Building Hope: A Place for Community, Growth, and Opportunity
HOPE purchased land! We now own almost 2 acres on two adjacent parcels. We have completed a comprehensive design process and the construction of our largest building is well underway! The first and larger lot will be focused on the community with a soccer field, 3 on 3 basketball court, clinic and community center. The second lot will be HOPE Headquarters and Economic center, which will contain offices for our programs including KOPEDAG (the poultry cooperative), staff apartments and guest housing.
We are excited about the building project and having our own facilities, but we are also excited about how we have chosen to go about construction. We are working with Mark Gilbert, a dear friend with a background in construction and development both stateside and in Haiti, to design and manage the project. We have hired a Haitian Engineer to work alongside Mark to execute the construction and help run our construction team. Construction requires working hands and there are many people in our community desperate for work. Instead of hiring an outside firm to build, we have committed to using labor from the community in which we live and work. The goal from the beginning has been to use the project as both an educational and economic opportunity for our community. Thus far the project has already proven to be an incredible opportunity to teach people ways to improve building practices, develop the skills necessary to make them more marketable as tradesmen and earn a consistent and fair wage.