Haiti - Medair's construction of transitional shelters is still going strong despite a hurricane, a cholera epidemic, and the build-up to a national election.
With more than 10 months passed since the earthquake, Medair has now built its 1,695th transitional shelter for Haitian families, benefiting approximately 10,170 people in Jacmel and Haiti's South-East District.
The shelters are durably constructed, with metal roofs, timber frames, and concrete foundations. Medair is building an additional 60 transitional shelters every week (on average) for people who were left homeless or forced to live in unsafe shelters because of the January earthquake.
"The needs have been compounded by the effects of Hurricane Tomas but the best response we can deliver is to continue with our established shelter programme," said Medair's Emma Le Beau. "Our construction teams were back up and running and fully operational 48 hours after the storm."
Although battered by the heavy winds and strong rains of Hurricane Tomas, Medair's transitional shelters proved resilient to the storm conditions. The buildings sustained no structural damage, and only one shelter was reported to have minor roof damage, now repaired. As a result, beneficiary confidence in Medair's transitional shelters is high.
"We were not afraid during the hurricane," said Germain, who slept inside the shelter with his family during the storm. "We know that this house is strong so we felt safe. The walls are fitted well so we stayed dry. We slept well."
Medair's approach is to provide transitional shelter which can become permanent housing relatively easily. The structures are designed to handle seismic forces and to stand up well to the Caribbean hurricane season.
"I am confident that what we are providing for the Haitian people is of substantial quality and will benefit the community in the long term," said John Fixsen, Medair Shelter Project Manager.
While Medair's main focus is on urgent housing needs, the Medair team is working in close coordination with local authorities and other NGOs in relation to the cholera outbreak in Haiti. With cases of cholera now confirmed in the South-East Department, Medair is providing tents for decentralised cholera treatment units in Jacmel and across the region.
