Tag: progress

  • It is not about the tents

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    Cite Soleil–is this really any better than a tent?: Photo by Jordon Michael Zuniga

    When journalists discuss the progress of reconstruction in Haiti, they frequently
    cite the number of people still living in tents as an indication of how much
    work is left to be done. In the New York Times recent article about housing,
    Deborah Sontag wrote:

    Two and a half years after the earthquake, despite billions of dollars in reconstruction aid, the most obvious, pressing
    need — safe, stable housing for all displaced people — remains unmet.

    She later went on to state that 390,000 people
    that were displaced by the earthquake remain homeless.

    I do not dispute that 390,000 people still live
    in tents and that they live in terrible conditions. However, at least a million
    other people live in tin shacks in places like Cite Soliel. Their living
    conditions are no better than those who live in tents plus they have to pay
    rent for their shack.

    Living conditions for Haiti’s poorest were
    terrible before the earthquake. Many people moved into camps not because they
    lost their house, but because they did not have a decent house before the
    earthquake. I strongly agree that one of Haiti’s most pressing needs is for
    safe, stable housing. I hope that this is for all of Haiti’s poor—both urban
    and rural—and not just for those living in tents.

     

  • Signs of Progress in Haiti

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    I had a rare chance to get out today and see the good work that my team is doing. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day hassles of managing that I lose sight of the great changes that are happening around me. 

    Five weeks ago, I visited the Delmas 32 neighborhood. It was a tough visit. the area had been hard hit by the earthquake and still looked bad. Many of the roads were impassable and the area looked unlivable. I noticed a fire burning inside one of the buildings and made the mistake of asking what it was. I was told there was a body that they could not recover and were burning it. We put together a proposal to do demolish the buildings that were falling into the street and to remove the rubble from the roads. We were given a couple of grants to put 1,300 people to work in this neighborhood. We began working just over two weeks ago.

    A Delmas 32 street as it looked in February

    A month after the earthquake, the streets in Delmas 32 were still blocked by debris.

    The change that I saw today was incredible. The streets were filled with yellow and green shirted workers that were working hard to remove the debris. many sections of the streets were already cleared and many of the partially collapsed buildings had already been demolished. However, the most impressive change was in the people. As the workers moved through the neighborhoods, street vendors set up stalls and life returned to the neighborhood. 

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    Today's visit reminded me that we are making progress. Sure, we might end up rebuilding the chaos, Haiti might not have elections this year, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring. But we are working hard to recover from the worst disaster to ever hit the Americas. We might not have the answers, we are making life better. Petit à petit l'oiseau fait son nid–Little by little, the bird builds its nest