This week marks the third anniversary of the massive earthquake that killed over 200,000 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless in Haiti in January 2010.
As World Renew looks back on the ministry we’ve been blessed to be a part of for the past three years, there is much to be grateful for.
In 2012, for example, World Renew completed its home reconstruction work in Haiti. In total, the organization built 3,425 earthquake and hurricane-resistant homes for earthquake survivors over three years.
“The homes were built using local, Haitian labor and World Renew ensured that every homeowner had a legal title to their house and property or permission from the land owners so that there would be no chance of someone trying to force them from their home,” said Ken Little, Senior Project Manager for World Renew.
Most of these homes were built near the epicenter of the earthquake in the Leogane plains, where people were hardest hit by the earthquake’s devastation. One hundred and sixty five houses, however, were built in the surrounding mountains.
World Renew will continue its Haiti earthquake response program in 2013 by focusing on efforts to restore livelihoods.
“Families living in these areas also suffered extensive damage to their homes and livelihoods, but their remote location made it more difficult for aid to reach those in need,” explained Little. “The partially pre-fabricated structures that World Renew was using in the lowlands couldn’t be transported up the steep mountain paths. Instead, World Renew created a new design for homes that could be built on location to provide permanent, safe shelter for the new home owners.”
In addition to home reconstruction, World Renew provided over 800 latrines to the families receiving homes and 21 community borehole wells to those living in the Leogane Plain. In Port-au-Prince 139 families from a tent community were resettled into more permanent accommodations, and World Renew rebuilt an office building for its long-time partner, PWOFOD. This building will enable PWOFOD to continue with its ministry of training deacons across Haiti to provide adult literacy classes, business training, and other life changing programs to those most in need.
To read stories about the work God is doing through World Renew in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and to review a summary of all of the accomplishments to date, please read our 3 Year Update report.
World Renew will continue its Haiti earthquake response program in 2013 by focusing on efforts to restore livelihoods. This program is called “LEAP” (Livelihoods for Earthquake Affected People) and is entering its third year. It is aimed at helping people restore their farmland, restock their animal herds, and restart businesses that were lost in the quake. Through a variety of projects and partnerships, World Renew is helping farmers, small business owners and new entrepreneurs to increase their knowledge, skills and access to much-needed resources so that they can build a better future for themselves and their families.
“Many goats died or were sold after the earthquake,” said Jean Baptiste Jean Fisher (A.k.a. Jojo), a Haitian man who received some of the 2,166 goats that World Renew has distributed to date as part of the LEAP program. “We all hoped that we could have our own goats again because these goats are our savings for emergencies. We are all so grateful to World Renew for providing us with new goats. It gives us hope for the future. “
World Renew is also training Jojo and 17 other men and women to become Local Agricultural Technicians so that they can train others in their communities. So far, they have learned record keeping, facilitation, crop production, veterinary care, environment rehabilitation, and biblical principles for farming.
“We are so grateful for the generous support that we received for our Haiti earthquake response,” said Wayne deJong, World Renew Director of Disaster Response and Rehabilitation. “People gave from the heart and that has enabled us to work alongside the Haitian people for more than three years. While some specific projects are now complete, the needs from the Haiti earthquake are not yet over. We covet your continued prayers as our ministry continues.”