Camps
In the centre of the map above you can see the site of camp AHDCB (Association Habitants de Cite Barbo). The circular patches on the grass were the sites of the Shelterbox tents where families were living before moving into transitional shelters on their own land. The camp was closed in September 2010 after all families had returned to their new homes.
This is Camp AHDCB as it was when we first arrived to assess taking on a camp management role. 151 families living in shelters constructed from wooden poles and tarpaulines, some reinforced with woven coconut palm leaves. The shelters were open at the bottom prone to flooding and rain dripping in and packed so close together they provided little privacy and very real health dangers, fire, disease etc.
When SASH received tents from Shelterbox we assisted all those families who had somewhere else to live to move there with a tent, this decongested the camp and allowed those families with nowhere to go to have enough room to pitch their tents. All Hands volunteers were recruited to assist with this phase.
In the end 29 families remained in the camp and living conditions improved greatly. The families landscaped the slope into 2 terraces and dug drainage ditches around the tents to improve drainage. With help from IOM we also provided gravel to make pathways and to improve the anchoring of the tents
Madam Jean Louis sitting outside her shelter typical living conditions for thousands of Haitians in the months following the earthquake.
With materials from Samaritans Purse and volunteers from All Hands, SASH constructed Madam Jean Louis a transitional shelter on her family's land.
Due to the difficulties of access the remote mountain communities families from the village Bouda Chita have to collect their tents from the SASH truck and walk them to their homes. Each tent weighs 32kg and it is a testament to the strength and determination of the Haitian people that they can carry such a weight 2-3km to their homes.
Volenteer Alex Bayer works with SASH Camp Manager Jean Berthin and Community Committee Member Emmanuel St Franc.
One of SASH's core principles is to involve and engage the beneficiary family, a shelterbox tent needs a minimum of 4 people to erect however, many hands make light work and the camp committee and community volunteers worked alongside our camp managers and were able to assist families with their tent erection to make the job faster and guarantee the tents are up correctly and are properly anchored.
Shelterbox Response Team (SRT) member Gary standing with a very happy group of children who now sleep in a waterproof tent, rated to withstand a category 2 hurricane and guaranteed for 6 months. The unique design of these tents mean they are cooler and stronger than ordinary tents and have UV resitant fabric to help them maintain their integrity for longer.
Often SASH rents local vehicles to transport volunteers and staff to work sites however, the terrain is hard going and often teams have to walk to the work sites.
The lack of infrastructure in Haiti means often crossing rivers or mountains to reach a construction site, this day the river was low so the team was able to wade across tools, ladders and all, later in the rainy season this would not have been possible to do.
Camp manager Kenson Loga riding in the back of the truck ensuring no tents fall off or go missing on the journey to the distribution site
Camp manager Christophe Petit checking the tents while the beneficiaries wait patiently in the shade in the background
Carole Desir with her daughter Philomene showing that despite living in an emergency shelter made from wood and tarps, it is possible to have pride and maintain good housekeeping practices. She is now living in a transitional shelter and it's as beautiful as she can make it.
