Aid worker stories
Providing shelter to Haiti's displaced
Following the devastating earthquake which struck Haiti on 12 January 2010, long-term RedR Member Simon Bird was deployed as part of emergency relief organisation Medair’s shelter team to the city of Jacmel, close to the epicentre of the quake.
Simon started his assignment on 1 February, after an initial needs assessment highlighted the urgent need for shelter in Jacmel and the surrounding rural areas, where an estimated 80 per cent of buildings and infrastructure were destroyed, leaving thousands of Haitians displaced and without homes.
As an experienced Shelter Coordinator, Simon worked with the Shelter Cluster to improve coordination between different ‘actors’ involved in the large-scale emergency shelter response. The involved making assessment visits to Jacmel and rural areas affected by the quake to assess the damage, attending Cluster Coordinator meetings and, with the project team, writing a proposal for a one year shelter strategy for the city.
Simon and his team were also involved in other activities, as he explains:
“We helped design and determine costs for different shelter solutions. The Medair project mainly focused on providing transitional shelters, designed to offer emergency shelter but capable of being transformed into permanent dwellings. It also involved assisting with repairs of damaged buildings, mainly in rural areas. As part of this it was necessary to appreciate the local building technique, which actually makes good use of locally available materials - a timber frame in-filled with stone and mud mortar, sometimes reinforced with wood where this is readily available. In addition, I helped train national staff to in turn train local communities to build back better.”
The most fulfilling assignment so far
With a background in geotechnical engineering, Simon has extensive experience both as a Construction Manager on overseas development projects and a Shelter Coordinator on disaster relief responses. Working with Medair, he has undertaken assignments in countries such as Iraq and Indonesia to build shelters and health clinics.
Simon, who has undertaken Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) training with RedR, found the work he undertook in Haiti highly varied and rewarding, commenting: ““This has been the most fulfilling of all my assignments. I started at an early stage in the project cycle, and so had the opportunity to shape the project and set things up.”
“Positive aspects have been the willingness of Haitians to self-help, their warmth and friendliness, their appreciation of help given, as well as recruiting well motivated and qualified local staff,” he adds.
Challenges ahead
Aid workers in Haiti have faced numerous challenges in the aftermath of the quake. According to Simon, one of the main issues was to design repairs for damaged, but not collapsed, building in rural areas. “It was necessary to consider and appreciate local building techniques, which actually make good use of local materials,” he explains.
Furthermore, a number of factors contributed to what Simon sees as an initially slow response across the country in providing shelters to the 1.2 million internally displaced. This includes huge difficulties in clearing the tons of rubble from collapsed and damaged buildings. A combination of factors, including land ownership and questions over who owns the rubble - which has become a valuable commodity in itself - makes this a contentious issue. Although progress is being made, it is estimated that it will take more than three years to clear the remaining debris and rubble.
The earthquake had a devastating impact on national infrastructure, it is estimated that 60 per cent of public and government buildings were destroyed or damaged in the quake. The national government also suffered significant casualties, loosing staff and resources, as did major international agencies including the United Nations in-country mission.
Although significant progress is being made and local communities are receiving support, there is much left to be done in order to help the country recover. According to the Inter-American
Development Bank, rebuilding Port au Prince and the surrounding areas will take approximately 10 years and cost around 14 billion dollars.
“The key challenge is for those in position of authority to coordinate and use wisely the large amounts of relief funding that have been made available” says Simon, as well as “for them to choose implementing partners wisely to make sure the assistance brings about lasting benefits and change”.
Photo Credits:
1. Rachel Searle
2. Paul Jawor
