Local volunteers made microhouses for Haiti

When it comes to travel, Matthew Schultz is no neophyte. As the head of the interdenominational ministry known as C.O.R.E. Alliance, Schultz has seen what life is like in a number of Third World countries. But nothing he had experienced prepared him for the dramatic poverty he saw in Haiti.

“Eight months after the devastating earthquake, there are still 1 million people living in makeshift shelters, some made from just scraps of material,” he said.

Odors from burning diesel fuel and standing raw sewage overwhelmed members of Schultz’s small party as they stood outside the port. Residents and U.N. peacekeeping troops passed by, unaware of the Texas team and the tons of plywood they stood beside.

Schultz didn’t arrive in Haiti empty-handed. Instead, he brought hope in the form of rugged, prefab microhouses.

Engineered to resist strong winds, the unassembled, flattened kits were stacked on pallets 40 feet high.

Each of these small buildings was prepared by volunteers in the old Academy store building on Interstate 45 in League City. Groups of men, women and children invested countless nights and weekends to assemble these Homes for Haiti.

None of the multitude behind the work could be in Haiti for the delivery. So Schultz and his brother Andrew wanted both volunteers and donors to know how these first 100 microhouses had been received.

While in Haiti, the pair trained small groups of men who will, in turn, train others in the two-hour process of assembling the homes. Others have selected flood-resistant sites on the island. The final product will amount to a small village of substantial and sustainable homes.

Poverty in Haiti presented challenges at every turn. Haitian volunteers were unable to provide screws, nails or hammers to begin assembling the buildings, so these items now are included in the kits shipped from Houston.

“We’ve shipped 100 houses already and are packaging another 230 now,” he said. “Over 1,000 volunteers from churches all over the Bay Area, Houston and even from out of state have contributed to their construction.”

C.O.R.E.’s theme verse, which can be spotted on the group’s olive green T-shirts, says it all, Schultz said.

The verse from the book of First John says: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

Andrew Schultz said seeing the poorest of the poor struggling to recover from the loss of so much was moving.

He said: “We must also work and pray for a rebirth of this country, a rebirth of its people, a rebirth in Christ to wash away the brokenness, the poverty, the corruption, and to begin anew.”

Rick Cousins can be reached at ourfaith(at)galvnews.com.

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How To Help

C.O.R.E. is seeking volunteers to load the completed house forms onto trucks. It’s also seeking donations to pay for shipping to Haiti.