Some 1,500 residents of Haiti's southern city of Jacmel, left
homeless by the January 2010 earthquake, are now living in 335
semi-permanent houses in a village environment.

In the seaside city where 800 people died and many of the
historic gingerbread style buildings of the city centre were
destroyed, the families who lost their homes took refuge in Parc
Pinchinat, a football field located in the centre of town. 
The field soon became the town's biggest camp, housing more than
900 families (some 4,000 persons).

The residents of Parc Pinchinat endured flooding and
overcrowding, with 10 families sharing a tent, which caused
protection and security issues, including total lack of
privacy.

In August 2010, after land was identified and provided by the
City Council, IOM staff relocated a first group of 182 families to
the new rural community named Camp Maynard.

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website

"This started with tents and temporary accommodation, which has
now been upgraded by IOM to transitional housing," said the UN
Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti Nigel Fisher who was standing
outside a row of peach-coloured homes.

"They have tin roofs and solid walls, two bedrooms and a little
salon and it's really great to see the pride that's taken hold in
the community where people are also growing their little gardens
with their peas and their papaya."

Each family received a plot of land measuring 9m x 7.5m, and a
25m² tent, provided by the international NGO Medair.

The tents, with built-in metal structures, were intended to be
gradually transformed into semi-permanent houses with a 15-year
expected lifespan.

The task of converting the upgraded tents into semi-permanent
houses, which sit on concrete foundations, was completed in August
2011.

All the homes in Camp Maynard are connected to the public water
network; the homes are illuminated with solar-powered lights, and
the ground is laid with gravel to curb flooding.

An additional 11 homes will be soon allocated to vulnerable
families living in tents in other areas of the city.

The selection of families relocated to Camp Mayard was based on
lists provided by the camp committee, as well as information
compiled by the IOM Data Management Unit.  The list of
pre-selected families was shared with local authorities for
approval.

The families in Camp Maynard have developed a strong sense of
ownership and pride in their new houses and the environment. 
Many have started small businesses, including a cinema and small
shops.

"We're facing a few challenges right now," Fisher said, pointing
out that the charity that empties the latrines has run out of money
and the national water authority doesn't have the sludge trucks it
needs to do the job.

"Right now we need funding to empty those sludge tanks," Fisher
said. "We also need a school, there are lots of kids around here
and while we're all in favour of those longer term solutions we
need solutions here, right now and I will be talking to donors
about that."

This community is a great example of doing things well with the
community," he continued, "It proves the point that while Haitians
do not want handouts, they wouldn't mind a hand up."

"Jacmel in my view reflects the progress that has been made
outside Port-au-Prince in getting people from camps to
communities," said Luca Dall'Oglio, IOM Haiti Chief of Mission.

The IOM Haiti Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), prepared in
support of the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) group,
estimated the camp population for the entire country at
approximately 594,800 at the end of July 2011.  According to
the DTM, the displaced population outside of Port-au-Prince has
dropped 90 per cent, from 300,000 to 30,000 persons.

The full IOM DTM report is available at "paragraph-link-no-underline" href="http://www.cccmhaiti.info"
target="_blank" title="">www.cccmhaiti.info and "paragraph-link-no-underline" href="http://www.iomhaiti.com"
target="_blank" title="">www.iomhaiti.com

For more information, please contact:

Leonard Doyle

IOM Media and Communications

Tel: +509 3702 5066

E-mail: "mailto:Ldoyle@iom.int">Ldoyle@iom.int