In 2010 Haiti was hit by a serious earthquake, with many people being left homeless. Particularly hard hit were children and young people who in some cases lost not only their homes, but their parents as well.
Almost 18 months have passed since the catastrophic earthquake, and Haiti is still battling its way out of the chaos. From the capital it currently takes around two and a half hours by car to cover the short 25 kilometre route to the Gressier suburb. In the course of the disastrous earthquake on 12 January 2010 Gressier suffered massive destruction. Now in Gressier, with the help of Futouris and in collaboration with the Don Bosco Jugend Dritte Welt (Don Bosco Third-World Youth) organisation, the entire TUI Group is lending a hand with support for the Lebensnester für Haiti (Haiti Nests for Life) project and in this way is looking to make a long-term contribution towards reconstruction.
Four objectives and the progress being made
"Nests for Life" provide the children and young people of Haiti with a home, schooling and training, and job prospects. Nests for Life also provide scope for them to rediscover their cultural identity and to learn agricultural skills.
The Education Nest
In promotion of inter-cultural exchange - setting up education and training facilities for learning how to work with new media and communication across national frontiers.
The Nature Nest
Setting up a kitchen garden - with traditional plants, trees, fruits and vegetables, there are opportunities created for self-sufficiency and for the direct marketing of people's own agricultural products, as well as learning traditional cooking skills.
The Culture Nest
To establish a cultural meeting place - to preserve the cultural identity of Haitians by setting up a traditional music orchestra and promoting awareness of the distinctive aspects of Haitian culture.
The Peace Nest
To create family togetherness - setting up refuges and places to stay offering mutual company and security. Apart from the building housing the primary and secondary school, Don Bosco are building a college and a boarding school for children and young people who have lost their parents or whose families live a considerable distance away.
Just immediately after the earthquake TUI put up a total of half a million euro. The partner in the aid project supported by the whole Group is the Silesians of Don Bosco who support children and young people in need throughout the world in the fields of education and occupational training and who have been active in Haiti for 75 years. The aid provided from Germany is co-ordinated by the Bonn-based "Don Bosco JUGEND DRITTE WELT e. V.".