By Loetitia Raymond, CARE Haiti
When the earthquake hit, Elizabeth Iniatus lost all her belongings and her house. She was among the many families from the Port-au-Prince suburb of Haut Miton who had nowhere to go. Her group ended up sleeping on the ground, in a field of sugarcane.
The women were far from the main road where aid agencies had started distributing food. So they walked to a field of mango trees, where they would be sheltered from the sun.
“Conditions were very difficult for us at the beginning. We had no tarpaulins, and we had just blankets hanging on wooden sticks,” said Elizabeth. “We quickly understood that if we wanted to receive something, we’d better get together.”
The 34-year-old woman, who is straightforward and direct, joined with others to form a committee that could interact with organizations providing assistance.
But from the start, there were tensions within the group. Elizabeth says the men didn’t like the fact that women were taking leadership roles, and the women feared the men might misappropriate any supplies they might receive.
“The men didn’t want aid sent to people directly. They wanted to redistribute it themselves and we would not agree to that. They didn’t like to see us taking the initiative and, after several tough exchanges, they left,” she said.
The women had the support of the community, which trusted them to get help. And, indeed, soon after CARE arrived to build latrines and showers.
“CARE was the first NGO to come and help us. It was great because we gained confidence,” Elizabeth said. “They had not forgotten us, and what’s more, it enabled us to strengthen our relationship with the community, to consolidate the committee legitimacy with that first step.”
Bolstered by their progress, the committee continued its work, identifying needs and finding solutions. The women created groups of volunteers who kept their site clean, sweeping it daily with fallen branches, and removing garbage. They improvised activities to strengthen morale, such as singing.
“I remember a lady who had lost everything: her house, her children, everything, and she was singing with us. These people were starving, and they were dancing. It was like a therapy and we could keep them going with it,” said Elisabeth.
CARE staff members noticed what the women were accomplishing, and provided additional support. They brought brooms, shovels and wheelbarrows to help with the cleaning.
“These women are incredible,” said Franck Geneus, health programs coordinator for CARE. “We gave special attention to their situation when we saw how they fought to improve their life conditions. Their first request was for the children -- they wanted a place where they could get together and play.”
To construct an auditorium that could be used as a school, a church and a gathering place, the women used wood from an orphanage destroyed in the earthquake. That created the frame and then CARE provided tarps to finish the building. The women set aside some of the tarps and are now building a medical center.
The women have organized social activities and sport sessions, and have created a theater company and a dance company. They arranged for the national dance school in Port-au-Prince to send a volunteer teacher once a week. And they invite children from other camps to participate in the activities.
For Mother’s Day, the women teamed with CARE to offer hygiene training sessions, which emphasized the importance of using the latrines and keeping them in good condition. And, for the May 18 Flag Day celebration, begun in the 1930s to commemorate the Haitian flag and the nation’s accomplishments, the women asked CARE for help with their planned children’s parade.
CARE staff supported the families and helped provide costumes for a parade across Léogane. It included a brass band, patriotic music and songs. “It was a moment of joy and mobilization for the whole city,” says Elizabeth. “We were very proud.”
CARE staff members in Haiti credit the women of Haut-Miton for showing how people are taking their fate in their own hands and becoming architects for the reconstruction of their country. With no material or financial resources, just their initiative, their creativity and their hard work, the women have created a thriving community and are paving the way for a better future for their families and future generations.
In the meantime, Elizabeth and her friends are focused on the work at hand. She visits people, asks how they are doing, checks that children are attending school and, if there are problems, finds a way to resolve them.
“Being in charge of the camp is a permanent commitment. I am a mother in charge of a large family rather than a leader,” Elizabeth says, noting the dedication of the residents. “Nobody gets money, but the volunteers are here every day.”