J/P Haitian Relief Organization

OUR PROGRESS

UPDATE FROM THE GROUND: RUBBLE REMOVAL

Many buildings in Port au Prince collapsed or are unsafe as a result of the earthquake. The streets are blocked with rubble—limiting movement, causing hazardous conditions and preventing people from relocating back to their communities from the IDP camps.

In July, J/P HRO launched a two week pilot rubble clearance program in Delmas 32, an area in which around 25% of the properties are declared red (unsafe or collapsed). Our rubble removal program was a huge success! In fact, IOM recently cited J/P HRO’s rubble clearing method as the most effective currently used in Haiti.

We are clearing about 3,500 - 4,000 cubic meters of rubble a week and each neighborhood has on average 150,000 cubic meters. Our rubble clearing has encouraged Haitians into spontaneous clearing efforts themselves. Each day as we return to work sites, we see evidence of people clearing rubble from their home sites by hand, almost doubling the effectiveness of our work.

Our mission is to continue to clear the rubble from the streets, red tagged homes, schools and clinics so that not only will we be putting foremen, drivers, nurses and other staff necessary for the rubble removal back to work, we’ll be making it possible for communities to be reborn.

Each day we see the effects of our work. Town squares, now cleared of rubble, have quickly fill with children playing kickball. Teachers, police, nurses, and residents of local IDP camps have already settled into temporary shelters in their old home sites. The emotional, physical and spiritual impact of the rubble removal cannot be underestimated.