Haiti earthquake

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti—just 10 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Thousands of buildings and homes were destroyed. Millions of people were affected and more than 1 million people were left displaced or homeless.

Habitat’s response in Haiti
Habitat is implementing immediate relief efforts and addressing long-term shelter solutions for low-income families.

Based on current information and past experience with international disasters, Habitat is planning a multi-phrase strategy of response:

Phase one: relief

• Emergency shelter kits
  Emergency shelter kits are designed to help families make immediate repairs and construct emergency shelter. They will be distributed to families by Habitat employees and partners.
• Re-establish operations
  Habitat has been operating in Haiti for over 26 years, but the Habitat Haiti office building was destroyed in the earthquake. As part of our immediate response, it will be vital to assist Habitat Haiti in restoring its capacity to fully participate in the recovery efforts.

Phase two: rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation and cleanup
  We will assist with the removal of debris and salvaging of materials that can be recycled into new shelter. We will also assist in the rehabilitation of homes that have repairable damages.

Phase three: reconstruction

• Transitional shelters and core houses
  We plan to replace destroyed homes with transitional shelters. Improvements and additions to transitional shelters can be made over time―turning them into permanent core houses.
  We will also rebuild in ways that reduce risk and improve construction quality in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.

Phase four: recovery

• Habitat Resource Centers
  These centers are designed to enhance local systems that support housing development and improvements. Through the centers, we identify gaps in the local supply of housing materials, designs, finance and skills and provide services that support local livelihoods.

Learn more about Habitat’s response in Haiti

• Download a .pdf with more details about Habitat’s commitment to Rebuild Haiti (2MB .pdf)
• Read our press release, Habitat for Humanity sets goal of helping 50,000 earthquake-affected families in Haiti improve shelter conditions.

Habitat’s partners in Haiti
Through all aspects of our work, we will cultivate partnerships with local residents and other humanitarian organizations that can multiply the effectiveness of our response in Haiti.

• Read about our partnership with the Ricky Martin Foundation and his Habitat for Humanity Haiti Recovery Fund.
• Learn about our support from Hope Help & Relief Haiti, a foundation created by New York business, fashion and music icons.

How you can help

• Donate to support Habitat’s efforts to rebuild in Haiti.
• Get ready to volunteer. To be notified when Habitat begins recruiting volunteers, take the Haiti volunteer interest survey. This survey will collect your demographic and basic skills information and will sign you up for a periodic e-mail with updates regarding Habitat's response in Haiti.
• Learn about more ways to help at How you can help Haiti.