One year after the earthquake people join together in religious meetings across the country. Photo: ACT/Paul Jeffrey

This morning I woke and took fifteen minutes to think about the last year, its successes and challenges, moments to remember both good and bad, and the hopefulness found through it all.  I think it is important that we all see ourselves as participants in this effort.  Through the sharing of our gifted resources, taking moments in silence to pray in solidarity with those who continue to struggle in Haiti, sharing information and stories to one another to continue to build awareness on the issues facing Haiti, contributing your skills and expertise through volunteerism; all these contributions manifests a community participating in the renewal of hope and livelihoods in Haiti.

I can not put into words the overwhelming feeling of frustration and pain felt when conditions don’t seem to improve.  While relief efforts were quick to respond to emergency needs, recovery efforts have been slow to start; housing is still a daily struggle for hundreds of thousands of families that are still displaced and living in camps. Yet, Haitian colleagues, who have themselves suffered loss, are dedicated to the work they do for their fellow citizens and continue to persevere with rebuilding efforts.

I see hopefulness in changes seen.  Children have returned to school, signaling the strengthening of Haiti’s next generation of leadership and workers.  People are back to work, earning a wage to provide for their families and beginning the work of rebuilding their own lives.

So, on this anniversary day, I want to extend gratitude for all the gifts that have been shared and challenge you to continue to find ways to contribute to the rebuilding of Haiti.  Years of work remains ahead of us as Haiti continues to recover from the earthquake and addresses conditions of poverty.

I also invite each of you to hold a minute of silence to honor the victims of the 2010 earthquake at 4:34 pm (Haitian time), exactly one year from when the earthquake struck.

God’s Peace,

Megan

The ACT Alliance has published a consolidated fact sheet on Haiti, providing statistical information on the earthquake in 2010.  The ELCA is a member of the global ACT Alliance which brings together over 100 actors in humanitarian aid and development.  The one statistic that is still under dispute is the loss of lives; sources report between 230,000 and 250,000.

7.0……………… strength of January 12 2010 earthquake on Richter scale

230 000……….. people lost their lives – at least

1.5 million…….. people with no permanent home today

1.3 million…….. people living in makeshift camps today

2 million……….. people living in the most affected area of Port au Prince

250,000……….. homes destroyed in capital

30,000…………. commercial buildings destroyed in capital

90………………. percentage of buildings in the city of Léogâne that were destroyed

1,100………….. camps built over the past year, 54 of which have been home to 5,000 people or more

500…………….. camps in Port au Prince today

15,000………… primary schools severely damaged or destroyed

1,500………….. secondary schools severely damaged or destroyed

20 million m3.. quantity of rubble and debris remaining in Port au Prince: enough to fill a solid line of shipping containers stretching from London to Beirut

1……………….. approved dumping site for rubble in the country (at Varreux in Port-au-Prince)

As of approximately 1:00 p.m., central time, the National Hurricane Center reports that the center of Tomas was about to move through the windward passage.  Location: 19.8°N 74.0°W – Max sustained: 85 mph – Moving: NNE at 12 mph – Min pressure: 987 mb

Tomas gained strength overnight to Hurricane force and passed over the southwest peninsula of Haiti this morning. Local officials have called for the evacuation of refugees living in temporary housing that will not be suitable for the high winds and rains, but there is no where for these individuals to evacuate to and a fear that they will lose the small amount of belongs they have. 

ELH last night reported rain and high winds, but no additional damage yet.  Please remember the people living in Haiti and those working on continued relief efforts.

In northern Haiti, members of a community-based group began a feeding program for those displaced by the January 12 earthquake. In the southern coastal city of Jacmel, a group of disaster survivors banded together and moved onto the grounds of a local church. And in Port-au-Prince, a woman who gave birth to her infant son twelve days after the quake wondered what she would do next.

These were some of the Haitians CWS staffer Chris Herlinger met in January and February, immediately after the disaster. Durring a recent return to Haiti, Chris attempted to find these individuals. How are they doing? What are they doing? What are their plans for the future?  Here is an update, based on recent travels in Haiti.

Click here to read more.

Karen Anderson, missionary of the ELCA assigned to EPES writes:While nervous parents lined up to get water from the EPES well, accompanied bychildren too frightened to stay behind at home, the EPES staff produced crayons and paper from office supplies recovered from the disarray, and encouraged thechildren to draw.

“All the drawings and all the talk is about the earthquake,” reports Maria Stella Toro Santiago-based EPES educatorwho traveled to Concepción last week to support the local staff. “The level oftrauma is high.”

In the street, children are taking turns tossing one another about in an old handcart in their newly invented game of “Earthquake and Aftershocks.

— “How strong was that?” someone asks.

— “That was a 9!” the young girl vigorouslyshaking the cart announces, as a little boy relinquishes his space in the hotseat to the next comer.

As the shaking gets more energetic (“That’s an11!” an onlooker announces), the little girl’s bravado crumbles. “That’senough, Karina,” she pleads, “not so strong.”

Bravado,acting out and game-playing are all coping mechanisms that children adopt inthe aftermath of traumatic experiences like Chile’s 8.8 quake, one of thestrongest ever recorded in a country whose deceptively modern facade iscrumbling along social fault lines exposed by the seismic cataclysm.”

The reality is that the trauma caused by the earthquakes and after shocks both in  Chile as well as in Haiti, needs to be adressed. EPES has been working with an organization that is providing them with the tools and skills to work on trauma healing with children. The Lutheran Church in Haiti has in its agenda to do some treauma healing with the communities where they work. Trauma healing is the least that comes up in our minds when we think about disaster reflief but it is a fundamental issue to address. The scars are long lasting.

actually on the ground functioning in Hualpen (the municipality was looted as were the clinics).

We are keeping things going by sending relief teams from Santiago (staff and volunteers) but that means

funding is needed and less people in Santiago where we also have an enormous amount of work to do. Carlos Rauda

who is here funded by the LWF to carry out an assessment will be hosted by EPES in Concepcion as he

works in the region. Food and health kits were distributed from our Center. We are

committed to responding with all the strength, organization, commitment, faith that we have.

We are working with Mercy Corps who approached us because of a former wonderful intern Matt Streng —

EPES is their local partner, to develop a post trauma program for children in Hualpen and other

areas of the region. Comfort for kids is a program they have done in China, Peru, Haiti, etc.

We are also working long, long hours and are faced with situations we have not

handled before.”

Please keep Karen and the EPES staff in your prayers.