Haiti has the highest maternal/newborn mortality rate in the western hemisphere. 75% of Haitian women deliver their babies without a skilled birth attendant. Access to these skilled birth attendants is complicated further by the reality of poverty, geography, and poor quality of obstetric care. In the coastal town of Grand Goâve, Haiti, the Haiti ARISE Ministries has cultivated more than just infrastructure—it has nurtured a living embodiment of John Ruskin’s Lamp of Life, where architecture breathes with the spirit of its people and place.
SITE
Grand Goave, Haiti
DATES
2018 - Project trip
2019 - Design Completion
2020 - Birthing Clinic construction completion
DESCRIPTION
As of April 2020, the birthing clinic has been completed. A UN study estimates that Haiti requires 80 birthing clinics, but only 8 exists at the time of our project visit. Haiti ARISE has begun using the facility for midwife training and child nutrition programs until the clinic can fully open. Listen to the full story here: Birthing Centre Design in Haiti.
The birthing clinic is part of a much larger North campus which includes a boys and girls school, admin, auto-body shop and vocational school.
The Haiti ARISE North Campus, developed in collaboration with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) Canada since 2011, encompasses a birthing centre, vocational training facilities, and educational institutions. The birthing centre, completed in 2020, addresses a critical need in a country where maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Designed to provide a safe, home-like environment, it offers prenatal, birthing, and postnatal care, along with midwife training and child nutrition programs. The design prioritizes natural ventilation, local materials, and community engagement, ensuring that the structures resonate with the cultural and environmental context of Haiti.
By involving local craftsmen and adapting to the shifting needs of the community, the project embodies the essence of the Lamp of Life—architecture that is alive, responsive, and rooted in human experience. In preserving and adapting these spaces, Haiti ARISE demonstrates that architecture can be a living force for good, fostering resilience, dignity, and hope in the face of adversity. Photos courtesy of Haiti Arise.
