Habitat in Haiti
Habitat for Humanity has more than 27 years of experience serving families in Haiti. Not including its disaster response program, Habitat Haiti has provided more than 2,000 families with housing solutions through a variety of initiatives including projects for new home construction, progressive building, and home improvements. It also builds capacity in construction skills, disaster mitigation and financial literacy, and works in coordination with community and government actors.

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. The earthquake damaged nearly 190,000 houses, of which 105,000 were completely destroyed. Of the more than two million affected survivors, 500,000 are still displaced today.

Soon after the earthquake, Habitat set a goal of serving 50,000 families over five years, helping them move toward safe, secure and permanent places to call home.

Two years after the earthquake, Habitat has reached these key milestones:

155 permanent core houses have been built so far in the Santo community of Léogâne, thanks to:

• Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank.
• Major Santo project donors
• 2011 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project donors and volunteers.
• Volunteers from Haven, an Irish NGO.

Habitat will construct another 100 houses in 2012.

• 2012 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project

Even more will be constructed, pending additional funding.

More than 4,000 families have received transitional or upgradable shelters.
Habitat’s upgradable shelter is designed so concrete blocks can be added as the family’s finances improve.

More than 350 houses have been repaired or rehabilitated.
All repairs are designed to make the houses more resistant to future disasters.

More than 24,500 emergency shelter kits have been distributed.
The kits include tools, work gloves, rope and tarps to clean up debris, complete basic repairs and create emergency shelter.

More than 12,000 housing damage assessments have been conducted.
These help determine which structures can be made safe and which need to be torn down.

More than 4,450 Haitians have been trained in:

• Construction techniques
• Financial literacy
• Damage assessments
• Disaster risk reduction
• Business development

More than 700 Haitians have found job opportunities

• Through Habitat Haiti’s main office and Habitat Resource Centers.
• In a nation with an unemployment rate of 60 percent, job opportunities are a crucial part of rebuilding.

Transforming communities:
While we measure our progress by the number of families and individuals served, the impact of our work can be seen in the transformation not only of lives but entire communities. We call it our urban development approach, which is based on empowering and strengthening communities in defined geographic areas. By working closely with communities, we help them to build self-confidence to take action, identify and prioritize their needs. We also help them develop community action plans and leverage their collective capacity to advocate for change.

One such community is the Simon-Pelé neighborhood of Port-au-Prince where Habitat has been actively engaged since last October. With support from donors, local community organizations and government, the community maps (or enumerates) each house and building in Simon-Pelé and surveys each family. Information collected helps the community understand their own needs and gives them the tools to become change agents and champions for critical services. To date, more than 6,000 houses and buildings have been mapped and numbered and approximately 6,000 households have been surveyed.

Learn more about Habitat’s response in Haiti

• Building homes and hope in Haiti: Two years into the recovery

How you can help

• Donate
• More ways you can help Haiti

Vulnerability to disaster
Families living in inadequate housing are more vulnerable to disasters, which happen often, since Haiti sits right on the hurricane path in the Caribbean. More than 15 severe tropical storms or hurricanes have hit Haiti in the last 14 years. Habitat for Humanity is helping to rebuild after the hurricanes of 2008 and the 2010 earthquake, as well as mitigate future disasters, utilizing disaster-resistant home designs.

Learn more about Habitat for Humanity in Latin America and the Caribbean.