SOS Children’s Villages is now constructing prefab houses made of polypropylene on what was the soccer pitch at the Santo Village in Haiti.
Over 300 children need care and shelter after the 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti. They are orphaned, or have become separated from their families and are now in the care of SOS mothers.

Santo Village already had over 100 children in care, and it’s feared that the number of that the number of unaccompanied children will continue to rise as the recovery efforts continue.

The polypropylene “Global Village Shelters” http://www.gvshelters.com are a significant step forward in emergency housing. Typically, tents or tarps have been used in these situations, since they are light and easy to ship into disaster areas. But tents are vulnerable to wind and rain—and not ideal for a tropical climate entering the rainy season.

Global Village Shelters are rigid and fully enclosed, and they have windows with screens—which is very important to help keep mosquitoes out. Malaria—transmitted by mosquitoes—is prevalent in Haiti.

Rainy Season

The rainy season brings not only the increased threat from mosquitoes and the spread of disease, but excess rain can lead to a risk of flash floods and mudslides that will further devastate the cities.

The most common emergency shelter after a disaster is a tent often made from just tarps or bedsheets strung on ropes. A tent might keep rain off during the rainy season, but it offers no protection from mosquitoes, and is easily swept away in high wind, or flood.

But refugees will also build makeshift houses and lean-tos out of scrap metal, plastic or wood—out of whatever can be scavenged from the rubble. These groups of ‘houses’ often lead to permanent slums when restoration doesn’t happen. And they are badly built, so when the next hurricane or earthquake comes these vulnerable people—often the poorest of the poor--are once again victims.

SOS Children’s Villages will need more permanent and substantial housing built to house the families that have been displaced by the earthquake. But until those new homes are built and ready for occupancy, the Global Village Shelters will provide stable housing.

Shipping Containers

There is a movement to convert empty shipping containers into emergency housing. In most Caribbean countries there is a surplus of these containers sitting in ports, since these nations usually import more than they export.

Using shipping containers for shelters also gives a secondary use to something that would otherwise be waste—so it’s a good idea from an environmental viewpoint as well.

Shipping containers are good in seismic zones because they are one piece, and they are very strong—they exceed building code. They are sturdy, and fireproof.

Rebuilding Communities

When it comes to areas struck by disaster, it’s always a challenge where to locate the refugees and displaced people while the cities are rebuilt and new housing established.

Disaster displaces people until restoration can happen—that’s inevitable. But it’s important that communities aren’t permanently destroyed as they are if families can’t return to their permanent homes quickly enough. You don’t want people to move away and never return.

Getting people back into their communities and keeping them near to home while the reconstruction happens is imperative. 

Build Green

It’s important to me to note that the SOS Children’s Village was not badly damaged by the earthquake that leveled and destroyed cities across Haiti. That tells me they were well built—at least as far as the resources and standards of the area go. They are simple and solid and low to the ground—resistant to seismic events and appropriate in a hurricane climate.

That’s the way the SOS Village needs to be built when it expands—and if we can make it as green and sustainable as possible, that’s the way to go.

 

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