generalspeaking

Contrasts in Charitable Realities

"I frankly doubt the Canadian Red Cross claims to have constructed 7,500 houses in Haiti. I suspect that ... it is speaking of semi-permanent structures."
Roger Annis, spokesman, Canada Haiti Action Network

"[The wooden shelter design evolved in 2010-2011 and the homes were constructed with] more robust specifications than considered at the outset of the project."
"As a consequence and subject to individual circumstances, the structures should remain in good condition for many years."
Canadian Red Cross projects the lifespan to be approximately 15 years."
"It's as permanent as those people will ever know."
Nathan Huculak, Canadian Red Cross Spokesman

"[The transitional shelter approach may have provided] the best possible solution for the worst possible situation."
"The approach may have been stopgap, but it is difficult to imagine that any other strategy would have provided the same kind of protection [in Leogane, Haiti]."
Avery Doninger, writer

The Canadian Red Cross raised $222-million in donations for Haiti. Of that total $65-million was used in the construction of 7,500 "permanent homes" in the coastal areas of Jacmel and Leogane which suffered some of the worst damage as the outcome of the catastrophic earthquake resulting from the 2010 earthquake. The 18-square-metre homes have been described as "transitional shelters".

The homes were built to standards of withstanding hurricane-strength winds, constructed with rot-resistant treated lumber, and topped with insulated metal roofing.  Surveys  conducted a year and two years post-quake showed the homes with 90 percent occupancy. In 2017, an analysis of the homes' physical condition is scheduled.

The architect of the housing project, Tom Carnegie, emphasized that the homes were built with sustainability in their design; the Canadian Red Cross acknowledged to be "generally known to be providing one of the most durable structures" that could be modified or expanded. Most of the housing was pre-assembled in Canada, with local crews in Haiti erecting them.

Families were given ownership titles that permitted them to move with the homes, designed to be disassembled and unbolted if they required to be moved from the rented ground they were placed upon. Leogane, Haiti, saw 80 to 90 percent of its buildings destroyed, leaving the transitional shelter approach the most viable solution under the circumstances.

And then there is the legacy of the American Red Cross in Haiti. The American Red Cross raised a half-billion dollars, promising and claiming to have provided housing to over 130,000 Haitians in need of shelter. A report by Pro Publica and National Public Radio revealed that the American Red Cross in reality built six permanent homes. A scandal leading to calls for a congressional hearing into the finances of the charity.

Labels: Canada, Crisis Management, Earthquake, Haiti, Red Cross, United States

posted by Pieface @ Saturday, June 20, 2015