Day 12: Sunday 18 September - the Haitian people

When you arrive in Haiti for the first time I think it's only natural to be drawn first towards the signs of destruction and poverty on the streets - they're the things we're shown on our televisions and that are so prevalent and so unreal. The more time I spend here though I begin to notice and understand the culture and the people more and more. And as the rubble and the garbage become part of my day-to-day landscape I begin to see past these things and begin to notice people getting on with their lives.

Music and family are both very important in Haitian culture. As I sit here now typing this article I can hear drums and voices from the vodou church up the hill. The music here has been influenced by both its ties to Europe and Africa. The vodou tradition brings a more ceremonial, chanting aspect to the music. Kompas is a modern Haitian Meringue that involves a lot of improvisation and a steady, repetitive rhythm section.


BRC's Integrated Baseline Study

I've spent most of today sat at home reviewing our progress to-date and the tasks that still need to be completed. Much of this time has been spent studying the integrated baseline study that was conducted in January and February 2011. The study contains socio-economic information on the people of Delmas 19 and provides a baseline 'snapshot' of the beneficiaries. 948 households were surveyed for this survey. To give everyone a better understanding of the people the BRC are assisting I have decided to provide a review of the survey results:

Demographic Situation

The average number of people per household is 5, ranging from 1 to 21 household members. 91% live in a single-family households, 7% live with one other family and 2% live with 2 families or more. The average age of the respondents is 37 and 76% said they had children living with them under the age of 18. 17% of respondents also reported at least one elderly or disabled person living in their household - there are approximately 80 elderly or disabled people living in the target area.


Shelter Situation

Only 14% of respondents had not been displaced by the earthquake. Before the earthquake 75% described their shelter as masonry. Now 16% are living in tents or under tarpaulins and 0.5% are in transitional-shelters. A total of 150 respondents said that their primary shelter was destroyed and when asked the status of the works, 14% said they had 'started repairing', 4% had 'started rebuilding' 3% 'finished repairing/rebuilding and 71% had not started.


Water and Sanitation

47% of survey respondents said that they had a toilet in their house, and 90% of them said that toilet was in use. Among the 53% of respondents who said that they were not using a toilet in their own home, 75% reported using communal toilets in the target area. Since November 2010, BRC has provided and maintained emergency communal latrines in the target area to meet immediate needs before the integrated programme began. Another 17% reported using a toilet in a neighbour’s house, and 4% reported open defecation.

90% of respondents said that they ‘normally’ get drinking water from a water vendor, and 82% said the same for their washing/cooking water. Only 2% said that they used taps in their houses for drinking water, while 6% said they used taps in their houses for washing/cooking water.Livelihood Situation

Livelihood Situation

64% of families have an income. Results suggest that the number of small businesses in the area has halved and unemployment among high earners has increased by 400%. The majority of main earners are street sellers. The monthly household income ranged from 0 to 55,000 gourdes; the average was 2,300 Gourdes ($60). 84% described themselves as in dept (798 families).