Contact:
Isabelle Vasquez
(509) 3701-3262 EXT 6268
At a time when a safe and healthy home has never been more important, Habitat Haiti serves over 9,000 people through new and improved housing
Local work contributes to more than 5.9 million served globally by Habitat in 2020
Port-au-Prince, November 17, 2020 — Despite economic and operational challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Habitat Haiti successfully adopted new strategies and safe practices to continue helping families in Haiti. The 9,000 people who gained access to safe, decent and affordable housing in the past year helped Habitat reach 35 million people served since its founding in 1976.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we felt it was important to continue construction on the houses that were unfinished prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. At Habitat Haiti, we finished constructions on 11 houses in the northern part of Haiti.
This work is part of the more than 5.9 million people that Habitat for Humanity served around the world last year. Habitat Haiti is part of the larger Habitat for Humanity network, which operates in all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries.
Cado, 71, is one of the families that has been helped by our efforts and is able to shelter at home through the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her grandchildren now have a safe home, built to withstand hurricanes and other environmental disasters. Cado, whose parents felt it was not important to provide her with an education because she’s a woman, has made sure that her children and her grandchildren receive the education that she never had. She is able to use her home as a storefront for a small business which enables her to provide for herself and her family.
Since 1984, Habitat Haiti has partnered with 9,000 people to increase access to affordable, safe and decent housing in the local community through new construction, rehabilitation and repairs. In fiscal year 2020, Habitat Haiti has continued to work with communities throughout Haiti, building homes, and safe water sanitation conditions for those who need it the most. With the ongoing pandemic, we shifted our focus to spread awareness about appropriate measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 especially in rural areas of Haiti where people were not aware of the dangers posed by the virus.
“While this year has brought many challenges and heartaches to communities we serve across the world, I’m grateful that Habitat has had an opportunity to serve so many families when they needed it most,” said Jonathan T.M. Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “At Habitat, we are religious about our principles, but not about our tactics. I’ve been blown away by the ingenuity and flexibility of Habitat organizations around the world who quickly adapted to the new normal and built new strategies to carry out our mission. We are clear-eyed that the future will bring more headwinds, but I know that the people who enable our mission — our donors, staff, volunteers and the people we serve — are as dedicated as ever to our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”
To learn more and to read Habitat’s 2020 annual report, visit: habitat.org/multimedia/annual-report-2020.