NKU students developing housing options for Haitians

Months after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the poor, island nation of Haiti, hundreds of thousands of families remain homeless without the basic necessities and safety that we take for granted.

But Northern Kentucky University Construction Management students are among those working to help some Haitians build a brighter, more sustainable future through an innovative housing initiative. The undergraduate students in Dr. Sean Foley's construction management class are working on a plan to provide permanent and reliable housing for nearly 500 people.

The project, to be presented May 3, is one of three capstone projects for the university's construction management classes. The other projects are a proposed renovation of NKU’s baseball complex and a renovation of the Winton Hills Medical Center in Cincinnati for a new dental office.

The Haiti project would provide housing for about $400 per person and was completed with input from Hearts and Hands for Haiti (or HHH), a ministry-based, non-profit that provides housing and other necessities for Haitians. Students worked with HHH board member Harry Lyness.

"Mr. Lyness has worked to guide us through some of the more uncertain areas in the process," Ohlhaut said. "With the help of experienced mentors like Mr. Lyness and the NKU faculty and some diligent work on the parts of our group members, we will have a proposal that provides comfortable housing, shower and bathroom facilities and a sanitary water supply for 480 of the western hemispheres most impoverished people," said student Patrick Ohlhaut.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Northern Kentucky University Communications

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