From everyone around me that I ask, the local tent village - comprised of 50 makeshift tents (covered in plastic & strong tape) that used to be sticks & sheets - really only houses maybe 5 families now. Beyond that scope the place is a virtual ghost town, except that there are homes where people live just next to it that say hello as I pass.
Therefore the goal is to build homes for these 5 that don't have anything to goto. Then keep finding more families like that.
Another example is a local pastor and his family. They've been living in a tent outside their home for months because the cement roof shifted and its too dangerous to live in. We'll deconstruct the home and rebuild to an affordable level. Fortunately we'll be able to reuse cement block and rebar metal (from the former roof) to strengthen the new one. Also, due to an existing foundation in place, we'll save funding to apply to as many others as possible.
Another case is a gentleman who's been living in a 4'x4' tin shack for years. He's bought a piece of land and only wants a 12'x12' room with a door and a roof, with extensions he can add onto from there himself as he gets the money. The cost for that should be less than $500 if he can get the paperwork proving it's his land - we don't want to risk another owner coming back and taking the property away from someone in need.
Finally, as I said, many are afraid to live in their homes. The other day a woman came to us and asked for a new one. Upon inspecting her house I then spent the next 20 minutes reassuring her from an engineer's perspective that her house was very, very safe & strong! Besides a few 2-foot long cracks in the outside finish of her walls, there was no evidence of any separation of roof to the walls. It had to be one of the best houses I've seen here! She was very happy to hear it & hopefully she'll sleep well at night now.
God-willing we'll be able to provide all reasons for everyone to sleep better here as Haiti changes towards a better future.
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