The January 12, 2010 earthquake killed 280,000 people, injured 300,000, and left 1.3 million homeless. Many infrastructures were also destroyed – libraries, universities, and schools – and most students were displaced. Damage and losses were estimated at over eight billion US dollars, or 120% of GDP.
Afterwards, we supported the creation of libraries and access points for books in nearly twenty camps on the island: 300 “story boxes” were installed, the precursor to the future Ideas Box. Information boards were also set up to share verified information and combat rumors. These spaces have allowed Haitians to find themselves, to better understand their future, and to rebuild their lives.
At the same time, LWB continues its collaboration with the libraries of the schools at the University of Haiti to support their recovery and to envision the future. Through the provision of books and training of personnel, LWB also supports the development of teacher training centers throughout the country, the School of Magistrates, and the Court of Port-au-Prince.
The January 12, 2010 earthquake killed 280,000 people, injured 300,000, and left 1.3 million homeless. Many infrastructures were also destroyed – libraries, universities, and schools – and most students were displaced. Damage and losses were estimated at over eight billion US dollars, or 120% of GDP.
In the aftermath, LWB supported the creation of libraries and access points for books in nearly twenty camps on the island: 300 “story boxes” were installed, the precursor to the future Ideas Box. Information boards were also set up to share verified information and combat rumors. These spaces have allowed Haitians to find each other, to better understand their future, and to rebuild their lives.
At the same time, LWB continued its collaboration with the libraries of the schools at the University of Haiti to support their recovery and to envision their future. Through the provision of books and training of personnel, LWB also supports the development of teacher training centers throughout the country, the School of Magistrates, and the Court of Port-au-Prince.
In 2012, LWB brought reading to life for all in Haiti through three mobile libraries that travel the roads of the island to reach rural and isolated communities: the BiblioTaptap was born! At the end of 2014, LWB transferred the libraries to local Haitian partners. LWB also supported the central women’s prison in Port-au-Prince and set up a sound library to facilitate access to books for the visually impaired and for illiterate people.
Since 2015, LWB’s actions in Haiti have been more one-off through the delivery of books and librarian trainers as was done for the community libraries of Gonaïves in 2015 and 2016, or in the support for projects such as the Bibliomoto of Jeunesse en Développement in 2016 and 2017.