Rebuilding Homes - Rebuilding Lives
Construction
Homes
Rebati Kay-la (RKL) literally means "rebuild the house" in Creole. Though the project at its heart is about community development, the quality, efficacy, and physical integrity of each home is paramount. The Executive Committee has spent several years consulting each aspect of the homes' structure and design with an internationally-recognized architecture firm and local engineers to meet and exceed accepted international standards. Furthermore, Rebati Kay-la does not only build new homes, but also repairs and reconstructs existing homes with severe damage.
Water Catchment System
While waterborne illnesses (e.g. cholera, typhoid, and chronic diarrhea) are the cause of more than half of the deaths in the country every year, the large majority of Haitians do not have access to potable water. Here in the community of Blanchard, an individual must walk 2 hours to obtain a few gallons of substandard water to use for cooking, washing, and bathing. Rebati Kay-la constructs water catchment systems consisting of gutters, downspouts, and a cistern to retain and preserve 2600 gallons of fresh rainwater - enough to sustain a family through the dry season.
Compost Toilet System
In a rural farming community, premium quality fertilizer is virtually unattainable. The Compost Toilet converts toilet waste into safe, pure fertilizer to promote not only a markedly increased advantage for farming, but also for drastically improved sanitation for families inside and outside of their homes.
The system consists of a seat, recepticle, and organic material (e.g. leaves, grass, straw etc.) which eliminate odor and promote the composting process. Once a recepticle is filled, it is then emptied into a compost pile, covered, and set up to complete the composting process resulting in safe, pure fertilizer which may be used directly on crops. Futhermore, community members are likewise trained in techniques to use diluted urine as sterile, highly nitrogenated plant food.
Leadership Development
Local Leaders
Rebati Kay La's greatest strength is its people. AEDCH identifies and empowers leaders within the community to partner with the project and expand their own leadership capacity, gain new skills, and train and empower others. The ultimate goal is to equip and empower local leaders to manage their own programs and develop their own communities.
Tools & Techniques
Much of the reason so many houses collapsed in the 2010 earthquake was due to a simple lack of good construction practices. Rebati Kay La employs internationally-recognized earthquake-resistant techniques, vetted by both a world class architecture firm and a team of local engineers. The quality of construction has gained notoriety throughout the region with masons, ironworkers, and other tradesmen coming from Port-au-Prince and beyond to observe. Committed to investing in these individuals and the safety and security of communities far beyond its own, AEDCH is preparing a set of formal trainings in Rebati Kay La's cost-effective earthquake-resistant construction techniques.
Education
One of the most important aspects of community development is sustainability: if there is no investment in the future, then there is no hope of a permanent solution. In an economy in desperation, a young adult without formal education has virtually no chance of finding work and having any kind of income. With no access to public schooling, and private schools easily half or more of an individual's annual income, education is a serious issue for community members. AEDCH is currently sponsoring adolescents through secondary school to support and encourage the future of the community. The long term goal is to create a community based equivalent of the standardized national curriculum to replace unobtainably expensive private schools with a quality home school like program.