Thoughts on Healing a Hurting World

Our departure from Port-au-Prince was delayed for three hours because of reports of demonstrations and three burned buses in Carrefour, an impoverished and poorly-serviced area of greater Port-au-Prince where up to 50% of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake.  In the end, once we were on the road, traffic was light and we didn't see any signs of trouble.

We arrived at the Parish of St. Mathieu near Léogâne.  The church building, brand new before the quake, will have to be condemned.  The school buildings are at least partially repairable and work is underway.  Oddly, the rectory, which is attached to the church and was built by the same methods at the same time, was unscathed.  Not even a broken window. 

 

Bishop Duracin greeted us at St. Mathieu and we met with the first group of families to receive keys to the first five provisional homes built in the last few days.

The families, all headed by women, were elated.  Most of the families were multi-generational and included six to eight small children.  All were selected on the basis of need by community disaster response committees.  Every family contributed something, aside from the land, to the construction of their new home — either labor and/or meals for the workers.

The houses are simple and dignified.  They exceed the minimum United Nations standards and are built on raised concrete foundations to mitigate the danger of flooding.  Although wooden, they are built to withstand moderate-to-severe hurricanes and high winds.  The homes are also much safer in an earthquake zone than concrete multi-story structures. They are expected to last up to 3 years, during which period the families are expected to reinforce and improve them. Each house also comes with a separate latrine and shower built on the property.
 

Granted, this is a small step, but a hugely welcome one by the looks on the faces of those to whom we handed over the keys.