no words

Our hearts have been filled with thoughts & emotions this week as our neighbor, Fredny's house is being removed, one bucket & wheelbarrow at a time. We can't even begin to understand the journey that he has been on since the earthquake. Thankfully no one was hurt in the home, but it's hard to watch them unearth corners & walls that belonged to a former life. He has been a kind, gentle & humble neighbor to us the past two months & welcomed us into the neighborhood.

Please keep him in your prayers as the excavating continues and his dreams of reconstruction begin.

60 sec 1.8 from Ted Barlow on Vimeo.

Post-earthquake update

 

This camp is one of several that we have seen dissipate in the past 6 months. 

Reported via our UN feed today:

As of June 2012, an estimated 390,000 individuals (or 98,000 IDP households) reside in 575 camps and camp-like settlements across the earthquake affected areas. This is a 7 per cent decrease in the number of individuals living in IDP sites compared to the previous report of April 2012. Since the height of the displacement crisis two years ago (an estimated 1.5 million individuals were living in IDP sites in July 2010), some 75 per cent of the original camp population remains. 
  
The important decrease of IDPs from camps for this period can be attributed to a number of factors including effective return and relocation projects implemented in the framework of the GoH-led through the Unité de construction de logements et de bâtiments publics (UCLBP). This is particularly apparent in the commune of Port-au-Prince this period where the population has decreased by 17% (from 25,853 households to 21,366) since April this year. 
  
The total number of open sites reduced by 27 this reporting period: from 602 in April 2012 to 575 in June. This is a 63% decrease compared to July 2010 where as many as 1,555 sites were recorded.

Majority of the displaced population (60% or 233,857 IDP individuals) continue to reside in the 40 sites (sites hosting 500 or more households). On the other hand, 79% of sites (453 sites) host less than 150 households in each site, accounting for about 19% of the IDP population (72,490 individuals). 
  
DTM provides important analysis to continue our collective efforts to identify more durable solutions for the IDPs still in tents as well as for communities of return and indicates the feasibility of scaling up return and relocations projects to favor the closing of as many sites as possible in a principled and dignified manner.  

from the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix - 28 June 2012