Conscience International

After constructing two model homes, Conscience International has begun the construction of ten homes with completion scheduled for the end of July. These homes are being built in and around the Apad camp in Croix-de-Bouquets, a suburb of Port-au-Prince and in Grand Goave, a small town about thirty minutes on the other side of the epicenter from Port.

Each of theses homes is being built on the site of the owners previous homes that were destroyed during the earthquake. The new houses are being built around the floor of the old homes, allowing us to salvage the floor. Debris from the damaged homes is also being used in the foundations and walls of the new homes.

Family members are also contributing labor during the construction of the homes.  All of these elements come together to increase the family’s attachment to the new home and tie it into the old home. If you or your organization would like to help with the construction of these or our second round of homes, due to start in late July or August, please use the Contact Us form and a member of our staff will get in touch with you.

Two months after the giant Haitian earthquake, Conscience International is in Port-au-Prince with its sixth medical and relief team since January 12th. Most of the affected population is still camped under flimsy bed sheets and tablecloths. Many people are desperate for health care, and homelessness and widespread poverty complicates their lives in ways that are beyond the comprehension of people in the developed world.

Nurse Linda Riffle is dispensing medicine at mobile clinics all over the greater Port-au-Prince area while contractor Jeremy Holloman is preparing shelter locations and evaluating designs with Conscience International President Dr. James Jennings.

Along with consulting Haitian leaders, leading architects from the US, and members of the NGO community, we are also drawing upon years of emergency relief experience and building in third-world environments. CI has come up with a house design that both maintains the cultural traditions of Port-au-Prince and is constructed of locally available materials. Using locally available construction supplies helps support the local economy.

The design also utilizes material from the destroyed buildings. Recycling the usable material lowers the construction cost of the new homes as well as reduces the amount of debris introduced to landfills or dumped on agricultural land. In many cases homes may be constructed using blocks from the family’s previous home, increasing their attachment and pride in the new home.

Conscience International Medical Teams report from Port-au-Prince

Boy receiving medical treatment.

Tent cities filled with hungry people…dead bodies stacked in hospital courtyards…makeshift clinics in large tents crowded with beds…people suffering without anesthetic…horrible disfiguring wounds that have not been treated….dirty bandages…flies…little children too fatigued and too hopeless to cry…limbs swollen with gangrene…arms and legs being amputated…doctors and nurses working around the clock…some being treated for dehydration and exhaustion themselves….people groaning, wincing, or screaming in pain…a human tide of misery….

Conscience International team members, led by CI President Dr, James E. Jennings, are now making return trips to Haiti in order to perform surgery under emergency conditions and to take and dispense much needed medical supplies. You can help support these efforts by donating to support Conscience International’s Haiti Relief efforts.