HOUSING THE HOMELESS

Single mom Maraseille Saintulise is ecstatic. She has just pushed open the door of her new home after she and her 11-year-old son, Etienne, spent almost a year sleeping rough following the collapse of their home after the massive earthquake on January 12, 2010.

Her joy has few boundaries. Her eyes are moist with tears, but her face could not be more radiant. A few onlookers peer in through the open door and listen with understanding smiles. They know what it is like to have slept out on the street and in flimsy shelters with no privacy. They know what it is like to live in tents that grow excruciatingly hot during the day and leak in the rain. They, too, have felt cramped and suffered fevers and skin rashes from constantly biting insects. They know what it is like to have lived in fear of hurricanes and cholera, with little protection against either. Indeed, about a million people in Port-au-Prince still suffer this way. So for them, Maraseille's reaction is perfectly comprehensible.

T-Shelters Offer Security

Maraseille entered her new home after a short ceremony. World Vision handed over a new batch of transitional shelters, known as "T-shelters," at Corail—a displacement camp 10 miles northeast of Port au Prince, sited on land set aside by the government to house some of the hundreds of thousands rendered homeless by the quake. The shelters feature a single room. Besides being more comfortable than tents, the T-shelters are considerably safer for those living in a hurricane-prone country. The shelter is anchored to a cement base and uses internal reinforced strapping, which means it can withstand wind speeds in excess of 100 mph. Although dubbed "transitional," the shelters are expected to last up to seven years.

World Vision shelter specialist Faith Chastain says community members were consulted on the design of the shelters. Among the enhancements they asked for were a porch on which to cook food and entertain visitors, an extra window for ventilation, and an additional door. "A lot of people wanted an extra door because they felt the only reason they survived the quake was because of a back door," Faith says.

Community members also had input in the layout of the shelters. They rejected a barracks-style layout of uniform rows in favor of one that angled the shelters in different ways to create a more neighborhood feel.

Faith says the close attention to planning and design has inevitably introduced delays in construction of the shelters, but the forethought will pay off in terms of their lifespan, comfort and practicality. "A lot of early shelters constructed in Haiti were closer to a tent than a transitional shelter," she says. "You can build quick or you can build strong, but you can't always do both."

World Vision is currently building about 20 shelters a week at Corail and expects to ramp up production to more than 60 a week soon. Ultimately, World Vision hopes to build more than 1,000 shelters at Corail to house more than 7,000 people.

"This is the first house I ever owned."

At the handover ceremony, World Vision community liaison officer Luckens Saint James thanks those moving into shelters for their patience, asks them to be considerate of neighbors and keep their shelter clean, and explains that they are responsible for any modifications.

Each signs a handover document explaining that they now own the property. For many, such as Maraseille, it is the first home they have owned in their lives and better than rooms they previously rented. Maraseille says the rented room she and Etienne lived in previously was only about two-thirds of the size of the T-shelter. It used to cost her 5,000 gourdes every six months.

"This is the first house I ever owned. God deserves all the glory for this moment," she says.

She will not miss living in a tent. The T-shelter has more space and is cooler. "The tent gave me headaches, sore eyes and pain in the back and hips from constantly bending," she says. "It was also near the toilets and you could smell them," she adds making a face.

Painfully shy and serious, Etienne clearly finds it much harder to express himself quite so forcefully. But the next morning he manages a sunny smile and plucks up enough courage to comment, "I slept well."

FEEDING THE HUNGRY IN CORAIL

The enormous plate of rice and beans looks as though it would satisfy the hearty appetite of a construction worker, but it takes hardly any time at all for Magdala Dauphin, a slender girl of 13, to consume more than half of it.

She explains that the midday meal at Corail camp, set up for thousands still homeless after Haiti's massive quake, is the first thing she has eaten all day.

"The food is really good here," she says.

She says that since the quake struck, her parents have struggled to find work and feed their nine children. "They maybe have had one or two weeks of contract work, clearing rubble from the streets, but that's about it," she says.

