Habitat for Humanity HaitiHabitat for Humanity Haiti -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Mission
Habitat for Humanity Haiti works in partnership with God and people from all walks of life, to develop communities with people of low income by building and renovating houses, so that each person has adequate housing in their community, living and growing in all that God proposes.
History
Habitat for Humanity has 26 years of experience serving families in Haiti. It has provided more than 2,000 families with housing solutions (1,794 of which are new homes) through a variety of initiatives including projects for new home construction, progressive building, and home improvements. It also builds capacity in construction skills, disaster mitigation and financial literacy, and works in coordination with community and government actors.
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Hurricane-damaged homes in Gonaives
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Devastation of the 2008 hurricane season
Between August 9 and September 7 of 2008, tropical storms and hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike consecutively pummeled Haiti.
In Gonaives, Haiti’s second largest city with a population of 500,000, flood waters reached the ten foot mark. A total of 3,735 homes were destroyed or damaged in Gonaives alone. Compounding the situation, bridges and roads into the Gonaives area were washed out, and reliable land access has only recently been reestablished.
Vulnerability to disaster
Families living in inadequate housing are more vulnerable to disasters, which happen often, since Haiti sits right on the hurricane path in the Caribbean. A total of 15 severe tropical storms or hurricanes have hit Haiti in the last 14 years. Habitat for Humanity is helping to rebuild after the hurricanes of 2008, as well as mitigate future disasters, utilizing hurricane-resistant home designs.
Model projects
Habitat for Humanity Haiti supports several initiatives, in addition to traditional home construction.
Incremental improvements for homes damaged by tropical storms and hurricanes.
In Haiti, people build incrementally over a period of several years—often up to 10 or 20 years. Loans from Habitat can help families to improve the structure of their home and their quality of life, including essential repairs and improvements (roofs, walls, floors, water/sanitation and latrines). House completions are also made possible through small loans by allowing families to make the investment to finish construction.
New core homes
In Haiti, the core housing unit replicates the traditional Haitian practice of building incrementally, beginning with the basics and progressing with additions over time. This also allows Habitat to reach more families through a subsidized solution in the short-term, with the option of integrating them into the Habitat loan program in the future. The 20 square meter core housing unit consists of one or two rooms, and exceeds the Sphere standards of living space for five people (the average Haitian family size). Core homes also include a separate sanitation structure with a latrine and shower.
Building and Training Centers
Habitat is providing vocational training, facilitating jobs in the construction sector, and supporting construction-related small enterprises through Building and Training Centers (BTC) in Gonaives and Cap-Haitien. The project is supported by an USAID sub-grant for US$900,000 through CHF International and Habitat for Humanity International, and with additional support from the Saje Foundation.
Training in disaster preparedness and mitigation
Disaster mitigation and prevention training in coordination with local government (Civil Defense), community groups and other non-profit organizations such as World Vision, is a key element in reducing families’ vulnerability to disasters—potentially saving lives. Habitat has partnered with Civil Defense in Cabaret, Haiti to provide this training to families.
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How can you help?
Your support is needed to help Haitians recover from disaster and have a secure home to shelter them from future storms. Every donation counts.
In Haiti, US$200,000 donation from your family, church, foundation or company would help to either provide 50 Haitian families who lost their homes with new core homes (US$4,000 each), or help an estimated 150 families whose homes were damaged with needed home repairs (average price per repair estimated at US$1,500).
A US$100,000 donation would provide 25 families with core home, or 50 families with home repairs.
A US$25,000 donation would provide 6 families with core homes, or 16 families with home repairs.
Donate any amount today, or contact kpearson@habitat.org.
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