SAVANE DIANE, Haiti, MC – A re-settlement project providing housing for 1,000 people who lost their homes in the January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people, was opened here over the weekend.

The “Village of Hope” which includes housing for 200 families and an elementary school, as well as a 300-hectare area suitable for agriculture, was fully funded by the Taiwanese government and the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China.

Taiwan’s Ambassador to Haiti, Liu Bang-zyh, who attended the inauguration ceremony on Saturday, said that the decision to locate the village at Savane Diane, is in line with Haiti's urban development policy.

He said Haiti's government also hopes to develop a remote area in north in order to create a regional balance in the population.

Agriculture, Natural resource and Rural Development Minister, Thomas Jacques, said he hoped the US$5.5 million project will provide a place for the earthquake victims to settle in Savane Diane, 230 km from the capital, Port-au-Prince.

He said that residents will also be taught agricultural techniques by a team from Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund that will show them how to grow crops such as corn and sorghum.

Jacques said that children in the village will be able to attend the school from October and that the government will also establish health clinics in the village.