Leading in Leogane

By Melissa Price, Communications Officer

Port-au-Prince, Haiti -- The IRD field team traveled to Leogane on Tuesday for an initial infrastructure assessment and our third shelter distribution. Joining us for the assessment were two engineers, who were able to share with us the structural reasons why homes and buildings were destroyed in the earthquake and how we can help the local citizens to rebuild stronger. As part of the assessment, we also conducted interviews with local residents in order to learn more about their needs and desires as they look to the future. We talked with them about their earthquake experiences, their current situations for food and shelter, and whether they plan to stay in Leogane. Here are a few of their stories:

A mother and daughter along Rue de la Croix let us know that they have been living next to their house since the earthquake. All four members of their family survived, but they have no shelter, no food, no money, and no services other than a few international doctors in town. They are relying completely on the international community for help. They would like to stay in town if there are plans to reconstruct and bring the city back.

The owner of a small sundries shop indicated he was also very interested in staying in the Leogane city center. He said that he’s just waiting to see what happens. He’s not sure what exactly he’s waiting on, but he’s just waiting.

Directly across from the sundries shop, a family of five lost their home and is now living down the street in the main city square. They all survived and would like to move back to their property if there are plans to rebuild the city. But they do not have the means to rebuild their home or their lives on their own. They need outside support.

At a major intersection in the city center, the local florist and two workers, both family, died in the earthquake. However, the local pharmacist survived, three workers at a law office survived, and all the children at the kindergarten survived unharmed. These businesses would all like to rebuild and reopen, but no one has heard any plans for reconstruction. According to the locals, IRD has been the first NGO to interview people about future plans.

While in Leogane, the team also had a chance to meet with Mayor Santos Alexis, who said his town is “leaning on IRD.” As Adam said in a previous post, Leogane has experienced 90 percent destruction and 100 percent of the population has been affected. IRD is working closely with the Mayor to determine priority sites for reconstruction, including homes, businesses, and historical community centers. Leogane has such a rich heritage, having been home to ancient royalty and modern revolutionaries, and IRD hopes to preserve the history of Leogane and its people.

Following Tuesday’s infrastructure assessment, the field team held its third shelter distribution for the people of Leogane. You can read a detailed description of shelter distributions in Adam’s last blog post. There are days and days of preparation that go into this three hour event—everything from acquiring the donated shelter materials and cutting the large rolls of plastic sheeting into family size pieces to identifying those beneficiaries who are in the most need and organizing the trucks and security to bring the materials to the individuals.

Tuesday’s distribution went very smoothly, despite a short delay in the beginning because of heavy traffic that held up our four truckloads of supplies. You can see a few photos of the distribution here, and below is a short video clip of some beneficiaries making their way through the line. You may notice that the beneficiaries are separated into small groups of men and women. This is part of the strategic planning in order to protect the women and ensure they are not harmed by any men who might get aggressive while waiting in line. We were able to provide emergency shelter materials to 1,000 families in Leogane on Tuesday. This makes a total of 2,000 families or 16,000 individuals that have received shelter from IRD. And we have plans to distribute materials for an additional 1,500 families in the coming weeks.

In addition to shelter and infrastructure needs, IRD is helping with sanitation needs in Leogane. You can read more about our sanitation program here.

And don’t forget to check out http://www.ird.org/ for the latest news, information, and photos. You can also follow the field team on Twitter @ird_relief, or become a fan of “International Relief and Development” on Facebook.

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