Clonise sits outside her family’s new home
On August 14, 2021, a powerful earthquake struck southern Haiti and destroyed thousands of homes in seconds. For Clonise Badin, her husband, Jean Willy Petit-Bois, and their two daughters, it took almost everything they had.
The couple had put all of their savings into building a home in Ravine Sable, a rural community in Southern Haiti. They had finished it just three months before the earthquake.
“As parents, it was our way of telling ourselves that we were going to leave a legacy for our children,” Clonise shared. “It wasn’t just the house that was destroyed, but also our pride, our hopes, and our dignity.”
For the next several years, the family of four lived in a single room with the few belongings they had left. During the rainy season, water poured through the worn, rusted roof.
“Once, it rained for at least eight days,” Clonise remembered, the storm flooding their room.
Today, that heartbreaking chapter is behind them. Hope for Haiti partnered with the Man Dodo Humanitarian Foundation and Stichting HomePlan to build 10 new homes for families in Ravine Sable, Cavaillon, and Tête Source who lost their homes during either the 2021 earthquake or 2025’s Hurricane Melissa. On September 17, seven families in Ravine Sable, including Clonise’s, received the keys to their new homes.
The family’s new house has two bedrooms, a living and dining area, and an outdoor kitchen and toilet.
“This new house was built on the ruins of the old one, like a symbol of rebirth, our hope blossoming from the remains of our fears,” Clonise said. “Now I can sleep peacefully without having to constantly look at the sky.”
Clonise and Jean Willy’s daughters, now 12 and 13, have their own space for the first time. Both girls attend school nearby, and they are growing up in a home that is safe, dry, and their own.
“Even though we sometimes have financial difficulties, our children are alive and happy,” Clonise said. “I cannot thank Hope for Haiti enough.”
For Clonise and her family, and for each of the ten families who moved into their new homes this year, hope has finally come home.
Please consider donating today to help more families like Clonise’s
