LAMIKA Program
Among the many factors contributing to the devastation
wrought by the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti were poverty, environmental degradation and low construction quality of
homes built in dense, urban areas. Nowhere in Port-au-Prince
were these challenging conditions more pervasive than in the
neighborhood of Carrefour-Feuilles, which suffered enormous
losses from the disaster. Making progress in addressing these
deeply rooted problems requires comprehensive efforts that
touch on several issues simultaneously.
The LAMIKA Program (an acronym for “A Better Life in My
Neighborhood” in Creole), uses this dynamic approach to provide the residents of Carrefour-Feuilles with healthy and secure
living spaces, while also enhancing community and household
resiliency. Community members have been the primary drivers
of LAMIKA, by identifying their most pressing needs and participating in the program design process. This community input

Program Information
Budget: $ 24,281,522
Timeframe: 11/1/11 – 6/30/2016
Location: Carrefour-Feuilles, Port-au-Prince, Ouest
Department, Haiti
Goal
To enhance community and household resiliency in
Carrefour-Feuilles through a sustainable and integrated
approach that provides healthy, habitable, and secure
living spaces.
Select Achievements
47,860 people reached by community-based
health and first-aid services
14,188 oral rehydration packets distributed to
help treat cholera
8,321 households visited by LAMIKA staff to
discuss disaster response plans
221 people trained on peer health message
delivery
17,385 mosquito nets distributed to help
prevent the spread of malaria
3,437 school children reached with hygiene
and disaster response lessons

has helped focus LAMIKA around three central pillars: social
engagement, physical renewal, and economic strengthening.

Social Engagement
The social engagement feature of LAMIKA has been developed
to give residents a broad set of skills that make them safer and
healthier, and to empower them to take the lead in their recovery. The American Red Cross has helped all 40 schools in Carrefour-Feuilles to develop customized disaster response plans,
as well as health and hygiene efforts to prevent the spread of
diseases like cholera. The LAMIKA program has distributed
more than 17,000 mosquito nets to help combat malaria, and it
has distributed nearly 500,000 condoms to help residents fight
the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Issues related to gender and youth are also a major focus of work
in Carrefour-Feuilles, including a project to reduce the incidence
and mitigate the consequences of gender-based violence.
In order to help the residents of Carrefour-Feuilles prepare for
future disasters and take a more proactive role in their own
safety, the Red Cross has created Community Intervention
Teams. The Red Cross trains these teams—made up of local
volunteers—in first aid and light search and rescue, and equips
them with supplies such as bullhorns, shovels, first aid kits and
other tools that allow them to respond to disasters. Disaster risk
reduction trainings are held through direct engagement at various levels, and early warning systems alert the whole community of impending natural disasters.

Infrastructure
Decades of unplanned growth in the Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood have led to insecure infrastructure, cramped spaces
and hazardous pedestrian and vehicle access. This disorganization has isolated the community from the surrounding areas,
and complicated the process of transporting construction materials and other supplies. At the request of community members,
the American Red Cross is upgrading infrastructure in parts of
Carrefour-Feuilles and initiating larger scale construction efforts
to improve housing and other living spaces. These include activities such as ravine clearing to mitigate flooding, construction of
large public spaces that facilitate and promote social cohesion,
and pedestrian walkway improvements to create safer transit.
Rebuilding safe living conditions and infrastructure is the heart
of the reconstruction effort, and as a result, retrofitting homes
and repairing schools are a cornerstone of the program’s infrastructure strategy.
A central tenet of the LAMIKA program has been the use of

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 innovative solutions to common problems.. One example of this
approach has been the design and installation of solar-powered
streetlights. By circumventing obstacles posed by the nation’s
unreliable power grid, these streetlights can prevent crime and
extend the hours during which residents can travel and conduct
business in the neighborhood. And in order to ensure that these
lights can continue functioning beyond the LAMIKA program,
the American Red Cross has trained Solar Light Committees on
technical skills required for long-term maintenance.

Livelihoods
A sustainable transformation of the Carrefour-Feuilles area
depends on residents’ access to stable income generating
opportunities, and the LAMIKA program offers training and
resources to help the community’s existing and aspiring entrepreneurs start or improve their businesses. The American

Red Cross livelihoods strategy helps people develop essential
skills and offers access to capital to start or expand businesses.
Hands-on entrepreneurship training offers guidance on negotiation, marketing, accounting and more, while savings and loans
programs teach community members how to save money and
offer micro financing to others.
With nearly 70 percent of Haiti’s population under the age of
30, the importance of a youth-focused strategy for economic
development is clear. Several projects have been implemented
that improve vocational opportunities while emphasizing engagement with youth. The demand for such programming has
been overwhelming, as more than 1,714 youth have registered
for training and internships to help them develop relevant skills
to find jobs and start small businesses that benefit their communities. To date, young adults in the LAMIKA programs have
participated in more than 300 internships in Carrefour-Feuilles.

(From left to right) Dieulène, 14,
Glafaïllena, 6, and Delina, 3, rest
under mosquito nets on their bunk
beds at the CAPED orphanage in the
Croix-Desprez area of Port-au-Prince,
Haiti. The orphanage, home to boys
and girls aged 3-8, received mosquito
nets from the American Red Cross in
August 2013.

Photo by Rodrigo Ordóñez
American Red Cross
October 2014

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