Clearing away the debris, and refuse, in Bel Air

By Widlyn Dorneville

Lower Bel Air is one of the most vulnerable parts of downtown Port-au-Prince. Historically important and a tourist destination in the past, over time it became an overpopulated slum where people live in substandard conditions.

In 2008 the country was hit by cyclones that destroyed what little infrastructure had been left. Close on its heels came the rains that preceded the 2009 Carnival causing great damage and loss. This was compounded early this year with the quake that hit the capital, destroying much of the neighborhood.

Aggravating a situation that borders on calamity is poor waste management. The Rockfeller canal that runs through most of the Haitian capital has become one of the largest open air garbage dumps in the city. Accumulated refuse obstructs the water flow and, when it rains, causes it to overflow, resulting in great material loss.

In 2009, Viva Rio launched a campaign to promote the clean-up and sanitation of the region. The campaign is part of a larger program called “Fatra Pa Gen Pye”, (a Creole expression that means “Garbage won’t go away by itself”).

The goal of the project is not merely to clean out local canals in order to prevent future flooding, but also to create jobs as a way of lessening damages and improve the lives of people living near the canal. The approximately 1400 jobs being created for the residents as a result of this campaign will also help to reduce the violence, facilitating and promoting further local development.

From being launched in July of 2009 to January this year, concrete results had already been achieved. “The area is clean now and we can get around and go to work without getting dirty or covered in mud. But there is still work ahead of us because the population isn’t yet fully aware of the positive effects of this initiative,” says a resident of Grande Rue, known as the Port-au-Prince boulevard prior to the quake.

In four months of work, results were encouraging; during the October 2009 rains Bel Air streets, unlike other areas, allowed residents to move about freely. The quake that hit the 12 of January brought the project a new perspective, and locals began being hired to remove debris. The cash for work program is already showing concrete results:  Grand Rue is considerably cleaner than it was the first three weeks after the quake, and locals who had lost everything, have improved their income. “It’s a very important project that has had significant impact on the purchasing power of the local population. We will work closely with the locals to increase the amount of rubble cleared and to provide better equipment, so that we can reach our goal: Bel Air 100% clean" said Leonard Jean, project coordinator.

Translated by Alexandra de Vries, edited by Lis Horta Moriconi