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Employment
In line with national relief and recovery efforts, in May 2010 CEDDISEC, with support from Episcopal Relief & Development, launched a Cash-For-Work (CFW) economic relief program that creates employment opportunities and increases household economic independence while encouraging the leadership and participation of Haitians in community-based recovery efforts.
Ensuring that people have a voice and a sense of control in their own recovery and future is an essential step in reducing stress and facilitating sustainable development.
Generating both cash and pride at the community level, CEDDISEC’s program methodology encourages community-based committees to formulate and lead recovery projects. This gives people the opportunity to make decisions as well as identify program participants.
CEDDISEC’s CFW economic relief & community recovery objectives are:
- To provide immediate relief and a greater sense of economic independence to individuals and families affected by the January 2010 earthquake, with an intentional effort to ensure at least 40% of program participants are women.
- To restore a sense of structure and routine in individuals’ lives, and to reduce stress and violence.
- To encourage the engagement of Haitians and parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti in community-led recovery.
Working through the Haitian parish network, CEDDISEC supports parish priests in mobilizing committees that include parishioners, local leaders and non-Episcopalian community groups. These local committees participate in the identification of potential community recovery projects and people from vulnerable households to receive short-term jobs working on these projects. The typical community recovery project employs 33 individuals (mobilized as three teams of 11 people each) for a period of 20 days. The minimum wage earned per individual during a 20-day work cycle is US$102 (200 gourdes/day x 20 days), and the minimum wage earned per team leader (3 per project) during the same cycle is US$128 (250 gourdes/day x 20 days).
Some of the types of community recovery projects supported are: rubble removal; rehabilitation of local markets, clinics, schools and churches; sanitation campaigns; hurricane preparedness through rebuilding of roads and ditches; and special assistance for vulnerable community members.
The impact of this job creation has been two-fold. As expected, the program has put cash directly into the hands of people who were directly affected by the quake. Workers use their wages to purchase food supplies and cooking fuel, pay school fees, purchase new clothes, buy construction materials to begin repairing crushed homes, purchase equipment for homes, pay debts to shop keepers, and finance the reopening of small businesses (vegetable stands, cooking canteens) that they had operated before the earthquake.
At the same time, the program has positively impacted the psychological health of participants. After spending months in displacement camps, standing in line for assistance, people expressed that the program gave them a new feeling of usefulness. They felt that they were doing something to help themselves and others. They also found that they awoke in the morning with a feeling of purpose and a plan for the day, which helped divert their attention from their problems and reduced stress. Overall, the participants expressed and demonstrated a sense of pride in their work.
In Phase II, CEDDISEC launched 37 CFW community recovery projects that employed 1,468 individuals. The following is a summary of the characteristics of these 1,468 individuals:
- 1,468 families were represented, and thus 7,340 family members indirectly benefited
- 588 (40%) were women
- Participants ranged in age from 18 to 81 years old
- 128 were team leaders that earned $128 each, and 1,340 were workers that earned US$102 each
- 655 (44%) were single-headed households
- 235 (16%) were families that have a member who was either seriously injured during the earthquake, or had a prior handicap or chronic illness
- 86 (5.9%) were families with a pregnant woman
In all, 22 communities benefited from the 37 Phase II CFW projects. Thirty-three projects (89%) took place in the heavily effected quake zone, in collaboration with the Episcopal parishes and institutions of Port-au-Prince, Carrefour, Matthieu, Darbonne, Trouin, Grande Colline, Buteau, l’Acul, and Arcahaie. The remaining four projects (11%) took place in the South, in Les Cayes, Torbeck, Beraud, and Savanette, where families have received an overwhelming number of relatives and friends who were displaced by the quake.
In Phase III, CEDDISEC launched an additional 100 CFW community recovery projects, thus expanding employment opportunities to an additional 3,300 individuals. The following is a summary of the characteristics of these 3,300 individuals:
- 3,300 families were represented, and thus 17,502 family members indirectly benefited
- 1,411 (43%) were women
- Participants ranged in age from 18 to 82 years old
- 300 were team leaders that earned $128 each, and 3,000 were workers that earned US$102 each
- 2,023 (61%) were single-headed households
- 750 (23%) were families that have a member who was either seriously injured during the earthquake, or had a prior handicap or chronic illness
- 269 (8%) were families with a pregnant woman
In all, 57 communities benefited from the 100 Phase III CFW projects. Sixty projects (60%) took place in the heavily effected quake zone, in collaboration with the Episcopal parishes and institutions of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Carrefour, Matthieu, Léogâne, Trouin, Buteau, l’Acul, Arcahaie, Croix-des-Bouquets, and Montrouis. The remaining 40 projects (40%) took place in Northern areas (Lascahobas, Mirebalais, Gonaïves, Cange, Cap-Haitian, Limonade, and Cange), and Southern areas (Jeremie, Petit Trou de Nippes, Les Cayes, Torbeck, and Beraud).
Phase III: 2012
In 2012, CEDDISEC is supporting an initial 30 CFW community recovery projects with a new focus on helping an additional 990 families who have not yet been able to re-engage in their in their pre-earthquake economic activities. These 2012 projects are specifically targeting three groups: 1) parents of children not enrolled in the 2011-12 school year; 2) entrepreneurs who lost business capital and have not restarted their businesses or gained access to formal credit; and 3) youth in urban tent camps who are seeking economic opportunities to contribute to their families’ well-being.
