Read Paul Biddle's third instalment from Haiti

Success is only measured by how sustainable it is. As with all reconstruction projects, to give the host society some quick successes means a great deal. When we arrived, many internationals and local experts said that the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince had been devastated beyond repair - the smell of burning and the odour of sweat from thousands of prisoners hung in the air, along with piles of scattered belongings littering the floors.

Tucked away in the corner was the old chapel built over a hundred years ago. This was a hellish corner where over 400 prisoners had lived.

Our assessment was simple. The first steps had to be made by the Haitians, and we would help them along the way.

Despite the amount of rubbish, and fire damage, I assessed the damage in the “Brick” block to be minimal. With our direction, the clean up process began and so the journey to recovery.

Today, just three weeks on, 507 prisoners are back in the National Penitentiary and next week the other blocks will undergo reconstruction. The administration will also start the long process to rehabilitation.

The Haitians have shown resilience and fortitude after the earthquake. They have now taken the first brave steps to building a new prison service that will hopefully lead the way for the rest of the justice system.

There is still however plenty of hard work for us to do….