8 March 2010: Cash for work programmes often don’t get the sort of profile in disasters that traditional food distribution and building shelters can command. But today my meeting with Jesusla, a 62-year-old Haitian woman, earning US$5 a day as part of a ditch clearing operation, emphasised the value of programmes like this.

Appropriately on International Women’s Day, I come across Jesusla wielding a hoe and clearing away debris as part of a mixed team working on the outskirts of Croix-des-Bouquets. In the distance is an unofficial tented village where she lives with many internally displaced people from as far afield as Port-au-Prince and beyond. The tents are a chaotic fragile tapestry of sheets and pieces of material - just about bearable in good weather but unlikely to withstand the rainy season, which is fast approaching.

Protecting vital paths

And then there is the problem of the path which connects this site to Croix-des-Bouquets and beyond. Plan’s cash for work programme with its emphasis on practical strategies to reduce local flooding can at least mitigate the effects of the next threat after the earthquake: very heavy rain. Without such programmes the path would soon be a morass of mud and dirt, traipsed into the tents and adding to the risk of illness. With it there is a good chance it will be passable.

Plan’s cash for work programmes provide valuable funds for individuals and families. Over a 2 week period a member of the team can earn US$50, a lot of money in Haiti.

Helping thousands take action

The work is being spearheaded by a remarkable man, Marshall Ashley, a 67-year-old former US academic, who has spent over 3 decades working full time in development. His enthusiasm is infectious and he knows how to scale up an operation. Marshall has worked for almost everyone in the sector and tells me proudly that he will soon have over 60 “cash for work” teams in action, clearing rubble and lots of similar tasks.

He has hopes of 100 teams soon which would mean over 2,000 Haitians would have cash in their pockets as well the dignity of doing useful work. I doubt if Marshall ever thinks about retiring from work like this. He has lived in Haiti for many years and cares deeply for the people, even more so after the terrible earthquake.

Dreams of a better Haiti

For Jesusla, this programme means like Marshall, she can dream of a better Haiti. She wants to open a soap making business with her cash.

I once heard the former President of Ireland Mary Robinson describe “work” as being “love made concrete”, that it was the strongest evidence society valued people and wanted them to be able to contribute to their own welfare. If you had met Jesusla and the other members of the ditch clearing team today, you would have no doubt she was right.

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