Ireland led ‘Haiti Week’ to support ongoing disaster recovery

Of the more than 2 million affected survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake which struck Haiti, 550,000 are still displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Even before the earthquake struck the families of Haiti were in dire need of shelter and assistance. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 70% of the population surviving on less than U$2 per day.

Habitat for Humanity’s five-year disaster recovery programme has already helped more than 40,000 families begin rebuilding their lives, but with half million Haitians still without shelter much work remains to be done.

Land tenure remains an enormous roadblock to rebuilding Haiti. There is a need for consistency and transparency in land transactions. Habitat has created and fostered the Haiti Property Law Working Group, a diverse range of 50 organisations working to tackle land reform issues.

Long term change in the country will only be achieved by empowering communities to rebuild their lives. Habitat is not only building shelter but distributing shelter kits to allow families to repair their own homes, offering construction and financial literacy training and business development.

To help support the ongoing work in Haiti the 21st to 28th January has been designated as Haiti Week. Haiti Week was officially launched in Dublin on October 9th by President Bill Clinton. Events and activities will be held throughout Ireland to raise awareness of Haiti through art, music and the business community.

Haiti Week is an innovative partnership developed by a number of Irish charities and businesses to assist the development of new ideas and approaches that will help hundreds of thousands of Haitian people.

‘Haiti at Harlem’ hosted by Harlem Café, Bedford Street, is supporting efforts in Belfast. The café is partnering with Habitat to host a week long Haiti fundraising and awareness event highlighting the continued need for support for the work in Haiti.

Also, the ‘Haiti at Home Build’ will take place on Saturday 21st January at Templemore Avenue in East Belfast. The Haiti themed build day will give volunteers an opportunity to build in solidarity with Habitat volunteers in Haiti and learn more about Habitat’s work there. Places are limited for the ‘Haiti at Home Build’, anyone interested should email [email protected] 

Chief Executive for Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland Jenny Williams:

“There has been real progress in Haiti but 2 years after the disaster more than half a million people will go to sleep tonight under canvas. Our hope is that Haiti Week will call attention to the continued need for support to deliver on the commitments the international community made to help Haiti build back better. Safe shelter remains critical,  improving health and allowing families to begin to rebuild their lives.’

In a country with an unemployment rate of over 60%, Habitat is also helping to build long-term economic growth and sustainability by training and hiring Haitian staff. Approximately 700 local job opportunities have been created by Habitat’s recovery programme and nearly 80 percent of its full-time central staff is Haitian. 

To donate, find out more about Habitat’s ongoing efforts in Haiti or how you can get involved in Haiti Week please visit www.habitatni.co.uk