Temporary Housing

Due to the destruction of people's homes, there were many in need of shelter.  Thousands of homes were destroyed and thousands more were damaged to the point of being dangerous.  In addition to that, due to the aftershocks many people who's homes were still standing were afraid to be inside them.  These factors lead to huge numbers of people who had suddenly found themselves homeless.

A few families were lucky enough to receive a shelter box from the UN.  The box contained some food, water purifier, and a large tent.  However there were nowhere near enough boxes to go around, and a UN tent like this one was a rare sight.

Much more common were shelters like this one.  The Haitians made temporary housing out of sheets, tarps, and sticks.  Shelters like this offered little to no protection from dangers such as mosquitoes and rain.  The rainy season had not yet arrived during my time in Haiti, but it did rain one night, and the water soaked the sheets and flowed under the edges on the ground.  Everyone unfortunate enough to be living in a shelter such as these must have gotten wet, and in some places the weight of the water collapsed the makeshift tents onto the people inside.

Despite these flaws, makeshift tents were better than no shelter at all, and tent cities sprung up everywhere.  any large open space became covered in these shelters, and some people simply set up next to the rubble of their broken home.