It's a common experience in Corail. Magdala's friend, Kelida Santil, 12, says some days does not eat at all, and when things got really bad, her family had to rely on the hospitality of friends and neighbors for food.

"This program is very important for us"

To meet the need, World Vision set up a lunchtime feeding program for school-age children. It runs from Monday to Friday at Corail. Another World Vision program provides mothers with a nutritious porridge to feed hungry children under five years old.

Each day, Magdala and Kelida join about 1,400 other children for the free meal. Some walk more than two miles from surrounding camps to reach the large tents where the meals are served.

World Vision field coordinator Nadine Seraphin says that when the program started two months ago, she saw many malnourished children. "They were sick children. They were so skinny. I would send some of them to the camp clinic for attention," she says.

Now she says the children are improving. Most are boisterous and happy. "Every day, some parents come to me and tell me, 'You know, this program is very important for us because we have nothing here—no money, we are not working.' They are very appreciative," says Nadine.

No Giving Up

Nadine says she loves the work and adds that even older children have started to call her mother. "I am the camp mother here with a big, big family. It's very, very nice to be here with the children."

All the same, running such a program has its challenges in Haiti. Operations had to be suspended for five days when it was feared that tropical storm Tomas would blow the tents down where the feeding takes place. The threat of cholera is also a constant concern. Children are obliged to line up at a hand-washing station and thoroughly wash their hands before they can enter the tent to eat. Cooking utensils and pots have to be disinfected with chlorine.

Nevertheless, the kitchen where the food is prepared provides welcome employment for camp residents. Chief cook Jean Pierre Francoise says she makes 400 gourdes a day for supervising work in the kitchen. The work is appreciated following months of hardship.

Jean previously spent two years in cookery school and hoped one day to open her own restaurant. That plan has had to take a back seat since her home was destroyed in the earthquake. But she is not giving up. "Now, I have a dream to teach other mothers in the camp how to cook well," she says.

PROVIDING MEDICAL CARE

Ginette's eyes stare without comprehension, she is unable to raise her head. She looks more like a newborn than her actual age, which is 14 months.

Ginette displays all the symptoms of a severely malnourished child. She has been brought by her tearful mother, Valdort Nadia, 24, to World Vision's Baby-Friendly Spaces (BFS)—a clinic for pregnant moms and babies—in Petionville, an outlying neighborhood of Port au Prince, Haiti.

The BFS is situated in a tent in Parc Accra, one of the scores of makeshift camps that house more than 1 million people rendered homeless by the massive earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.

A Common Plight

Valdort's plight is not uncommon. She explains that she lost her husband and home in the earthquake. She also lost her business as a street vendor selling small grocery items. "I have no husband, I have no work, I have nobody to support me," she says. "Sometimes I don't have money to buy food and soap."

The point about soap is telling. As a cholera epidemic sweeps the country, washing hands with soap can make the difference between living and dying. Despite the severity of Ginette's condition, World Vision health manager Dr. Estrella Serrano is quietly optimistic about her chances. The clinic will treat Ginette with antibiotics to counter opportunistic infections, enter her in a de-worming program, and put her on a diet of Plumpy'nut—a protein-rich food especially designed for malnourished children—to help Ginette regain weight. World Vision-trained volunteers in the camp will visit her to check on her progress.

A Hopeful Sign

Fortunately, World Vision BFS coordinator Nevestant Evens says that extreme cases like Ginette's have become rarer since the clinic's founding about eight months ago. The clinic advises moms on breastfeeding and how to ensure their children get a balanced diet. He adds that for some, the antenatal care in the camp is probably better than they enjoyed prior to the quake—a reflection on the fact that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

"We show moms how to take care of themselves and their babies to maintain good health," he says. "Nowadays, children are most likely to be malnourished only if they have lost their appetite due to sickness."

IVILLIA: CHILD AND CHOLERA EXPERT

There can't be many 12-year-olds who know the difference between diarrhea caused by cholera and that caused by other means. But Ivillia Moxima is quite confident she can tell the difference. "It looks and smells different," she says. She is correct.

