Stories from the field
Haitian Red Cross – Canadian Red Cross, "The Colours of Hope"
By Markendy Simon, Canadian Red Cross
December 10, 2010
In Saint-Hélène, a neighbourhood situated in downtown Jacmel, 35 per cent of families lost their homes in the January 12 earthquake. Rosanna Senati, a 45 year-old mother of nine, found herself living in an unstable emergency shelter trying to cope with taking care of her children with few resources. When the Canadian Red Cross began constructing shelters for people who had lost their homes in the earthquake it brought a ray of hope into the lives of the people of Saint Hélène.
This November, in addition to hope, the Canadian Red Cross brought some colour into their lives through the community-based “paint program”. This program gives Canadian Red Cross beneficiaries the opportunity to paint their shelters in the colours of their choice.
Rosanna chose to paint her new home blue with pink windows and doors. “I’m happy to be the first one to receive a little colourful house,” she says. “It will be really lovely when everybody will have their own house with different colours.”
Well known for its artisanal handicrafts and carnival, Jacmel would transform itself every year into a vibrant and energetic city. This year the sounds of hammers that fill the streets do not come from the assembly of carnival booths, but rather the construction of shelters.
In collaboration with the International Federation of the Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross aims to support thousands of families by providing 15,000 shelter solutions to the most vulnerable who lost their homes in the January 12 earthquake like Rosanna Santi, who not only needed a shelter, but also a moment of joy.
