Hurricane Matthew Relief: Help Haiti Rebuild

We have deployed our country team in Haiti to respond to Hurricane Matthew. Shortly, we will open a permanent office in the region, which will serve as a base for trainings for local builders, engineers, government officials, and NGO representatives. This will facilitate safe rebuilding in the communities that were most affected. 1.4 million people have been impacted by Hurricane Matthew, including the families of many of our staff members. We are collaborating with current partners in the government and international NGOs to capitalize on our experience in Haiti for an efficient and effective response.

Response Updates and Priorities:

• Immediately following the hurricane, we worked within our existing network of partners in Haiti to deploy resources for the rebuilding and retrofitting of damaged roofs to protect families affected by the hurricane from exposure to the sun and rain.
• A team of Build Change engineers traveled to the Grand’Anse department of Haiti to assess damages and determine why some buildings collapsed and others did not. Our team has completed preliminary assessments of three schools in the area. 
• In addition to conducting engineering assessments, the team has surveyed homeowners impacted by the hurricane. This provides useful demographic data, as well as insight into how individual families were impacted by the storm.
• As a leader in homeowner-driven reconstruction with six years of experience working in partnership with the Haitian Government, NGOs, communities, and construction professionals, we will leverage our expertise to ensure efficient and effective implementation of response programs.
• We have commenced our rebuilding efforts by working with the families of our staff who live in affected regions. Their homes will serve as pilot reconstruction projects overseen by Build Change engineers and used as training tools for local builders.
• We will set up a regional office and establish a mobile training program, along with new technical resources focused on roof damages. Build Change staff can then train local homeowners, builders, and partners to rebuild to withstand future storms.

Links:

• Check out our blog for updates from the field