March 15, 2010

HAITI ARISE MINISTRIES

Construction of a technical school in Grand-Goave was completed in December, but it had to be demolished after the earthquake struck Haiti.

Reconstruction efforts

Canadian construction experts visit earthquake-ravaged Haiti

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

A team of construction experts from Alberta and British Columbia are travelling to Haiti to assess damage to an educational campus and develop a strategy for rebuilding a community.

Haiti ARISE Ministries has been running a trade school in Grand-Goave, Haiti for seven years.

The Calgary-based non-profit organization built a technical school that trains carpenters and electricians, so they can support a family or start a business.

Construction of the school was completed in December, several weeks before a massive earthquake hit Haiti.

“The technical school didn’t collapse, but it cracked,” said James Roberts, vice-president Haiti ARISE Ministries. “The damage was too great to save the school, so we tore it down and it is now a pile of rubble. The trade school will go back under the mango tree, until we get a temporary structure.”

The educational campus included a church, residence and a school, which also ran courses in computers, sewing, cooking, English and agriculture.

When Haiti ARISE first started teaching trade skills, classes were held outdoors.

HAITI ARISE MINISTRIES

The construction of temporary facilities is underway in Grand-Goave, Haiti.

Eventually, the group built a two-storey structure with classrooms on the top floor and open bays on the bottom floor for hands-on training.

Roberts led a 10 member team to Haiti late last month to evaluate the damage and put together a plan so future missions can begin reconstruction.

“The assessment went very well, because some members of the team have been in disasters before,” said Roberts.

“The plan we are coming up with will help rebuild the school and the surrounding community. We still have guys down there working, who will put out an assessment and reconstruction report.”

The team included a structural engineer from Red Deer, a concrete contractor from Surrey, a medical doctor, water specialist, an electrician and urban planners.

The team believes the school sustained a lot of damage because the lower floor had open bays. They are working on blueprints for reconstruction of the school.

“It is interesting to see, when you drive down the street, that some buildings stood up and some didn’t,” said Roberts. “After a closer look, you find out why.”

He said one of the factors contributing to the collapse of buildings was the poor mix of concrete. Too much sand may have been added to the mix to save money on cement.

Additional money can be saved by not using rebar.

Block structures are also built without any lateral beams for strength.

A residential building constructed by Haiti ARISE about 200 feet from the technical school is the only two-story building left standing in the town.

It has one main crack that needs to be fixed, but is in good enough condition to be fixed.

Several weeks after the earthquake, Haiti ARISE formed a partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, which uses the residential building to co-ordinate a relief and reconstruction effort.

The facility’s compound is being used as a staging area for operations.

Some technical school graduates have found jobs in construction with Samaritan’s Purse, which has brought in water purification plants, as well as heavy equipment for demolition and removal of rubble.

There are currently 302 Haitians being employed by Haiti ARISE and Samaritan’s Purse in the relief effort.

This work involves cleaning up rubble in the streets with shovels and driving heavy machinery, building latrines in the camps, teaching people about sanitation, translating for missionaries and cooking in the camps.

“No one wants to go back into their houses, so they are living on the side of the road in lean-tos,” said Roberts.

“We are setting up temporary shelters, but a lot more needs to be done.”

Currently, people have been provided with wood and reinforced plastic to build large tents on land owned by Haiti ARISE.

Grand-Goave, which is about 15 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, has a population of 30,000.

The earthquake destroyed houses, the local hospital and schools.

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