Since late 2019, the conditions in Haiti have prevented our return. Political turmoil became too unsafe to ask our friends to accommodate our arrival. This happened around the same time as COVID shut down most of the world in 2020. Fortunately, the ATI house has provided shelter for villagers during hurricanes, extra office space, and now housing for a security guard to help protect the village from gang activity.
We have worked on the ATI house off and on for about 2 years. Now, construction is nearly complete and we plan to move into the building the next time we are in country! We are so grateful to the Haitian construction team for their hard work and to Samuel for his coordination between us and the construction crew.
In July, 2017, Aid to Infrastructure broke ground on our Haiti Headquarters in Piton! The building will be located on school grounds just a few feet behind the main school building and clinic.
Construction of this house marks a turning point our work in Piton. Right now, we spend a few hours a day just traveling up and down the mountain to and from Petit Goave where we rent a house. But when our headquarters building is finished, most of our down time will be spent right there in the village. This is optimum because it will allow us the time and energy to tackle long term projects such as water collection/filtration and improvement of the latrines. The house doesn't have running water or an indoor bathroom, so we will be using the same facilities as the village. What a better way to study and understand these urgent needs!
Utilizing a concrete roof rather than a metal one, the house will be a safe place to go during a hurricane. Should the need arise, the village will have access to the building whether or not we are present.
Not only will we officially have a home in Piton, but we will be just steps away from the clinic building. This will make clinic days and subsequent follow up visits much easier.
Now, with the existence of the ATI HQ and the Clinic building all together on school grounds, our presence there won't disrupt the school functions. This allows us to see first hand the operation of the school and understand their needs.
Eventually, we expect to build a home elsewhere in the area and give this building to the school to use as they need.
Piton Partnership
1150 Pratt Road
Blanchester, OH 45107 USA
katherine@aidtoinfrastructure.com