Update, February 23, 2010- Temporary School

It's just a month and a half after the earthquake and we are starting to hear about a new cause for a devastated Haiti. Development! Tourism, agriculture, "industrial parks", strengthening Haiti's government or removing it and installing a new one. This has been touted the magic "new beginning" to a country that has been under foreign control since Christopher Columbus sanctioned it fit for European agriculture production way back when. Some ideas are valid and responsible, but many are opportunistic and will move a much needed income for Haiti out of the country or into the pockets of Haiti's elite. It is a very important topic of conversation and we certainly should pay attention to what's in the works for Haiti's future, but the type of rebuilding forefront in our mind should still be about providing the basics of everyday life for these affected Haitians.

Here is some info I received from Scott Weinstein, a nurse from the DC area who has been working with SOPUDEP and other groups on the ground for three weeks now.  "A few weeks after the earthquake, Réa is desperately trying to get food for her community of children and their families from the school she ran before the earthquake. It now is a community center and clinic. Baz, an American medic, has told her that there might be food from the UN. But it is very confusing. The Italian Navy is also promising food in a few days. The prospect of being able to participate in that food distribution system seems daunting for Rea, whose English is not very good and whose Italian is nil."

So, her and the organization are doing what they can to provide for their community. That means buying food, medications, shelter supplies and paying for bus tickets to get families out to their relatives in the countryside. This has run them upwards of $20,000 so far. Obviously all of our help in this area is still a vital necessity!

With providing aid relief, Réa must also start organizing her staff to reinstate classes for her students. Réa says that they must move to the new property (which they started paying for at the end of last summer and should be paid off by next week) as the current building has been designated for other purposes.

A committee of Interior Architect students and professors from Ryerson University in Toronto have been working hard to finalize a temporary school and shelter design for SOPUDEP. The school can hold at least 180 children at a time, is both hurricane and earthquake resistant, is easily constructed and most importantly, is relatively cheap. This design is also robust enough to last them a long time as the permanent school goes through the planning and prefabrication process (a school built from shipping containers). The shelters measure around 10'x 7.5' each and can sleep two people comfortably. We are all excited about these temporary structures and what it will mean to the community at large as they learn to build them and possibly adapt them for their own specific needs.

What are we looking at for cost? One 60'x 60' school and  ten shelters would run in the range of $2000 to $3000. Wow!!!

Committee head Kathlene McGuinness sent a note that better explains their design:

We are a group of Ryerson Interior Design and Architecture students and graduates who have been developing a design for a temporary SOPUDEP school. At Rea’s request, we are now developing designs for private shelters that will house the SOPUDEP teachers displaced from their homes.

Our design focuses on two main points: availability and accessibility.

Availability:
The structures are created using readily available materials (such as plastic bags, fabric, tarps, and sand-filled rice bags). We have managed to contact a bamboo farmer in Haiti, and he has agreed to supply bamboo at a special price to serve as a framework for the structures. Bamboo is especially versatile: it can be used for structural support, framing, rebar, and is excellent in earthquake-prone areas as it is flexible under pressure.

Accessibility:
Our intent is to ensure that construction can be easily executed by virtually anyone – even young students who might want to help!  We used concept words such as packable, stackable, weaving and tying to formulate our approach. No special tools are needed, save knives and perhaps scissors if they are available. The structure can be created in stages, so one part can function before the rest are finished. The design also allows for some adaptation, so if certain materials are not available, others can be used instead.

The intended school structure will, at this point in the design process, be approximately 60’ x 60’ with a possible 10’ awning extension on each side. A ventilation chimney and wind-trap in the middle will make sure that fresh air flows through the entire structure, and tarpaulin eaves will keep moisture away from the building (and the students!) in rainy season.

It is our hope that when the structure is no longer needed for SOPUDEP, it can be easily dismantled and used for other purposes as the needs of the people of SOPUDEP and the surrounding community evolve.

We have included some preliminary design sketches for the school structure, and we will be developing a more finalized design this weekend.

Kathlene McGuinness
Project Coordinator, RSID Student.
Ryerson University

I think this is a wonderful and innovative project that deserves our attention. While all this may seem like a  drop in the bucket compared to the "big boys" talk of pothole free highways connecting a shiny new country built on tourism and sweatshop investment dollars, I know we can bet on an organization such as SOPUDEP to move ahead now for the benefit to their fellow citizens. A school is not and should not be treated as a business opportunity. Public education is a cornerstone of our society and so it should be for theirs. Until the day Haiti's government is strong enough to provide for this very basic human right, we will strive to help SOPUDEP achieve their goals of providing free and accessible education to those who would otherwise not be able to afford it.

Until then,

Ryan Sawatzky