History
Haven was founded in late 2008 and launched in 2009 by Leslie Buckley and his wife Carmel. Leslie's business interests brought him to Haiti for the first time in 2004. Appalled by the conditions in which the people of Haiti were and are living in, he set up Haven.
Haven was initially founded to provide housing and shelter to communities in rural Haiti. However, since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti's capital city, Port au Prince, on January 12th, 2010, Haven has been working in affected areas providing emergency relief to those most in need.
To date Haven has already built and upgraded 2,200 homes and has a target of reaching 10,000 by the end of 2014. Other completed works include
- The construction of over 1,300 latrines, 308 showers and 20 community shelters.
- More than 3,000 local people have been trained in hygiene promotion, conflict resolution and vocational training to empower communities to pursue their livelihoods.
- Haven has employed 600 local people in their projects.
- Over 10,000 children in 13 schools have been provided with clean water, sanitation facilities and hygiene training.
- Over 1,300 volunteers will have travelled with Haven to Haiti.
- The format of the traditional Build it Week was changed in 2012 to facilitate smaller groups to integrate with local employed workforce.
In 2011, Haven expanded its operations and opened an office in the US. Haven is actively fundraising and recruiting volunteers from the States. More information on this arm of Haven can be found at Haven US.
