IOM has launched its first major pilot project to build
transitional shelters in the ruined neighbourhoods of
Port-au-Prince.

As many as 80 shelters made from plywood, corrugated iron and
concrete foundations may eventually be built to house the community
of Mangeoire, a poor area of the capital's Pacot district, which
was devastated by the January 12 earthquake.

The operation – agreed after careful negotiations with
local authorities and civic leaders – is a powerful example
of how local communities can be mobilized to clear their
rubble-strewn neighbourhoods and rebuild. 

The structures were designed by IOM architects and engineers to
last between 3 and 5 years, and to resist the storms and winds of
Haiti's rainy season.

The pilot project marks the beginning of a new phase in the
provision of sustainable shelter for as many as 2 million displaced
Haitians. Transitional shelters provide more durable housing than
the tents and tarpaulins that were distributed in the early
emergency phases of the crisis.

It also demonstrates a desirable alternative to relocation, for
those families whose houses and neighbourhoods were
destroyed. 

Instead of moving to new planned sites within or on the
outskirts of Port-au-Prince, the people of Mangeoire can stay
united, close to their places of work and education.

A cash-for-work scheme administered by the non-governmental
organization ACTED is providing employment for community members to
remove rubble and clean up suitable sites for the building of new
shelters.

"Only one month ago there was no free space to build housing
because of all the rubble," said Alex Coissac, IOM shelter
coordinator. "You can really see the improvement. The possibility
of building shelters has inspired the local community to increase
the pace of rubble removal."

Potential land tenure issues were sidestepped by a written
agreement between the beneficiaries and the local community. Dr.
Yolene Surena, from Haiti's Department of Civil Protection (DPC),
visited the first shelters this weekend, and will send DPC
engineers during the coming week for technical monitoring
assessments.

Work has begun on ten shelters in Mangoire, of which five are
almost complete. In the longer term, community leaders estimate as
many as 80 new shelters will be built.

The work is nevertheless complex, due to the challenging
environmental conditions of the former slum neighbourhood.

Operations have already also begun in the Petit Bois area of
Croix-des-Bouquets, with active coordination between the community
and the mayoral office. Work is expected to progress quickly due to
the less challenging layout of the neighbourhood. Forty shelters
have already been constructed, and the pace should accelerate.

In Mangeoire, Elizaire Emmanuel, the joint coordinator of the
local community, said that local residents were pleased to be
offered the chance to go back to their home plots.

"Even though some people say the shelters are a little small,
compared to what they had before, they are happy to go back to
their own place," he said.

IOM's Alex Coissac said it was crucial that the creation of new
shelters was a community-driven project. Looking at the complex
array of hills and valleys of Mangoire, he noted: "Every single
place is particular."

"If you want to do it right, this could take several months
– especially because we need to introduce a concept of urban
planning to the community, in order to better organize this
space."

Duverger Anallia, a resident of more than 20 years whose house
was destroyed, said a local landowner had allowed them to stay in a
nearby camp for a while – but that now it was time to
go.  "It's small, but at the same time we have to go back,"
she said. "It is better than living in a tent."

She said she had plans for home improvement over the coming
weeks, and that she would continue to run her business from the
shelter. "We do what we do, little by little," she said.

IOM has received funding for 7,300 shelters through the
multi-donor Emergency Response Relief Fund for Haiti (ERRF), the
Government of Japan and the Government of Sweden. That number could
rise as high as 12,000.

For more information, please contact:

Mark Turner

IOM Haiti

Tel: +509 37025066/ +509 34906678

E-mail: "mailto:mturner@iom.int">mturner@iom.int or "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"mailto:markyturner@yahoo.com">markyturner@yahoo.com