Haiti Earthquake Anniversary: Rebuilding, Recovery and Renewal

Haiti Earthquake Anniversary: Rebuilding, Recovery and Renewal

January 12th, 2014 marks the fourth anniversary of the earthquake which devastated Haiti. When the earthquake struck, Global Communities had been working in partnership with Haitian communities since 2006 implementing a large-scale program that promoted stability by creating jobs and rehabilitating much-needed infrastructure. In response to the earthquake, Global Communities began implementing projects to help communities rebuild their lives and livelihoods. These projects focused on large-scale rubble removal, restoring livelihoods through cash-for-work or cash-for-production activities, construction of transitional shelters and repairing permanent homes, urban planning and neighborhood rebuilding.
Below is a summary of Global Communities response in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, during the recovery period and what we continue to do today with the earthquake-affected communities that are still working to rebuild.

Immediate Earthquake Response and Recovery (January 2010 – April 31, 2012)

With funding from USAID, Global Communities launched a major recovery program immediately after the earthquake that focused on large-scale rubble removal and recycling, cash-for-work, construction of transitional shelters and a new type of disaster response using a neighborhood approach.
Our programs achieved the following:

90,000 total beneficiaries

1,000,000 cubic meters of rubble removed from affected areas – the approximate volume of the Empire State Building

20,715 Haitian people employed through cash-for-work and cash-for-production projects

4,830 transitional shelters built in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Cabaret and Petit-Goave

550 households helped through the Host Family Assistance Program

Rebuilding a Neighborhood (November 20, 2010 – April 31, 2012)

As part of an integrated approach, Global Communities and partner PCI implemented the groundbreaking USAID-funded Katye urban reconstruction program in the neighborhood of Ravine Pintade, in Port-au-Prince.
This program achieved the following:

1,930 internally displaced people were able to return to their neighborhood.

630 houses were built or repaired

7,900 feet of retaining walls now stabilize the ravine’s slope

8,000 feet of drainage pipes have been buried

1,892 square meters of public space was created – including wider footpaths and community parks

 23 shared septic tanks and 100 flush-bucket toilets were installed
To learn more about Katye program, please read In One of Haitian Capital’s Roughest Neighborhoods, a Pretty Good Second Chance by David Brown, published in the Washington Post on August 18th 2012. 

Current Programming: Reconstruction Project for Disadvantaged Areas (September 2012 – Present)

Building on the success of the completed program in Ravine Pintade, the World Bank funded Reconstruction Project for Disadvantaged Areas program operates in Nazon, Christ the King and Poupelard neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince and focuses on rebuilding in compact, urban neighborhoods.
During the program we are:

Repairing 1,000 pre-existing houses

Constructing 100-200 new apartments

Building roads within and between neighborhoods

Laying pipes to improve drainage and sanitation 
Reconstruction Before and After Photos
To view more reconstruction photos visit the Haiti Earthquake Anniversay album on our Facebook page.