Emily's Message & a Report from the Field
It's been 3 months since the earthquake hit Haiti. At 4:53 pm on January 12th, it took only 35 seconds to destroy lives, homes, communities. 35 seconds of one of the worst disasters in global history. Remember your blessings.
The American Refugee Committee puts relief experts on the ground and hires locals to get things done. ARC manages 2 settlements of +20,000 people. The rainy season is starting and we have just been asked to build shelters for an additional 3,000 families living in the rubble near our camp in Port-au-Prince. If we don’t help them, no one will.
I'm trying to raise money to buy at least 3 of the shelters -- they cost $1,000 each and can shield a family from the elements for 3 to 5 years. The shelters are 192 square feet, earthquake resistant, and built to resist termites, fungus, rot and heavy winds. We have shelter experts and plenty of Haitians who desperately want to work -- we just need money for materials.
Here's a report from our field director, Joe Bock
If we do not provide shelters for these families, they will be out in the elements…the rain will bring mosquitoes, insects, and rats. Malaria and dengue will spread from mosquitoes. Waterborne diseases like cholera will spread.
If they live outside the camp, people often go to the bathroom near rubble or trees…when it rains, open sewage will be a problem. Many people have made shelters out of whatever they can find: boards and corrugated metal; if hurricanes are severe, these building materials will become projectiles and cause lacerations and other injuries. And with the incoming rains, there are two other dangers: 1) mudslides, as some of the land here is terraced, and 2) fire, as people are used to cooking indoors…when it rains, people will cook inside their temporary shelters made out of wood and plastic…fire will be a real issue. We need to continue educating the people about this danger.
With our plan to build transitional shelters, three people can complete a shelter in one day. The shelters are earthquake resistant and can withstand a hurricane. The wood we will use is termite resistant. The shelters should last 3-5 years.
People want to work. We have already engaged more than 200 Haitians in our activities and plan to hire hundreds more. We plan to have about 12 carpentry teams. These people need jobs! People here have lost loved ones and friends, they end up living in a shack…and due to circumstances beyond their control, they have no way to provide for themselves and their families. Let’s put these people to work; we need to put tools in their hands. The people of Haiti are amazingly resilient, unbelievably generous, and desperate to do something. They want to get back to work.
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