A resettlement project in Haiti funded and built by Taiwan to house 1,000 people who lost their homes during a magnitude 7 earthquake in 2010 was inaugurated on Saturday.
The Village of Hope, which includes housing for 200 families and an elementary school as well as a 300 hectare area suitable for agriculture, was fully funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China.
Haitian Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development Thomas Jacques expressed hope that the US$5.5 million project would provide a place for the quake victims to settle in Savane Diane, which is located 230km from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
The residents will also be taught agricultural techniques by a technical team from Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund, which will show them how to grow crops such as corn and sorghum, Jacques said.
Children in the village will be able to attend the school from October this year, said Jacques, adding that his ministry will also cooperate with the country’s Health Department to set up health clinics in the village.
Ambassador to Haiti Liu Bang-zyh (劉邦治) said the decision to locate the village at Savane Diane, which was less seriously hit by the earthquake than some other parts of the country, was in line with Haiti’s urban development policy.
He said Haiti’s government also hopes to develop a remote area in the north in order to create a regional balance in the population.
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