Madame Gisèle Console proudly stands in the doorway of the new shelter that will house herself, her children and her elderly mother in Leogane, Haiti.
Stories from the field
The Road to Madame Console's
by Louise Taylor, Canadian Red Cross delegate
July 28, 2010
The road from Port-au-Prince to Leogane passes through ‘la Route des Rails’: a two-metre asphalt median stretching through Carrefour, a slum situated between Port-au-Prince and the epicentre of the earthquake that levelled parts of Haiti on January 12th. Temporary shelters made of tin roofing, tarps, and wooden slats are seen from curb to curb, filling every square inch of available space.
Tom Carnagie, the Canadian Red Cross’ shelter coordinator, stops mid-sentence during his explanation of the shelter program and stares out the window of our car. “It’s terrible that they are here in these conditions.”
The road out of these merciless conditions in which an estimated one million Haitians currently find themselves is indeed a test for the international community’s capacity to restore the conditions necessary to maintain a dignified life. But the road to a better life first passes through the epicentre of the earthquake, and our destination today: Leogane.
With over 90 per cent of the infrastructure destroyed, 53, 692 families have been left without adequate shelter in the midst of the hurricane season. Now without homes or property on which to build, the disaster-affected community is vulnerable to disease, poverty, and violence.
Tom Carnagie, my guide today, is one of 30 delegates from the Canadian Red Cross striving to provide adequate shelter for Haitians who have lost their homes. The Canadian Red Cross aims to build 7,500 shelters for Haitians displaced by the earthquake, approximately 4,000 in Leogane and 3,500 in Jacmel - and funding for up to an additional 7,500 will be provided to the International Federation of the Red Cross.
Prior to the earthquake, the majority of Haitians were property renters. As such, when the “events” took place, the ubiquitous Haitian term for that fateful day, the majority of the disaster-affected population found themselves internally displaced, with neither rightful home nor a plot of land on which to sleep - much less rebuild a life.
In collaboration with the local authorities, the Canadian Red Cross is identifying plots of land on which Haitians can return, meaning an agreement is struck with the landowner to permit construction on the properties for a period of up to three years. In addition, the shelters have the capacity to be moved to an alternative property if needed, which adds an extra measure of stability for the disaster-affected population.
To highlight these achievements, on July 6, 2010, the first ceremony to handover one of the 22 shelters already built took place. Amid a fanfare of blue and white ribbons and in the presence of Jean-Philippe Tizi, Director of Haiti Operations for the Canadian Red Cross, the Mayors of Leogane and Gressier, Mr. Paul Santos Alexis and Mr. Paul Michelet, and Dr. Camille, representative of the Haitian Red Cross, Madame Gisèle Console, received her blue shelter – the color of her choosing. The shelter will also be inhabited by her children and mother.
The road from January 12th to better living conditions is not an easy one, but for the Canadian Red Cross and the survivors of this great tragedy, it is the only road home.
