the United Nations continues to support communities across the three hardest-hit areas: Grand Anse, Nippes and Sud. About 26,200 people have left their uninhabitable homes, and most have been living in 85 temporary relocation sites.
UN Haiti / Daniel Dickinson
Roslaine Jeantine sold a goat to pay for the installation of a new roof.
Most have now returned home, including Roslaine Jeantine and her three sons. The roof of her small house in the commune of Laurent, on the outskirts of the city of Les Cayes, collapsed in the earthquake, injuring her eldest son’s leg. However, the walls remained in place, and she was encouraged to return home with the assistance of a roof-building kit provided by the International Organization for Migration (International Organization for Migration).IOM).
Ms Jeantine said: “I sold my goat to pay for two carpenters to install my new roof. “I still panic when I hear a loud noise, thinking it could be another earthquake, but I know that this roof is very well made and will protect me and my family from bad weather. “.
IOM has distributed about 100 kits in Laurent, including everything a family needs to build a roof; wood, tin plate, nails and more. In total, about 500 were distributed throughout the earthquake-affected area to the most vulnerable families.
UN Haiti / Daniel Dickinson
The walls in Roslaine Jeantine’s home withstood the August 2021 earthquake, but not the roof.
“These roofs are important not only because they provide shelter,” says Jean Gardy Saint Juste of IOM, “they also empower families to make their own decisions about how to repair their homes and thereby rebuild them,” says Jean Gardy Saint Juste of IOM. their life. In this sense, they are creating resilience to future disasters with little support from the IOM.”
As houses are re-roofed and roads repaired with stone, UN agencies are still working in three parts, providing needed services, but also creating spaces for community. community to make decisions about how best to protect themselves when the next disaster strikes. .
