Nicaragua Hurricane Felix

On Sept. 4, 2007, Hurricane Felix, a Category 5 storm, struck the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, affecting more than 300 urban and rural communities and at least 33,000 families who were already among some of the poorest in Nicaragua. Housing, water and sanitation systems; access roads; schools; health centers; and places of worship were all damaged by the hurricane. Impact on crops, the area’s small-scale fishing industry and the environment was disastrous.

Response program
Habitat for Humanity is implementing a response program to construct 150 homes for families that live in the Auhya Pihni community, an agricultural settlement in one of the worst-affected areas. Many of Auhya Pihni’s inhabitants — who are of indigenous Miskito origin — live in extreme poverty, often surviving on unstable and seasonal income. Almost all of the community’s homes were destroyed during the disaster.

The housing design under the HFH project has two bedrooms and a multi-use common area. All homes are raised off of the ground in order to protect them from occasional flooding. Homeowner families take part in building their homes by contributing in-kind assistance and manual labor during construction stages. Specialized help from skilled labor in the area is provided by HFH. In partnership with other organizations, plans are also under way to restore water and sanitation systems in the community. While the community operates its only sawmill to process timber, the Moravian Church supports the project through facilitation of meetings with participating families and lending a mobile sawmill to complement the timber processing activities. In addition, the only primary school in the community is also being repaired and will soon be operational.

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