First Day on the Job

Today was my first day on the job. I suppose I could have got acquainted with everyone in the office, but being in the field sounded much more exciting. I was very anxious to be on the ground and see the work that Build Change is doing. It was quite remarkable.

We toured around two areas of PAP that were damaged in the earthquake. Damaged homes in both of these areas are currently being retrofit with new walls, columns, ring beams, and roof structure.

The entire process, from identifying damaged structures to final construction, follows an interesting (almost circular) logic. Cordaid, a relief group, identifies damaged structures and passes on the location of these structures to Build Change. Build Change local engineers are then tasked with developing a scope of work for each structure that assesses the necessary repairs and their associated costs. A design, site specific drawings, and details are then prepared for the retrofit of each structure. The homeowners then receive the funds for construction from Cordaid and hire a contractor ("bosses" in Haitian). The construction work and distribution of funds is carried out in phases. Funds for subsequent phases are only released after initial phases of work are satisfactorily completed. Walls and ring beam construction might proceed in one phase, afterwhich there may be a 20 day lag time before roof construction can begin, all the while a family is living in a tent after being displaced from their home. Local engineers from Build Change remain on-site during construction to inspect the work and ensure that plans and details are carried out. Trying to impose building standards or codes on a culture that has gone for so long without them has proven to be very difficult. What difference does it make whether roof supports are spaced every 3.0 meters instead of 1.5 meters?

Walking through these damaged areas was very eye opening. Many families live in a home that might be 20'x20' (and I saw many that were only 10'x10'). I took a few pictures but they don't do it justice. As you can imagine, sanitation in any form is really non-existent. I have noticed that many of the river beds are full of garbage and debris. I was informed today that they place their trash in the river beds because during the rainy season it all gets washed downstream (I guess that's one way to let mother nature work for you).

But through it all many of the people have a very positive attitude and look forward to a bright future for Haiti. More to come as I begin my engineering work here in Haiti.