Four years ago after the earthquake Samaritan's Purse put up temporary structures for people to live in. These structures were just four walls wrapped in a tarp with a roof on top. Temporary was a term used lightly I guess because people still live in them.
We drove about 30 min away and turned off the main road. There we found a small village made completely of these structures. Couldn't stop thinking "why are these still here!" And "wow, these are still here!"
Entire families live in these 10 x 12 structures. Some of them own and some rent them.
So now what is happening is we put siding on one of these structures to make them last even longer. The reality is these people will most likely be staying in them so they need to majorly outlast what was intended.
The siding we put on this structure will not only make the house safer, but also cooler, which in Haiti is important.
My favorite part was how the Haitians all wanted to help us. The neighboring men jumped in and worked alongside us to get the job done. When you don't have steady work I'm sure it feels good to just do something! Or it was because power tools were involved. I dunno.....(they are men after all)
What I learned from this is the sense of needing a purpose is always there. So before we assume people are lazy or un-willing maybe they really just need a little help (power tools!) and a bit of instruction.
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