Haitians Rebuild Haiti: Cash for Work Program
Twenty-four-year-old Guirlene Nicolas lives in the Bethel camp, Philippeau. She is involved in a cash for work program supported by ActionAid’s partner COZPAM.
“It’s the first time that I am working since the earthquake. I work from Monday to Saturday for $5.00 per day,” explains Guirlene. “The work that I am doing will benefit my community and me. I get paid for clearing out the water path that killed 3 people during the floods. With the earthquake, rubble accumulated in the water path and keeps rainwater from going to the ravine. This year, despite the earthquake, with the work that we are doing, we hope not to face floods.
“I will use the money to start a small business so I will be able to support my family. I want to be able to send my daughter and little sister to school,” she adds.
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Recognizing that continued provision of food and other supplies can promote dependency and reduce people’s sense of autonomy, ActionAid has recently initiated a number of cash for work programs. In urban areas of Port-au-Prince, we are employing local people to clear rubble from flood-prone gullies, thus reducing the community’s risk to flooding at the same time as providing families with an income. In Roseaux (Grand-Anse, South West department), local people are being paid to rehabilitate a 4km stretch of the road from Gomier to Jaquet. In rural areas ActionAid is also providing seeds to farmers to help increase the yield from their land.
