{Reflections on a week Haiti, from the perspective of a Habitat
for Humanity volunteer partnering with the Santo community
of Léogâne to build 100 homes in less than a week.}
2,000,000. Families
devastated by the 2010 earthquake and its aftermath.
1,000,000. People
resettled due to damages related to the earthquake.
400,000. Survivors
that remain homeless or displaced in Haiti today.
600. Determined
Habitat for Humanity & Haven volunteers.
100. Beautiful
new homes for happy Haitian families.
Building Hope. Of the many overwhelming feelings experience while in Haiti, the
prevailing one is hope. Beyond the pain, the loss, the tents, the trash,
the rubble, the living conditions, the devastation, there is a sliver of
opportunity. Upon arrival to the Santo community, where Habitat for
Humanity has now built over 250 homes, a new energy appears, a sense of new
beginnings... and an aura of hope.
 |
With AARPCVs Marie Pearson
Shockley & Willie Wilkerson.
|
 |
Armed with a tool bag, helmet, &
other Carter Work Project gear,
I set out to meet 600 volunteers
for a week of intense construction.
|
The preparations for this project began long
before the journey. In the spring of this year, fellow Atlanta Area
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (AARPCV) Willie Wilkerson (spoke to our
membership about his efforts in Haiti with Habitat for Humanity in 2011. Willie
has participated in 27 Carter Work Projects, remaining dedicated to the
mission. I was so inspired by Habitat's efforts in Haiti, I returned home
to submit my volunteer application for the build! Over the next 5 months,
I raised $5,000 to support construction efforts and build hope... this is the
story of the resulting impact.
 |
| Deplaning the charter... first steps in Haiti. |
At the airport, we had our
first view of the countryside before boarding the buses for Léogâne, a two-hour affair though only 20
miles outside of the capital. The journey to the campsite was our
only first-hand glimpse into life in Port-au-Prince, home to nearly 2 million
residents. Destruction sneers from every
corner. Buildings remaining demonstrate
every level of damages: some are leveled to nothing but piles of rubble, while
others show recognizable pieces of walls and roofs that resemble a shadow of
the original structure. Still others are
left standing – a term I use loosely – though clearly unsafe, uninhabitable,
and abandoned.
 |
| Common sights... piles of rubble and broken buildings. |
The Haitian capital remains a busy, populated
city. Vendors are everywhere selling anything
they can, from sugarcane to second-hand clothes to used car parts, though no
one seems to be buying. The streets are
littered with debris, as are the waterways.
People search through large mounds of burning trash, hoping to
find…? Then come the shelter slums,
stretches of tents and temporary structures, built with tree branches, tarps,
tin roofing, plastic bags, or anything else on hand, that stand amid the
make-shift markets and piles of trash.
They seem endless, disjointed row after row of housing, all running
together in a sobering public display of poverty.
 |
| Though much improved, thousands still remain in desolate tent camps that dominate the city. |
While this journey exhibited the worst of the
housing crisis in Haiti, it also provided the impulse to strike back and make
the situation better. After this
impactful ride, we arrived in Léogâne
more determined than ever.
