On January 12, 2010 a devastating earthquake struck at the heart of Haiti, my native country. The 7.0 magnitude seism and its many aftershocks laid waste to most of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and to several of Haiti’s secondary cities, including Leogane, Jacmel and Petit-Goave. As Haitian families mourn their losses, the government and civil society contemplate the complete obliteration of the country’s infrastructure (public and private) in the Western, South Western, and Nippes Departments. The series of earthquakes constituted one of the worst natural disasters in modern times. Upwards of four million people have been directly affected, and several hundreds of thousands Haitians are now permanently shelterless--with little in the way of personal means to rebuild a future on their own.

The post-earthquake reconstruction of Haiti will be the challenge of a generation. It will require unprecedented thinking, effort and resources from the international development community and from Haitians (including those living intra-muros and those who comprise a diverse and widespread diaspora). It will also be an unfathomably difficult task, with multiple and overlapping dimensions. Just focusing on the built environment—which is a focus area for DIG, but only one aspect of the country’s overall reconstruction-- will require a simultaneous focus on private housing, public edifices, roads and bridges, schools, hospitals and clinics, and the restoration of basic services such as water and electricity to middle class and poor communities alike.

We at DIG pledge our commitment to do all we can to assist the people of Haiti in its emergency and long-term rebuilding efforts. Key members of our senior staff and of our professional network of associates hail from the country or have spent years living and working in Haiti. We feel a special obligation to contribute our knowledge and expertise, and we hope the lessons we have accumulated working in past rebuilding efforts (in Haiti and beyond) can prove useful.

As the recovery phase of the reconstruction gets underway, we begin by making available to the interested public a series of housing reconstruction-focused papers (still in draft form) DIG developed over the last couple of years as part of a global housing finance for the poor initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These papers are slated for publication as part of a comprehensive book DIG plans to publish in the Fall of 2010 (Housing Finance for the Poor: A Guide to Practice, Kumarian Press). The first paper, Emerging Lessons in Post-Emergency Environments , suggests a framework for donor and financial sector introduction of housing finance targeting the poor in the wake of a major natural disaster. The second paper, Post-Emergency Housing Finance for the Poor in Aceh, Indonesia, presents a case study of post-tsunami housing reconstruction efforts. A forthcoming third paper will look at the various housing reconstruction strategies used after Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. In addition to these DIG thought pieces, the World Bank’s Safer Homes, Stronger Communities: A Handbook for Reconstructing After Natural Disasters provides valuable guidance on supporting and empowering communities during the reconstruction process. Additional resources include the Government of Haiti Proposed Redevelopment Plan , Government of Haiti's Strategy for Physical Development , and Private Sector Development Strategy . It is our hope that these materials, as well as future resources and updates posted here will be a useful addition to the reconstruction effort in Haiti.

Kimbe la,

Franck Daphnis

January 26, 2010