The "Never-Seen" of C?tes-de-Fer

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

When the earthquake destroyed her house and turned it to a pile of rubble, 39-year-old Linante, her 10 children, and her partner Idenier all crowded into a small one-room structure that used to serve as their kitchen. This was their new “home,” a tiny space where they lived and slept without even a roof except for some torn plastic sheeting. When it rained, they all got wet, and sometimes the children grew sick with fever.At first, Linante thought it would be temporary. They had survived the earthquake; they would surely find a way to rebuild their house. And if they couldn’t rebuild right away, perhaps someone would come and see if they needed any help.But Linante and her family live in one of Haiti’s most remote mountain regions. “With its mountainous terrain and rivers, there are few passable roads to Côtes-de-Fer,” says Medair’s John Fixsen. “Travelling off the main road into remote parts of the commune, it’s rare to see more than two or three other vehicles in a day.”And so, 16 months later, Linante and her large family still find themselves living in the same cramped, unsanitary room, growing increasingly desperate. “We did not think that we would be still living in this house,” says Linante. “We cannot afford to rebuild the house.”Living in Côtes-de-FerCôtes-de-Fer is an isolated, impoverished region with numerous small villages that lack essential services like water or sanitation. Linante lives in the village of Gris Gris, near the town of “Jamais Vu,” which literally means “never seen.” This is an apt description for much of the Côtes-de-Fer region, where residents have felt mostly invisible to the outside world since the earthquake. “Since the earthquake, Medair is the first NGO that came to talk to us about our housing needs,” says Linante.When our team visited the area, we found that most homes had sustained damage from the earthquake, with families now crowding into one-room shelters or living in dangerously precarious homes. One man was living in a tent inside his damaged house, another was living in a space the size of a chicken coop. Debilitating poverty had made it very difficult for people to be able to rebuild their homes. “We have housing problems and we do not have water,” says Linante. In Côtes-de-Fer, the walk for water can take up to three hours each way during the dry season. “I wash our clothes in the river in Jamais Vu, and it is very far from the house,” says Linante. “The loads of laundry are heavy to carry.”Open defecation is widely practiced here. “We do not have a latrine,” says Linante. “Most people in the neighbourhood do not have latrines.”Without latrines or nearby water access, Linante and the rest of Côtes-de-Fer face real dangers to their health. Cholera remains a serious threat in Haiti and rural populations are particularly vulnerable due to limited water resources, poor hygiene, and a lack of accessible health care. Without proper shelter, people remain vulnerable to the coming rainy and hurricane seasons, and have little hope of rebuilding their lives. There is very little employment here, and the earthquake only made matters worse. “The local community grows just enough food to survive and if there is a bad season, people starve,” said Francoeur Dalexis, Mayor of Gris-gris. Given the severity of the situation and the remoteness of the area, Medair has committed to work in Côtes-de-Fer for an extensive 30-month project. We will train, mentor, and supply materials that will improve shelter, water, and sanitation for the most vulnerable families, while also providing short-term income for local residents who carry out the work. We will provide 250 vulnerable families with new, permanent homes, and we will make structural improvements to the homes of 750 more families to ensure they are more resistant to earthquakes and hurricanes. Building for the FutureIn Côtes-de-Fer, Medair plans to employ a participatory approach that will involve families and the community at each stage in the project. We will work with individuals, community leaders, and grassroots organisations to support or help establish a Village Development Committee, and we will train local residents to provide shelter and WASH advice to the community. Families will be encouraged to take part in home construction and repairs, and local residents will be recruited as shelter officer trainers to promote skills related to sustainable building techniques. “It is extremely encouraging to know that we will be rebuilding and repairing homes but also to know that the community will be left with more than just structures,” says Medair’s Vanessa Nicholson.In addition to shelter, WASH, and practical training for the community, Medair will provide much-needed employment for local residents. “We hope that the infusion of money into the local economy will result in long-term benefits to the community,” says John.“Medair will do a good work here,” says Mayor Dalexis. “It will meet the needs here in the community directly by providing houses, and indirectly by providing jobs and cash-for-work.”Building safe homes and improving access to water and sanitation facilities will mean a better future for the people of Gris-gris and Côtes-de-Fer. “I would like to get help to construct a house,” concludes Linante. “I would like to get some money to send the children to school. It is important to send the children to school, but I would rather have a house first, because it is where the children sleep. And if they get sick, where else are they going to stay?”Medair has already begun helping people in Côtes-de-Fer, but our project is not fully funded. We still need private donations to be able to run our crucial programme and assist the most needy families in this region. Please make a donation today: for Linante and her 10 children, and for all the “never-seen” families struggling to survive in Côtes-de-Fer._______________________________________________________________Medair’s project in Côtes-de-Fer is supported by Swiss Solidarity and private donors.Medair arrived on-the-ground in Haiti within days of the devastating 12 January 2010 earthquake. To date, Medair has constructed 2,582 safer shelters, housing 15,492 people in Jacmel and the surrounding rural areas. The shelter project in Jacmel continues until July 2011, made possible by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and supported by private donors. The views expressed in this web feature are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.