Renelia Demostene waters plants in her home garden in Bois Leger, Haiti. Photo: Simon Chambers
David Korpela was Finn Church Aid’s country representative in Haiti from a week after the January 2010 earthquake until the end of November, 2011. When asked how he was able to keep going in the face of all the difficulties that have faced the nation in that time: the earthquake, hurricane Tomas, cholera, etc. he replied, “It is about having hope.”
PWRDF will be working with Finn Church Aid and other members of the ACT Alliance, and with CEDDISEC (the development arm of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti) to bring hope to thousands of Haitians in the coming years.
PWRDF will be looking to move beyond providing food aid—giving people food—to food security—helping people to have regular access through their own means to enough food for themselves and their families. The Urban Agriculture program is one example of this. School gardens are another means of producing food that PWRDF is exploring with schools through the current school feeding program. The school feeding program will continue to function in the interim, but always with an eye to moving from food aid to food security wherever possible.
PWRDF will also be working with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) on a model village program. LWF has secured land from the community of Gressier near Léogâne. This land will be used to construct a village for 200 families including a community centre, sports fields, space for agriculture, and a home for each family. The village will incorporate bio-gas production, solar power, a computer lab/teaching centre, and other amenities to create a full community for those who live there. It will be supported over time by the residents, who will contribute towards the cost of their houses through a small mortgage, and who will be involved in creating the community norms and maintaining the infrastructure as the community moves forward.
PWRDF will join with other ACT members to promote environmental sustainability and disaster risk reduction programs including re-forestation (Haiti only has 3-5% of its original forest cover), multi-crop agriculture, bio-gas, and other initiatives.
Finally, PWRDF will work with CEDDISEC to increase their capacity to engage in development and relief work. CEDDISEC has a staff of four people on January 12, 2010. It has grown rapidly since then, with a core staff of over a dozen today and with coordinators on the ground in 23 communities. PWRDF is supporting CEDDISEC as it grows into its new size and is working to help them build ties with ACT, the Canadian International Development Agency, and other organizations.
The challenges facing Haiti are many, but—as David Korpela reminds us—it is all about hope!