Haiti > Programme Description
1. How long has Medair been in the country?
Medair first arrived in Haiti on 17 January 2010, five days after the earthquake. An expert team—including an emergency response manager, logistician, communications officer, and an architect —carried out an emergency response assessment in Port-au-Prince and in Haiti’s Sud-Est Department. Medair quickly initiated a programme in Jacmel and developed it into a large-scale response.
2. What is Medair doing in the country?
Medair’s has been providing shelter solutions to help people resettle and resume their normal lives and livelihoods. We are working as quickly as possible to provide safer shelter for families.
In 2010, the Medair Haiti programme built or repaired 1,862 shelters, providing safer shelters for more than 11,000 people and provided cash-for-work (CFW) opportunities for more than one thousand local labourers. Those efforts continue in 2011.
Meanwhile, Medair also began addressing the shelter, water, and latrine access needs of the underserved Côtes-de-Fer community in 2011. We are building permanent homes for 250 of the most vulnerable residents and repairing hundreds of additional homes. Each permanent home will be given a rainwater harvesting solution and latrine, if needed.
3. Where are we working?
Jacmel and surrounding rural area: Medair is working in Jacmel in the Sud-Est Department, the fourth largest city in Haiti. Medair is working in both urban and rural areas of the Sud-Est Department.
In rural areas, house construction was sub-standard before the earthquake. These remote areas are difficult to access, the roads are poor quality outside of the towns, and they are often separated by rivers. It can take several hours walking from the road to reach some of these communities.
Côtes-de-Fer
Sixteen months after the earthquake, communities in remote Côtes-de-Fer had received minimal assistance despite sustaining heavy damage. Côtes-de-Fer has high levels of poverty that make it very difficult for people to rebuild their homes. Children can walk for hours to collect water, and open defecation is widely practiced. Furthermore, there is very little employment here, and the earthquake only made matters worse.
Given the severity of the situation and the remoteness of the area, Medair committed to work in Côtes-de-Fer for an extensive 30-month project. We are training, mentoring, and supplying materials to improve shelter, water, and sanitation for the most vulnerable families, while also providing short-term income for local residents who carry out the work.
4. How many people are working for Medair in Haiti?
We currently employ approximately 15 internationally recruited staff (IRS) and 121 nationally recruited staff (NRS).
