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HAITI / FLOOD PREVENTION
STORY: HAITI / FLOOD PREVENTION
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
TRT: 2.35
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CREOLE / NATS
DATELINE: 19 DECEMBER 2012, HAITI
1. Med shot, Monique Nestor arriving at her place and talking to her son seated on a wall
2. Close up, flowers with bears
3. Close up, Nestor cleaning and arranging flowers
4. Wide shot, Nestor arranging stuffed animals in living room
5. Wide shot, Nestor starting to wash dishes
6. Close up, hands washing laundry
7. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Monique Nestor, Beneficiary :
"When I am unemployed, I don’t have anything. But when I start working in the project, I have a salary even if it is very small. But the unemployment is the worst. I earn 50 US dollars, it helps me in any way.”
8. Wide shot, Nestor arriving in the ravine
9. Wide shot, people working in the ravine
10. Med shot, laying stones
11. Wide shot, workers watching a first part of a wall constructed by stones
12. Close up, placing stones little by little
13. Wide shot, Nestor picking up stones
14. Close up, hand picking up stones from the ground
14. Med shot, beneficiary picking up stones
15. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Monique Nestor, Beneficiary:
“The male worker doesn’t allow the female worker to carry heavy rocks. The men stay above and sent the heavy rocks; the ladies take only those they can carry, the little ones. For the big rocks, the men are like brothers, they carry it. They know perfectly we can’t lift the stones.”
16. Wide shot, several workers
17. Close up, plant
18. Wide shot, walls and trees with workers in action
19. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Jean Joseph Claudy, Farmer:
“This work protects the soil. When it rains, usually all the soils runs down. But with this project, the wall will keep the soil, we can plant banana and other fruits, it is important.”
20. Med shot, workers arranging last adjustments in the wall
21. Pan left, tree
22. Wide shot, Monique Nestor walking off
Monique Nestor lives in Fontamara 27, a modest suburb of the Haitian capital Port au Prince.
Alone, she takes care of her two sons and her stepfamily.
She was unemployed until, two years ago, she started working for a non-governmental organization called 'Organisation Nationale des Jeunes Professionelles pour sauver Haiti' - Young Professionals to save Haiti.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Monique Nestor, Beneficiary :
"When I am unemployed, I don’t have anything. But when I start working in the project, I have a salary even if it is very small. But the unemployment is the worst. I earn 50 US dollars, it helps me in any way.”
Every day, Monique comes to the ravine Manman Zanfan, in the hills above her neighbourhood.
The work is simple: to avoid flooding the lower areas, the community is building natural scales and walls.
The programme is financed by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and employs an average of 245 workers each month from the lower areas.
Three thousand meters of ravines are being shaped. Each stone is chosen and placed with great care.
Thirty percent of the workers are women. They work hand in hand with the men, and say they are treated with respect.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Monique Nestor, Beneficiary:
“The male worker doesn’t allow the female worker to carry heavy rocks. The men stay above and send the heavy rocks; the ladies take only those they can carry, the little ones. For the big rocks, the men are like brothers, they carry it. They know perfectly we can’t lift the stones.”
To maintain the soil, trees and plants are placed next to the stone walls.
Farmers who use this land are also involved in the project.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Jean Joseph Claudy, Farmer:
“This work protects the soil. When it rains, usually all the soils runs down. But with this project, the wall will keep the soil, we can plant banana and other fruits, it is important.”
Decades of ruthless deforestation have made soil erosion and periodic flooding a pervasive problem in Haiti.
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