PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haitian business owner Gladys Dorcé not only had her store and restaurant wiped out by last year’s earthquake, she nearly lost her life.
“My husband and I lost everything,” she said. “And our injuries were so bad that we had to spend seven months in the hospital after the earthquake.”
When Dorcé returned home to the hillsides of Carrefour Feuilles, she received an unexpected boost — a cash gift from a non-profit organization, which would help her restart her business.
“We’re in a country where around 90 percent of people don’t have any kind of formal employment,” said Sam Dixon, who works with the aid group, Oxfam International.
Dixon works with thousands of people just like Dorcé. The organization has targeted forgotten communities such as Carrefour Feuilles hoping to make small gains where the Haitian government cannot.
“I think we can have significant impact on people who are extremely poor, extremely vulnerable,” Dixon said. “One of the schemes we’re planning on implementing is a monthly cash gift to people.”
A recent study found that less than 40 percent of the $1.4 billion Americans donated has been spent on recovery and aid.
And rebuilding has been hampered by the more than 25 million metric units of rubble left clogging city streets and homes.
WATCH REP. MAXINE WATERS DISCUSS HAITI OUTREACH:
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TheGrio made several attempts to talk with representatives from CNE, the government division responsible for rubble removal, but no one was available for comment.
“I can’t tell you why [the Haitian government] didn’t use the equipment [more] for rubble removal,” said Harry Cadet, equipment manager at a Haitian rental company.
Cadet’s been actively involved in rubble removal since last year’s earthquake and says the process is harder than it looks.
”[The process] needs a very big organization from the government,” Cadet said. “Rubble removal in Port-au-Prince is not easy because there’s a lot of houses collapsed where there’s no access for heavy equipment to get in.”
More organization from the Haitian government is what many believe is necessary for real change to come to Haiti.
U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters agrees.
“I’m a little bit fed up,” she said in an interview. “My point of view is if we’re going to continue to spend the money … we financed those elections. We should not finance elections that are not free and fair.”
With so many questions surrounding Haiti’s future, local aid workers say the strength of its people remains the country’s only constant.
VIDEO SHOT AND PRODUCED BY THEGRIO’S Todd Johnson