IDEJEN Graduate Celebrates Success as Construction Manager
Go find Jenna.
Jenna is the best mason.
Jenna was a 20-year-old woman. How could she possibly be the best mason in town? The American expatriate charged with finding a top mason expected to find an older man, perhaps one whose body showed clear signs of years of hard labor. After all, the mason would be overseeing the masons working on construction of a large wall to enclose a two-acre compound for Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization that would be based in Grand Goave, Haiti, a small town next to earthquake-ravaged Léogane. Unconvinced that this shy, soft-spoken young woman with beautiful braids and clear skin could take on such a task, he went back to continue the search, asking even more people throughout Grand Goave to name the best mason in town.
“Consistently, everyone said Jenna,” said Betsy Hall, Deputy Country Director of Samaritan’s Purse.
150 Families Find Hope Thanks to Dynamic Cooperation Between IDEJEN and Cordaid Haiti
The commune of Léogane compared to other areas of the country is often affected by natural disasters, some more devastating than others. As in the hinterland, the constructions in Lompré, a small rural town in the commune of Léogane, are particularly rough and flimsy. They possess few characteristics able to resist major climactic phenomena. In fact, in this area, you could count on the fingers of one hand how many little houses resisted last January’s earthquake. Since then, many families have suffered. Cordaid Haiti and IDEJEN have come to their rescue with a construction project of houses with a light structure. IDEJEN youth are the pillars of the project implementation.
Berta Mica, 53, is a single mother who battles the harsh reality of rural Haitian life to take care of her three children. A trader before January 12, today made helpless due to the collapse of her home and the loss of the small boutique where she sold her products in Lompré, Berta did not even have a tent to protect herself and her children from the whims of nature for three months after the catastrophe. On Thursday, May 6, 2010, she is a woman who is full of life, her eyes filled with gratitude and hope, who stood under the roof of the house constructed by IDEJEN youth and financed by Cordaid in the courtyard suddenly cramped due to the debris from the old, collapsed house.
IDEJEN responds to catastrophic earthquake with food, support
On Tuesday, January 12, an earthquake of 7.3 magnitude rocked Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, Displacing most survivors. Since that date, the IDEJEN staff, Despite having lost homes and loved ones, has worked hard to continue serving its youth population. While most staff members have survived, IDEJEN mourns the loss of Artibonite field agent Kencia Francis, in addition to technical trainer IDEJEN Jacqueline Despagne and five youth who Perished when their training center, AKD (located at Delmas 11) collapsed. IDEJEN has not yet determined the status of all of its youth beneficiaries, including others who may have been collapsed in the center. Still, Considering the number of youth served and the catastrophic nature of the disaster, the percentage of youth IDEJEN survivors thus far appears to be quite high.
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Go find Jenna. 
The commune of Léogane compared to other areas of the country is often affected by natural disasters, some more devastating than others. As in the hinterland, the constructions in Lompré, a small rural town in the commune of Léogane, are particularly rough and flimsy. They possess few characteristics able to resist major climactic phenomena. In fact, in this area, you could count on the fingers of one hand how many little houses resisted last January’s earthquake. Since then, many families have suffered. Cordaid Haiti and IDEJEN have come to their rescue with a construction project of houses with a light structure. IDEJEN youth are the pillars of the project implementation.
On Tuesday, January 12, an earthquake of 7.3 magnitude rocked Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, Displacing most survivors. Since that date, the IDEJEN staff, Despite having lost homes and loved ones, has worked hard to continue serving its youth population. While most staff members have survived, IDEJEN mourns the loss of Artibonite field agent Kencia Francis, in addition to technical trainer IDEJEN Jacqueline Despagne and five youth who Perished when their training center, AKD (located at Delmas 11) collapsed. IDEJEN has not yet determined the status of all of its youth beneficiaries, including others who may have been collapsed in the center. Still, Considering the number of youth served and the catastrophic nature of the disaster, the percentage of youth IDEJEN survivors thus far appears to be quite high.