Bringing Peace of Mind

It might be an unpleasant subject, but such knowledge can give peace of mind or prove a lifesaver in the crowded displacement camps of Port au Prince, housing more than a million people left homeless by the massive earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.

In this case, it brings peace of mind. Ivillia has brought her niece, Ellerenchise, 2, to World Vision's Baby Friendly Space (BFS)—a clinic for pregnant moms and children under five—in Parc Accra, one of scores of makeshift camps housing the homeless.

Ellerenchise has been suffering tummy pains and sporadic bouts of diarrhea, but Ivillia is confident that she doesn't have cholera. Indeed, nurses at the BFS confirm her diagnosis. They conclude that her condition is not serious and Ellerenchise will probably recover without treatment.

Ivillia can also talk knowledgeably about how to avoid cholera. "We should wash our hands after going to the bathroom, only drink clean water, avoid trash and be careful what we eat," she says without hesitation.

"We have to be endlessly vigilant."

Such knowledge reflects the diligence of World Vision-trained health volunteers. The volunteers are equipped with basic medical supplies to treat minor ailments; monitor the progress of those treated at the BFS, and spread the word about maintaining good health and hygiene.

Their work is backed up by World Vision's Child-Friendly Spaces—safe areas set aside in camps where children can play and learn. The one at Parc Accra is held in a large tent. In front of the tent is a low concrete wall featuring a mural with the words Fok Nou Sonje Lave Men Nou ("We should remember to wash our hands") and it features a picture of a Haitian boy giving his hands a thorough wash.

World Vision BFS coordinator Nevestant Evens says that so far there have been no confirmed cases of cholera at Parc Accra, but he is far from becoming complacent about the situation. "We have to be endlessly vigilant. We don't know when cholera might come," he says.

One Year Later: What Has Been Done in Haiti?

Before the earthquake, life in Haiti was difficult. Families living in the poorest economy in the Western hemisphere often lacked the most basic of necessities—safe water, adequate food and education. The earthquake that struck on January 12, 2010 vastly compounded these issues.

In the last year, World Vision has been working hard to help improve life for survivors. Though there have been challenges, our emergency work has reached hundreds of thousands of families and children. These are some highlights of our work to date.

Immediately following the disaster our emergency efforts provided:

• Food aid to more than 220,000 households.
• Over 189 million litres of drinkable water to over 132,000 people.
• Household supplies including cooking supplies, bed sheets, blankets, buckets, mosquito nets and toiletries to more than 350,000 people.
• More than 113,000 tarpaulins and 7,497 tents.

These vital supplies helped to preserve lives in the chaotic early months after the disaster.

Ongoing relief efforts continued to meet the needs of families living in displacement camps.

• Established 22 Child-Friendly Spaces where more than 5,600 children play, sing, dance, draw, heal and learn.
• More than 70,000 children benefited from school feeding programs. More than 49,000 children unable to go to school received food supplements at one of 180 feeding centres.
• Five fixed health clinics and four mobile clinics served 11 camps in Port au Prince and two mobile clinics served three camps near the border.
• More than 14,770 people participated in cash-for-work programs. More than 1,900 people participated in cash-for-skills-based training, including gardening techniques, masonry and carpentry.
• 630 families received transitional shelters. It's our goal to build 3,500 shelters by June 2011.

In Partnership with Others

World Vision is pushing for greater coordination and aid effectiveness. We are working with the United Nations and NGO partners to help Haiti's government develop a common shelter strategy. Our goal is to empower Haitians to build a better country and a better future for themselves. Read more about World Vision's advocacy efforts.

Looking Ahead

In the long-term, World Vision will work with families to appropriately transition services—meeting the needs of people still living in camps while simultaneously working with those moving back to their former neighbourhoods or new communities.

Given the complexity of the crisis and the compounding impact of cholera and tropical storms, the relief phase is still far from over. Through this, World Vision remains focused on the well being of children, since they are the most affected by disasters like this one.