Building a more resilient post-earthquake future in Haiti — Global Issues

A line of girls carry rocks within the palms and on their heads as they descend to a gully on the facet of a hill in southern Haiti. They’re bringing the rocks so their group can construct limitations which is able to decelerate the stream of water throughout this verdant valley and defend the land, which is so essential to this rural farming group, from erosion.

The personnel constructing the limitations is made up of ladies and men from susceptible communities in one in every of three departments throughout Haiti’s southern peninsula which have been hit by a harmful 7.2 magnitude earthquake on 14 August, 2021.

Greater than 2,200 individuals died within the catastrophe and over 137,000 properties have been destroyed or broken, in addition to hospitals, faculties and key transport infrastructure, together with roads and bridges.

Simply down the valley, one other staff of round 36 individuals is working laborious at clearing the highway. They’re being paid some 500 Haitian gourdes (round $5) for a 4-5 hour day and can spend 20 days working to enhance their group.

Help for susceptible individuals

“The cash I earn helps me to pay for meals, college and different family wants,” says Tesse Medgune. “Many households misplaced their livelihood due to the earthquake so this helps us to outlive.”

The rehabilitation work on the facet of the hill and valley highway is supported by the World Meals Programme (WFP) and is a part of a Haitian authorities effort to enhance the resilience of susceptible people who find themselves threatened by pure disasters. Many of those individuals are additionally obtain assist to enhance meals manufacturing actions and their diet.  

There are 16 related groups in on this quick space and plenty of extra throughout the southern peninsula of Haiti the place the earthquake prompted most harm.

“The cash individuals have earned is essential within the short-term to get them by means of the troublesome post-earthquake interval,” says WFP’s Sophia Toussaint, ‘nevertheless it’s additionally essential to their longer-term future. Defending the hillside stops soil erosion and means farmers are much less prone to lose their crops in a pure catastrophe; having highway permits produce to be extra simply despatched to market” she provides. “It additionally implies that help will be delivered extra successfully, and folks can get to hospital if there may be one other earthquake.”

Jerry Chandler is the Director Basic of Haiti’s Civil Safety company. “We now have labored intently with our worldwide companions, together with the UN, to make sure that our catastrophe response is extra sturdy. So, we’re planning for the eventuality of one other catastrophe taking place but in addition guaranteeing that the affect is lessened.”

A yr on from the earthquake, the United Nations continues to assist communities all through the three most affected departments: Grand Anse, Nippes and Sud. Some 26,200 individuals fled their uninhabitable properties, and the bulk have been accommodated in 85 momentary displacement websites.

A majority have now returned house together with Roslaine Jeantine and her three sons. The roof of her small house within the commune of Laurent simply outdoors the town of Les Cayes, collapsed within the earthquake injuring the leg of her oldest son. Nevertheless, the partitions remained in place, and she or he was inspired to return house with the assist of a roof constructing package supplied by the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM).

“I offered my goat to pay for 2 carpenters to put in my new roof,” says Ms. Jeantine. “I nonetheless really feel panicked once I hear a loud noise, considering it could possibly be one other earthquake, however I do know that this roof is nicely made and can defend me and my household from dangerous climate.”

IOM has distributed round 100 kits in Laurent, which embrace the whole lot a household must construct a roof; wooden, tin sheets, nails and extra. In whole, some 500 have been distributed throughout the earthquake-affected space to probably the most susceptible households.

“These roofs are essential not simply because they supply shelter,” says IOM’ s Jean Gardy Saint Juste, “in addition they empower households to make their very own selections about methods to restore their homes and thus rebuild their lives. On this sense they’re creating their very own resilience to future disasters with a bit assist from IOM.”

As homes are rebuilt roof by roof, and roads repaired stone by stone, UN businesses are nonetheless working within the three departments, offering a lot wanted providers, but in addition creating house for communities to make selections about how greatest to guard themselves when the subsequent catastrophe strikes.