Community Revitalization

IOM Haiti’s Community Revitalization Program targets the Northern Extension area of Port-au-Prince and more specifically the area commonly designated as “Canaan”. The objective of the Program is to implement priority infrastructure works identified jointly by the Government of Haiti and other stakeholders active in the area, including the American Red Cross, USAID and UN-Habitat.

The program, which began in September 2015, has undergone some strategic and geographic reorientations since its launch and is now focused on improving public infrastructures and access to basic services to the residents of the Canaan area, one of the most rapidly expanding IOM Haiti’s Community Revitalization Program targets the Northern Extension area of Port-au-Prince and more specifically the area commonly designated as “Canaan”. The objective of the Program is to implement priority infrastructure works identified jointly by the Government of Haiti and other stakeholders active in the area, including the American Red Cross, USAID and UN-Habitat.urban areas in Haiti. IOM aims to support the overall planning efforts for the Canaan area through direct implementation while ensuring strong synergies with other USAID funded partners also operating in the same perimeter.

With an overall budget of USD 5.3 Million and an end date of March 2018, the program will provide lasting infrastructure improvements and as well as a microeconomic boost to the area by providing short-term employment opportunities on the construction sites.

Bon Repos Hospital Gabions

In light of the severe erosion threatening the banks of the Boukambou canal, IOM and the Government of Haiti have recognized the importance of securing the south-west bank of the canal on which a perimeter wall of the Bon Repos Community Hospital is built. The Bon Repos Hospital houses 52 beds and over 200 employees from the Ministry of public health—it is estimated that the hospital receives 600 monthly visits. The Hospital is a vital public health care resource in an underserved area and continued erosion would have caused the collapse of the hospital perimeter wall, also threatening existing hospital buildings due to settlement or total collapse.

In September 2017, IOM completed the construction of 230 linear meters of a gabion retaining wall to stop erosion and sup-port the south-west bank of the canal.

During the implementation of this intervention, 178 residents— 26 of which were women—were employed on the site, during 2- weeks work rotations. This design of this intervention was closely coordinated with Global Communities, another USAID partner active in Canaan, who will be building the nearby bridge crossing over the Boukambou canal.

Canaan 3 Road Paving Activity

IOM’s flagship intervention under the Community Revitalization Program consists in paving 1.3KM of the Canaan 3 road—starting at the Boukambou canal and connecting with a segment to be paved by Global Communities all the way down to National Road 3. The entire loop to be built by IOM and Global Communities with co-funding from the American Red Cross and USAID will create a strategic roadway connecting Canaan to National Roads 1 and 3. This segment was identified as a strategic entryway into a densely populated part of Canaan by both the UCLBP and UN-Habitat in their Urban Plan of the Canaan area which was also funded by USAID.

The design of this intervention has required close technical coordination between multiple stakeholders including Global Communities, the American Red Cross, the Ministry of Public Works and the Municipality of Croix-des-Bouquets.

This activity will not only result in the first paved road within the entire Canaan area but will also establish a clearly delimitated Right of Way that will be surveyed and registered into the national cadastre to preserve a vital space for the transportation network.

Pilot WASH Activity

In an effort to pilot low-cost WASH initiatives that will improve access to sanitation services for Canaan residents, IOM has partnered with the NGO SOIL which has been working on providing ecological sanita-tion in Haiti since 2006, by transforming human waste into a rich, organic compost.

As part of this pilot effort, IOM is supporting the presence of 10 SOIL EkoMobil (portable) toilets strategically located in Canaan. These portable, public toilets provide access to sanitation facilities in areas in high need. By placing these public toilets in high-traffic areas, IOM and SOIL intend to familiarize Canaan residents with the EcoSan mod-el which is also available at the household in exchange for the pay-ment of a small monthly user fee.

With the support of Croix des Bouquets' city council, the daily man-agement of the SOIL portable toilets is entrusted to trained resi-dents present on site throughout the period of use, to ensure cleaning and maintenance and provide users with the required information on how to use such a sanitation facility.

IOM is also partnering with SOIL to facilitate the expansion of their current waste treatment facility with the objective of increasing their capacity to serve new geographic areas, particularly in Canaan.