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The American Red cross is under fire for building just six houses in earthquake-ravaged Haiti after raising almost $500 million, according to a report by non-profits NPR and ProPublica.
The poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti was struck by an earthquake in 2010. Afterwards, the American Red Cross took in more aid than any other organization.
With the $488 million it raised, the Red Cross initially said it planned to build hundreds of homes, and open brand new communities.
However, most of the homes turned out to be temporary structures, or tents.
The Red Cross disputes the report, saying the humanitarian organization “helped build and operate eight hospitals and clinics” and “move more than 100,000 people out of make-shift tents into safe and improved housing” by providing temporary rent assistance.
According to the report, the Red Cross provided no documentation on how the money was spent, other than to say what percent of the $488 million it raised was spent in broad categories, such as 35 percent for housing or 10 percent for water or sanitary projects.
How much did each project cost? Red Cross won’t say.
Reporters traveled to Haiti to talk to residents and officials, who said, other than the 6 houses, there is no lasting evidence of Red Cross’s efforts.
“Five hundred million dollars in Haiti is a lot of money,” said Jean-Max Bellerive, Haiti’s prime minster at the time of the earthquake. “I’m not a big mathematician, but I can make some additions. I know more or less the cost of things … it doesn’t add up for me.”
In the NPR-ProPublica report, the American Red Cross blames the challenges the group faced in post-quake Haiti:
“Like many humanitarian organizations responding in Haiti, the American Red Cross met complications in relation to government coordination delays, disputes over land ownership, delays at Haitian customs finding qualified staff who were in short supply and high demand, and the cholera outbreak, among other challenges.”
