Train four builders in Haiti to build safer homes

Here's a story about some of our builder trainees. Your support is helping us train young people like these.

“We knew that poor construction was the cause of death for so many people during the earthquake, but we were useless just knowing that. Now, we’ll be able to do something about it,” Michelle Jourdin said, holding her notebook close to her chest. She and a few others showed up early for their construction training, leaning against a half-built wall and waiting for the rest of their group of twenty-five to show. These youth from Carrefour-Feuilles were chosen by the Centre d’Étude et de Coopération Internationale (CECI) to participate in a Build Change apprenticeship program, the aim of which is to provide them with the technical skills needed to enter the workforce as masons with the long-term goal of improving their livelihoods.

One young man, Aristide, chimed in about why he decided to join the apprenticeship: “After the [January 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince], there were a lot of organizations that came. They reconstructed roads and better houses. It was of course good, but the builders came from outside. The reason I enrolled is because I want to be the builder that works inside my zone.”

This Build Change training lasts six weeks and covers earthquake-resistant design and construction from concrete mixing to timber roofing. On this first day of training, the site is rather quiet, with each group huddled together looking at a demonstration conducted by their trainer. As the training progresses, the apprentices’ understanding truly begins to show: the trainers bob between clutches of students at their stations, offering advice rather than examples, while the intermittent thwacks of hammers fills the air.

Throughout the practical training, participants will be monitored and eventually certified using a competency certification card, which tracks the progress of their acquired construction skills. At the end of the training, apprentices take a final exam.

Previous apprentices have gone off to lead projects in Carrefour-Feuilles under Build Change supervision, and it’s likely that this batch of apprentices will have similar opportunities as work in the area continues to unfold.

Links:

• March 2015 - A training in progress