When the Jan. 12 earthquake hit Haiti, Ternelia Guillaume, 26, was outside in the yard with her 5-year-old son, Jean Guidony, while her newborn Eunice slept inside the house. As the house shook, Ternelia ran inside and scooped the baby up in her arms, bolting out the door as the house completely collapsed behind them.

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Roosevelt is 36 years old and works as a carpenter. His house was destroyed in the earthquake, and he has been sleeping in a tent in his yard since then, along with his two sons, Mike Tyler, 7, and Viky Alluns, 3.

Roosevelt has completed his volunteer hours with The Fuller Center by using his carpentry skills to build roof trusses for other Fuller Center homes, including the roof for his own new house.
 

Wilbens, 27, and Gladys, 25, will celebrate their fourth anniversary next month. They have an 11-month-old son, Samuel. The family lives on the church grounds of Lott Carey Church in Leogane. The church house was damaged in the earthquake, so Wilbens constructed a shelter made of tarps and wood next to the church, and the family was living there since the quake. They are grateful for the new house that has been built behind the church, which they have now moved into. They love being able to stay dry now when it rains, and they are thankful to have a solid floor instead of the dirt floor they had been sleeping on since the earthquake.

Marie Solange Boileau is a 47-year-old widow who lives in a 10x20 tarp-covered structure with nine relatives. One of the two young children in the family, Greg Ryan, lost his mother in the 2010 earthquake.  

Boileau cleaned rubble from the streets of Leogane for NGO’s Cash for Work program until it stopped several months ago. Since then, the family hasn’t been able to generate any income, with the exception of a street-curb business in which they try to sell powder soap, pencils, fire-matches, spices, and anything else that they can find. The profit they make from this business is less than $12 US per month. 

The family has mainly been able to eat with the help of friends and neighbors who have given them their extra food.

Lydia Vilbremon (not pictured) is a 68-year-old widow who lives in a tarp-covered structure with seven relatives. During the day, Vilbremon must stay elsewhere because the structure is too hot to bear, and is also frequently flooded by heavy rains.

Her two older grandsons Esdras & Amos, who also live in the structure, work as construction laborers when they are able to find work.

The family is very eager to get into a permanent home right away.

Lexius and Mari Rose Valery are 62 and 52 years old, respectively, and live in a 10x20 tarp-covered structure with seven relatives.

Though Lexius is a farmer by trade, his age now impedes his ability to work, and as a result, the couple no longer has an income. Due to lack of opportunity in Haiti, their four sons still rely on them as well. 

They are very eager to get into a permanent home right away.