The Olibrice family: Chrislanda, (from left); Blondy; Dieutane; Bettina; Féguer; Chrisler and Frantzo.

Chrisler Olibrice lost his home on January 12th 2010 when an earthquake devastated his native Haiti.

“I thought I lost two of my boys. They were inside when our house collapsed,” says Chrisler, 40, father of five children: Chrislanda, 14; Blondy, 6; Bettina, 5; Féguer, 3; and Frantzo, 18 months.

“My wife and I were preparing something for dinner. Chrislanda, Blondy and Bettina were playing outside. When the earthquake struck, I grabbed my wife, and we jumped outside without having time to take Féguer and Frantzo.” Thankfully, both boys survived the earthquake.

With his home in ruins, Chrisler gathered up all the metal sheeting, wood and plastic material he could find to build a shelter for his family. “It was hard to live inside it, especially when it rained,” he says. “We spent entire nights awake.” The family spent more than a year living in their unsafe shelter and surrounding shanty.

“One day, a Habitat surveyor came to me and said that our condition was critical,” Chrisler says. “I explained to him we were expecting a baby, and we didn’t know where or how we were going to take care of this new child in our family.”

Today, Chrisler and his family live in a Habitat transitional shelter. To take care of his family, each day Chrisler tends his crops. His wife, Dieutane Joseph, 40, sells what their plot of land produces and other things that can bring in some money. “Habitat made it happen, and this is our biggest luck of the year,” says Chrisler.

Help more families like the Olibrice family and volunteer in Haiti on the Carter Work Project. More info.