When Ousner Benjamin, 24, heard a newscaster announce over the radio that Hurricane Isaac was headed toward Haiti he sent his family to a nearby hospital that was serving as a shelter and took to the streets to inform his community about the storm. His house survived the storm but not everybody was so lucky. The Haitian government reported a dozen houses were destroyed and another 269 damaged, according to the Huffington Post.

“There are a lot of organizations here that would rather us stay in the tents forever, because it’s better for them. More misery means more for the organization,” Benjamin told the Associated Press. But Benjamin still holds onto the hope that one day things will change. “The only way for the misery to subside is to do things for yourself. If you keep waiting for forces to help, you won’t get anywhere.”

Read more of this Associate Press story.