Two Year Anniversary

January 12 marked the 2-year anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, killing an estimated 200,000 people, injuring over 300,000, and leaving over 1.5 million people homeless. The earthquake took the lives of 25% of Haiti’s government employees, and destroyed 60% of government buildings, including the national palace (the equivalent of the White House in the US). Overall, the country lost over 4,000 schools; Port-Au-Prince was impacted the most as it lost eighty percent of its schools.

Foreign aid and relief volunteers poured into the nation to help with whatever they could. However, with problems so big, where do you begin? I continue to ask myself that question every day. Do you start with clean up and repairs? How do you even being to work on education? What about housing? Don’t forget about medical care. Sanitation? Reforestation is important too, especially as hurricane season comes. All of these issues had pressing importance but none of them could be solved before another disaster struck and took the spotlight away from Haiti. And then came cholera. In October of the same year, Haiti saw its first case of cholera…. and its second… and its 1000^th.

Oh, the troubles that 2010 brought to this beautiful country. Ayiti pat mouri. Haiti did not perish though; the people here stayed as resilient as ever. Oh, the lessons we could all learn from the Haitians.

I was fortunate enough to be in Haiti last year as the country celebrated the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, or bagay la, meaning “the thing”. The government closed the schools and gave everyone the day off of work. Thousands of people gathered in the streets and outside of churches, dressed in white, remembering the events of January 12, 2010. News reports said that only 5% of the rubble had been cleared in the span of one year and people were still dying of cholera each day.

Another year has passed. I wasn’t sure what exactly the media was showing about Haiti, if they were showing anything at all, so I wanted to give an update. Haiti elected Michel Martelly as president in March of 2011. In December of 2011, an estimated 500,000 people were still living in tents, which means nearly 1 million people had left the tent cities and found permanent housing elsewhere. That number is extremely impressive, as IDP’s (internally displaced persons) typically live in temporary housing establishments (such as tent cities) for an average of 9 years. Recent reports state that 50% of the rubble has been cleared, and that number is increasing steadily. Cholera is still an issue though; it has claimed the lives of over 5,500 people in the course of one year. Although progress is being made, Haiti still has a long way to go.

Yet again, I was in Haiti for the anniversary. Again, the government gave individuals the day off. The streets were no longer lined with merchants, but instead, people traveling to and from church services, vigils, and memorials. I went to a large church in Port-Au-Prince with seven others. At 7:30 a.m., we waited outside during prayer, and then entered the church. The first floor was full, so we sat on a bench on the second floor and watched as hundreds of others filed into the church, filling up the second tier and slowly moving towards the third floor. By 10:00 a.m., all three floors were full. I would estimate about 900 people were in church that day. It wasn’t a somber day, like I thought. I saw few tears being shed. What I saw was people singing, dancing, and crying out to the Lord in pure worship, people hugging each other and holding one another close in admiration and love. Oh, what a day it was. Oh, the lessons we took home with us yesterday.


Please continue to pray for Haiti and the recovery and rehabilitation of this nation. We have a long road ahead of us, it is sure to be filled with polis kouches (speed bumps) and detours, but the road is one that has to be traveled. I have no doubt it will be traveled by men, women, and children with their heads held high. May their dreams be big and bold. Kenbe pa lage, Ayiti.

Wanna read more?
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/mission/features/27883-haiti-2-years-later
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2085764/Haiti-earthquake-anniversary-President-vows-redouble-efforts-rebuild-country.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/15/opinion/etienne-haiti/index.html