Haiti Reconstruction: Update from the field

On-the-Ground Report:

Alejandro Cedeno, World Bank Senior Communications Officer

 
As our plane began circling the Port-au-Prince airport waiting for clearance to land, I got a good glimpse of the ground through the parting clouds.

From 10,000 feet above the ground, the devastation below was marked by blurry forms and an eerie stillness. In stark contrast with the images seen on cable television it was not an overwhelming sight.

The extent of the damage was not evident from the plane, but something was out of place. When we finally landed, after flying in circles for more than 45 minutes, that out-of-sync sensation became more real.

All the areas surrounding the airport had become a compound with hundreds of multicolored tents housing not only Haitians that have lost their homes, but also relief workers from various countries and multilateral agencies, such as the United Nations. They were pivotal in the life of Haiti even before the earthquake struck.

This makeshift area around the airport—including a government’s emergency administrative office located temporarily in a police station—has become the central nervous system of Haiti after the devastating Jan. 12 seism. Even when fragile, Haiti is energetic and fast-paced, showing the resilience and determination of the Haitian people to rebuild their lives and communities.

As I walked about the tents of Brazilian, Jordanian, Chilean and other UN blue helmets, as well as American army soldiers all assisting in the emergency, my mission here acquired new meaning and energy. We have come to help the government and the Haitian people to recover and assess its needs. We are here to listen and reevaluate with the government where the most pressing development needs are. We are here to find out where the additional US$ 100 million emergency grant we offered after the quake should go and how available grants of the current World Bank program in Haiti (approx.US$ 130 million) can support those needs. Reconstruction of schools, school nutrition, roads, disaster risk management, and a wide range of community-driven projects that have successfully helped Haitians in the past are topping discussions with Haitian officials. In agriculture and infrastructure alone, community-driven initiatives have supported 4,032 community-based organizations in rural areas, benefiting around 763,000 people (or 57 percent of the population of the rural communities covered by the program).

This is a good example of what we’d like to call reconstruction with a human face—rebuilding lives and communities as opposed to just infrastructure and cities.

We will continue to do this to help Haiti get back on its feet. All these tents are just testimony to the tenacity and hope of a people who are now suffering but will rise again.