The first thing that catches the eye when arriving in Carrefour is a big shallow pit in the road surface. It is covered with stagnating water and all sorts of garbage. Fruits and vegetables are stockpiled on the ground in which seems like a makeshift improvised market. The road is framed by buildings on each side, most of them destroyed or hastily built back.

After the January 12 earthquake that destroyed a large part of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and its surroundings, the neighborhood of Carrefour has literally exploded with people. It had been overpopulated even before the disaster, but now, many people have come to seek shelter in the hillsides. Spontaneous settlements have sprung up in the middle of the main road, without any room to put in place latrines or manage waste disposal.

Everyone here is very relieved that there was no major disease outbreak after the earthquake. “Ever since the first days, CARE teams have organized sensitization sessions and spread messages of body hygiene and environmental hygiene. This helped us prevent a sanitary catastrophe and an epidemic. “Dieulène St. Vildor is a mother and a grandmother. She lives with her family in the Camp Mon Repos. And she knows that diarrhea can kill a child within a few hours. Like many other women, she is an active member of a “mothers club” that has been established by CARE.

The mothers’ responsibility is to keep the camps clean. “We could not simply let our children live in this dirt. But at the same time, we weren’t able to use the little money we had to buy broomsticks and other cleaning devices. So we just did what we could. And our commitment surely inspired CARE to accompany us.”

What started as a hygiene promotion campaign has quickly turned into a project supporting the whole community. Following a request of Carrefour’s mayor, CARE set up an urban cash-for-work program. This initiative achieves two goals at the same time: The community can finally live in a clean environment and their salary helps injecting cash into the local economy.

Rose-Carmelle is only 18 years old, but since the doomed day in January, she is the head of her family. Her parents died during the earthquake and left her and her two younger sisters behind. Their uncle took them to live in his makeshift shelter and tries hard to feed an additional two mouths. But school is definitely out of reach these days: There is simply not enough money to pay the fees.

“I need only one more year to finish school. But my sisters have just started. They have to continue their education, no matter how high the costs. If I had not learnt how to read, they would not have chosen me as team leader for this project. And now I earn a bit more than the others. My parents would die for a second time if they knew that their daughters would remain illiterate.” Rose-Carmelle has everything worked out: “This money will not cover the school fees for all three of us. So I will temporarily interrupt my studies and start a small business of selling shoes.” She estimates that she has made enough money to allow her sisters to go to school for at least one more year. “I dream of studying medicine, but this will have to wait a little while.” That little while until the situation gets better. The little while until her uncle has found a job. The little while until the school fees can be paid out of their small wallets. That little while…

“I am optimistic, you know? I did not dare hoping to send my sisters to school. And then along comes CARE and starts this project and it opens another door. Who knows what lies ahead for me in the future?”

The cash-for-work project has provided 5,000 people in 39 camps in Carrefour with a temporary job and income. At the end, more than 1,000 m3 of waste had been removed. And the cleaning devices such as broomsticks, shovels and rakes were handed over to the project participants during a festive ceremony at the mayor’s office in Carrefour.

May 2010

Mildrède Béliard, CARE Haïti

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