PADF and American Red Cross Upgrade Emergency Shelters in Northern Haiti

Improved shelters are safer and more accessible to residents during emergencies

WASHINGTON, Nov 09, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is working with the American Red Cross to rehabilitate and upgrade 19 evacuation shelters throughout Northern Haiti to ensure local communities are better prepared for future disasters.

With $1.2 million in funds from the American Red Cross, PADF will inspect emergency shelters in eight communes in Haiti’s three northern departments to ensure they are structurally sound, more accessible and meet national and international safety standards.

The project will take place through May 2016 in eight communes, including Bahon, Baie de Henne, Borgne, Caracol, Ferrier, La Victoire, Ouanaminthe, and Port-de-Paix. In addition to providing residents with more comfortable and secure shelter in times of emergency, the project aims to mobilize the local community; strengthen the capacity of local civil defense committees; and support the Haitian economy.

“The Red Cross is an invaluable partner in our mission to improve safety and living conditions, increase food availability and prepare for future natural disasters in Haiti,” says PADF country director Nadia Cherrouk. “Focused on rural communities in the North, this latest project will give an estimated 2,000 people access to secure shelter in the event of an emergency.”

The project, which is part of the larger Gran Nò Pi Djanm program of the Haitian Red Cross and the American Red Cross, also works in collaboration with Haiti’s Directorate of Civil Defense (DPC), Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTPTC), Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST), and mayors from the eight target communes.

PADF and the American Red Cross have a history of cooperating to implement development projects in Haiti. Late last year marked the launch of a program with partners Heifer International and the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA) to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable people in Northwest Haiti. Ongoing through 2017, this program will increase food security in Citerne Rémy and Mahotière by helping families grow gardens; training farmers in efficient agricultural practices; and rehabilitating irrigation canals.

Between 2011 and 2012, the American Red Cross provided nearly $10.8 million in funding to PADF to inspect, repair and certify more than 4,000 homes damaged in the 2010 earthquake. PADF worked with Miyamoto International and Haiti’s Ministry of Public Works to help approximately 27,000 people move back into their homes in the municipalities of Carrefour-Feuilles and Delmas. The project also trained more than 900 people in safe construction practices.

About PADF

PADF operates throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to generate economic opportunities, advance social progress, strengthen civil society, and prepare for and respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises. In 2014, the Foundation reached more than 15 million people in 27 countries. Headquartered in Washington D.C., PADF has field offices in Haiti, Colombia, Suriname, Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Visit padf.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @padforg.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the United States’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.

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SOURCE: Pan American Development Foundation (PADF)”> <Property FormalName=”PrimaryTwitterHandle” Value=”@padforg

PADF
Hearly G. Mayr
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
+1-202-280-3846
hmayr@padf.org

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