In a ceremony held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, Secretary General José Miguel Insulza stated that “this collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works is an excellent example of how the OAS and PADF are strengthening the Haitian government’s capacity and helping to address Haiti’s most immediate requirements for safe and secure shelter for thousands of homeless Haitians.”

Insulza specifically thanked the Caterpillar Foundation for its “continuous cooperation with PADF” and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund for “the support and work they do in Haiti.”

The executive director of the PADF, John Sanbrailo, expressed his “appreciation to the contributors” and highlighted the ceremony as the continuation to a calling made by the secretary general a year ago to become one of the leader organizations in responding to the humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

“This ceremony represents clearly all that PADF is about: mobilizing donations,” he added.

Clay Thompson, corporate government affairs manager of the Caterpillar Foundation expressed the “honour” of participating in this program and in a ceremony like this, while the vice-president for the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, Ambassador Timothy Carney, said that “it is a special occasion when an entity like the PADF with Caterpillar and the Clinton- Bush Haiti Fund do something so enormously worthwhile in the very epicenter of the earthquake last year.”

The permanent representative of Haiti to the OAS, Ambassador Duly Brutus, expressed his thankfulness and said that “this contribution is proof that despite the continuing economic crisis, many Americans still remain sensitive to the idea of demonstrating concretely their solidarity with Haiti.”

PADF’s project will fund the repair of 800 damaged multi-family homes in Léogâne, allowing 7,200 Haitians rapid and efficient access to safe and habitable housing. Furthermore, PADF, with the Ministry of Public Works, will hire and train 214 Haitian engineers, masons, subcontractors and workers for the repairs. The goal is to teach them construction best practices and disaster risk reduction to ensure the safety and durability of the structures.

PADF is a nonprofit organization that was created in 1962 through an agreement between the Organization of American States and the private sector to promote, facilitate and implement economic and development programs in Latin America and the Caribbean.