Some 13,393 jobs were created in Haiti in March through 186 ongoing
IOM community stabilization projects. Activities were carried out
under the IOM Programme de Revitalisation et de Promotion de
l'Entente et de la Paix (PREPEP) with funding from the United
States Government through the US Agency for International
Development (USAID).

The first group of PREPEP-supported Haiti Stabilization
Initiative (HSI) projects started this month in the Martissant area
of Port-au-Prince, where IOM teams and community members identified
soil conservation efforts as a priority area for intervention.
These labour-intensive projects employed 675 men, women and youth
from the area to erect rock walls, protecting the densely populated
settlements below from flooding and mudslides.

PREPEP conducted debris clearing efforts facilitating the
reopening of 50 schools last month, under the USAID funded Haiti en
Chantier programme. Tents and temporary classrooms are being
erected in the newly cleared spaces to facilitate the return to
school.

In the Cap Haitien area north of the capital, IOM has 23 active
projects aimed at addressing food security in the region by
investing in agricultural infrastructure. These projects are being
implemented in close cooperation with the Ministries of Agriculture
and Public Works (TPTC).

Interventions in Cap Haitien continue to focus on irrigation and
drainage, with 3,715 meters of canals in the area scheduled for
rehabilitation by the end of the month. The 10,000 residents of the
city of Ouanaminthe are some of the principle beneficiaries of the
drainage improvement. 

There are 35 ongoing PREPEP projects in the Gonaïves that
address a wide range of needs including: irrigation, drainage,
roads, school rehabilitation and improved water and sanitation.
Soil conservation projects in the La Quinte river watershed have
been identified as a priority given that runoff from these ravines
empties into the heavily populated valley of Gonaïves. This
river was responsible for severe flooding in 2004 and 2008. The
labour-intensive conservation projects are a welcome source of
income for the 2,000 Haitians employed through the projects.

The programme's success is evident on visiting the towns of
Lector and La Coupe, where participants have gone on to build their
own dry stone walls to protect their farmland from erosion.

Since the 2008 hurricane season devastated much of the region,
IOM activities in Gonaïves have targeted a variety of key
infrastructure for rehabilitation in an effort to promote community
growth and development through the Haiti Integrated Growth through
Emergency Recovery (HIGHER) programme. 

Gonaïves has been the operational centre of the HIGHER
programme and the initiative has been instrumental in the region's
recovery.  In March the Gonaives PREPEP office rehabilitated
24 classrooms and started the construction of 6 new
classrooms.  These improvements to the education sector are
helping to absorb an estimated 40,000 internally displaced students
who have arrived since the earthquake.

Ongoing PEPFAR or President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,
and Haiti en Chantier projects in Saint Marc are improving local
agricultural infrastructure through soil conservation, irrigation
and road works which will prepare the region for a productive
growing season. The soil conservation projects are providing work
for 4,700 community members, while canal improvements and road
rehabilitation efforts employ an additional 600 individuals. The
irrigation projects are financed through the PEPFAR programme,
which employs individuals infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. It
provides an important source of livelihood for the individuals as
well as empowering them through participation in community
rebuilding efforts.

IOM Les Cayes is undertaking eleven new projects funded under
the PEPFAR and Haiti en Chantier programmes. These projects are
contributing to community relief and stabilization by creating much
needed jobs for vulnerable communities.  IOM Les Cayes
continues to work with the Ministry of Agriculture, local
municipalities, and farmer associations to identify projects that
will improve the agricultural sector through the rehabilitation of
local infrastructure.

IOM is also involved in soil stabilization initiatives in
Petit-Goâve to protect downstream urban areas, repair
earthquake-damaged spring caps and improve the overall
environmental integrity of the area.  The spring capping
projects will supply clean drinking water to residents year round,
and have provided work for 5,000 individuals on a rotational basis
that extends the opportunity for employment to the greater
population.

Other efforts in Petit-Goâve are focused on improving
irrigation systems. Re-establishing and developing these systems is
essential to ensuring that agricultural production can keep pace
with the influx of internally displaced people  to the
region.

For further 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