All Levels
THE
HAITI
HOUSE
PROJECT
On January 12, 2010, a cata- strophic earthquake hit he small country of Haiti, reducing buildings and
homes to piles of rubble and killing
thousands of people. This was the latest disaster to befall this country, one
of the poorest in the world. Immediately, the people of the United States
and of just about every country in the
world began to devise ways to help the
victims of this tragedy.
create a project called Haiti Houses
as a way for our students to help the
people of Haiti.
Ann Ayers, Ellen McMillan, and Liberty McMillan
A Sober Reality
Flashback to more than a year ago; our
National Art Honor Society invited a
speaker from an organization called
Food for the Poor to give a presentation at one of our meetings. We saw a
video that showed the horrible living
conditions in Haiti: People living in
tents or dilapidated shacks made of
cardboard, plastic, tin, or whatever
materials could be scavenged from
the garbage.
The presentation left a huge
impression on us, so we decided to
of Haiti. The project was in place; all
we needed to do was let people know
about it.
Haiti Houses
In February of 2009, we set to work,
creating small houses out of scrap mat
board—gluing on the roof, doors and
windows, coloring with permanent
markers, and sealing the houses
with resin. We created a website to
explain the project
and give directions
on how to make
the houses, and
provided links to organizations who
provide direct aid to Haiti. Little did
we know we were planting the seeds
of a project that would grow out of the
January disaster.
The day after the earthquake, we
knew that the “Haiti Houses Project”
was the perfect way for all students
to participate in a charitable endeavor
that would provide help to the people
