Louisiane is a farmer in one of regions most affected by the earthquake that hit Haiti in August 2021. After the disaster affected her income, she joined Humanity & Inclusion’s emergency clearance activities to support her family.
Louisiane was cooking yuca plant to feed her children when the earthquake began to shake her home.
“That’s when I saw the pot flying around on the burner,” Louisiane recalls. “We ended up not eating anything that day.”
That day, Louisiane was injured and her family lost their home.
“The earthquake hurt me a lot,” she explains. “It crushed my house, and a block hit my head. Since then, I cannot see as well and I feel dizzy from time to time.”
As single mother of six, Louisiane must provide for her children as well as another person within her care who is living with disability. The earthquake damaged her crops, and a landslide blocked her from accessing the market where she normally sells goods. To help re-open the main road and earn some supplemental income to keep her family afloat, Louisiane joined Humanity & Inclusion’s rubble clearance efforts in Labessière in south Haiti.
Creating jobs for community residents
Humanity & Inclusions’s emergency clearance activities temporarily employed over 300 people in Les Anglais and Chardonnieres. Over 8,800 cubic meters—that’s more than 3.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools—of soil and rubble were cleared to restore access to communities.
“The opportunity to work for Humanity & Inclusion was offered to me by a friend who knew that I am a vulnerable person, and that there is person living with disability in my home,” Louisiane says.
As part of the team, Louisiane ensured that other workers had enough water to stay hydrated.
“I also used the shovel and hoe like the men,” she explains. “It was a pleasure to work with the organization. It was not too difficult because we could rest at break times. I liked it very much. If only the work could last forever.”
“The money earned helped me to take care of my children and the person with disability in my care,” Louisiane continues. “It also helped me pay my debts and buy a goat. It has been a real pleasure to intervene in the emergency in my community. I am very, very happy.”
Many of Humanity & inclusion's disaster response efforts in Haiti are supported by USAID.