Islamic Relief is organizing a cleaning and sanitation system for Croix des Bouquets, an area where scores of thousands of Haitians settled after the 7.0 earthquake caused mass destruction in 2010.
In 2009, around 230,000 people lived in Croix des Bouquets, but today the majority of displaced Haitians now live in Croix des Bouquets, where population now stands at almost 400,000.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, many families fled to the market town, and the Haitian government established two formal villages in the area. On Mondays- when Croix des Bouquets hosts its largest market- around 230,000 people flock to the town to buy and sell items at the market.
The huge influx of people in recent years- and on a weekly basis- has had a dangerous effect on the hygiene and sanitation of the town’s streets.
Piles of rubbish lie in the gutters, and there are fears that the lack of an organized waste system will exacerbate the spread cholera, which has infected over 650,000 people and killed more than 8,000 since the infection broke out in October 2011.
Islamic Relief is introducing a holistic hygiene project to combat the growing waste and water problem in Croix des Bouquets. After clearing away the rubbish that lines the streets, we will assist the municipality in establishing a waste disposal site, and provide rubbish vans to regularly collect and dispose of household waste.
We will be repairing the market abattoir, as well as restoring four damaged units of the market.
We will also organize an awareness campaign targeting local residents in maintaining public hygiene, avoiding cholera and train a local committee to lead on the maintenance of the sanitation programme.
In total, 15,000 market sellers- most of whom are women- will benefit from improved sanitation in the market town, as will the thousands of shoppers who head to the market every day, and the 60,000 people who live in the immediate area of the market. Around hundred people will be provided with employment as part during this project.
Islamic Relief has been working in Haiti since 2010. We began providing relief to earthquake survivors one week after the earthquake and since then we have been working to provide training, shelters and safe drinking water, as well as rebuilding schools.