The January 12, 2010, earthquake shattered Haiti’s teeming capital of Port-au-Prince, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people, rendering homeless thousands more, and leaving the city in ruins with miles of buildings and homes collapsed and infrastructure broken.

With help from abroad, the Haitian government was able to recover and bury bodies, clear main roads, and restore water and electricity. But immense devastation and homelessness remained, overwhelming people’s ability to simply stand back up (Ann Leve Kanpe means “let’s stand up” in Haitian Creole). Much of Port-au-Prince’s secondary roads, alleys, sidewalks, and drainage canals remained blocked by rubble. With the March-through-November rainy season approaching, this raised the specter of flooding and a potential public health crisis.

Under the direction of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Transition Initiatives, DAI staff flew to Port-au-Prince within a week of the earthquake and began helping with the recovery. The immediate goal: support the Government of Haiti and the mayors and civic leaders of Port-au-Prince’s eight urban communes in organizing and implementing cleanup, which included helping national leaders establish communications and assemble cash-for-work cleanup teams. These efforts would be led by local leaders who recruited personnel and planned and prioritized local efforts.

By providing emergency infrastructure and technical assistance, HRI is increasing the capacity, effectiveness, and visibility of the Government of Haiti as it carries out mandates under the State of Emergency. In doing so, HRI facilitates short-term economic and sociopolitical recovery through large-scale temporary job creation, building the confidence of Port-au-Prince’s residents and civil society.

Importantly, by improving local government service delivery, these grant-funded initiatives increase the credibility of the Government of Haiti in conflict-vulnerable communities, thus promoting stability. HRI’s participatory, demand-driven approach requires that DAI work closely with municipal officials and local leaders in each step of this process.

HRI is also acquiring or rehabilitating temporary facilities to restore core Government of Haiti ministry functions, and building government capacity to communicate key information to the public.

The partnerships borne of HRI are built on USAID/Haiti’s existing programs and relations with GoH partners, maximizing collaboration with international actors such as the World Bank and United Nations, and U.S. government partners.