Inspire, Fall/Winter 2010

once he reached Port-au-Prince. “You saw the hillside scattered with tarps over sticks. That is what the people were living in; they were right on top of each other,” Chris said. Met with this ominous sight, he knew that the people’s need for stable shelter was even more desperate than he’d thought. Chris traveled to Haiti with Christ in Action (CIA), an organization that brings hope to families that have been through a natural disaster, to meet just one of the country’s needs — shelter. It is hard to imagine how much more devastation Haiti could handle — a country that already seemed to be at its worst. When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the capital city, Port-au-Prince, on January 12, 2010, there seemed to be no hope for the poorest country in the Americas. But responses to the call for help poured in. Churches sent volunteers. Organizations gathered money. Actors traveled to raise awareness. Public service ads dominated commercial breaks, pleading with viewers to help support Haiti. And CIA responded with a focused goal, to provide Haitian people with homes. Discovering the chaos It’s difficult to describe typical housing in Haiti. Most Haitians needed proper dwellings even before the earthquake. Many Haitians live in thatched huts, poorly constructed mud-walled structures. Occasionally, salvaged boat hulls serve as doors. No steel-reinforced concrete holds these homes together. No modern engineering principles protect the people from disaster. Understanding the need for secure places for families to live, CIA joined forces with another relief organization, Friend Ships Unlimited. They worked to construct pre-fabricated, 8-foot by 12-foot shelters. These custom-designed homes only cost $600, last seven to 10 years, and sleep up to eight people. They are modest dwellings yet still an upgrade from most of the housing in Haiti. When the shelters were ready, CIA stacked, banded, and trucked them to Georgetown, South Carolina, then shipped them using Friend Ships’ fleet. Partnering to Help On the Haitian shore, Chris and his CIA counterparts waited to unload the hundreds of shelters and begin assembling them — each one took about two hours. A throng of volunteers anxious to help worked alongside them to complete the job. Chris Zitzmann could see nothing but tents Chris filming as the homes for haiti are assembled Loading the ship with hundreds of homes finally sailing to Haiti Housing in haiti after the earthquake 20 fall/winter 2010