270495 In Dessources, Haiti, the soil is still moving: Replicas of sustainable community development practices two years after the earthquake

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Andrea Pérez, MPH , School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR
The community needs in Dessources were aggravated after the earthquake of January 12, 2010. The work in Dessources these past two years takes into consideration the needs of the community and its social determinants of health, the participatory strategic method used, agro-ecological planning, sustainable project implementation, and the evaluation of those projects using qualitative and quantitative methods. The purpose of the long-term community intervention is to create, in an organic way with the community, sustainable projects that contribute to the development and betterment of the quality of life of all of its inhabitants. After the needs assessment was performed, the community prioritized its needs and decided which two projects to start with. The two most pressing needs were perfectly matched with two essential projects: food scarcity and lack of functional latrines with the development of agro-ecological practices and the construction of ecological sanitation toilets with compost production. This laid out the foundation for a sustainable livelihood in Dessources. In order to adapt these theoretical concepts into practice, the participatory development method from Frans Geilfus, the Sustainable Life Development model supported by the European Commission, and the Campesino to Campesino focus from the National Association of Small Farmers from Cuba were integrated. Through this process, the community members have focused on their individual and communal potential, and have started to formulate solutions using their economic, physical, human, natural, and social resources.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Environmental health sciences
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe sustainable community development strategies implemented in Dessources, Haiti.

Keywords: Community Development, Sustainability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been working in community development projects for the past six years and have focused my work and studies in the social determinants of health in developing communities, particularly in Dessources, Haiti.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.