A local couple is lending a pair of helping hands in one of the world's poorest countries. Haiti is in the top 20 list of poorest countries in the world and in recent years they have had major natural disasters which have not helped their situation. 

Norman and Beverly Alexander, or Norm and Bev as they are known, have been to Haiti multiple times with members of the Weyburn Free Methodist Church to serve in different ways. Last week, they arrived back from Haiti after a 10-day trip, having travelled independently from the church this time.

"We were going to go by ourselves but we heard there was a group going from Medicine Hat," said Norm, who fundraised to help provide materials to build houses in Haiti. 

"Building houses was really the main thing we knew that we wanted to go and do."

"The first day we were there and we went to this village and the founder of Haiti Arise was showing us the homes we were going to be replacing and one of the first houses we went into was maybe 10x10 and they had a little table that had three tin cups and a few tin dishes on it and I think a jug of vegetable oil and something else on the floor. There was a clothesline that had a few clothes slipped over the top of it and that was all that was in there," explained Bev.

She added that in one of the houses to be replaced, they saw it only had a bed in it, which took up most of the house. Bev, who spent time painting houses, noted how little the Haitians had for possessions.

The Alexanders and the group from Medicine Hat raised over $40,000 to help build houses in Haiti. Norm raised funds by collecting scrap metal to sell.

"Quite a few people made scrap iron available to me and I brought it in and Bourassa's gave me a pretty good deal to help me out too. These houses are only $2,000 CAD so just something like that went a long way," said Norm. 

He added the Medicine Hat group found a sponsor who promised to match anything they raised.

The houses they helped build were 12x12 feet with a four-foot deck. Bev said the Haitians use their houses for sleeping and to escape the rain but it is too hot to stay inside. 

Haiti Arise is the organisation the group went to help. Bev said Haiti Arise is a great organisation to work with and they have a great place for volunteers to stay in a very secure area.

The couple said they will go back as long as they are able. Bev said that February is a really good time to go because "it hasn't got really, really hot yet".

The Alexanders said the highlight of their trip was visiting children they sponsor.

"We got to see our little girl. The sadness that went with that is, we had two girls in the same family. One that was in Grade 6 and one just in Grade 1. The Grade 6 girl is no longer there. She's in Port au Prince."

Bev explained how it is common for children to be sold into slavery in Port au Prince because families can't afford to look after them and are concerned this may have happened to their sponsored child. They agreed to sponsor a new child because the older girl is no longer in the sponsorship program.

Norm said working with the Haitians was a personal highlight of the trip. He said there are organisations that send groups to "help" but end up limiting the construction process, slowing everything down.

Haiti Arise has trained the people they work with to keep working when groups come so as not to slow the house construction down. Bev said it is about empowering the Haitians to work for themselves instead of doing things for them.

Norm and Bev said they are willing to talk more with anyone interested in the program or helping out in Haiti.