In The News: Earthquake in Haiti

In The News: Earthquake in Haiti

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, 14 August 2021. The earthquake comes just more than a decade after the island was devastated by another earthquake in 2010. The cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie— which were already still recovering from 2016’s Hurricane Matthew—were the hardest hit by the earthquake.

And Tropical Storm Grace battered the country with up to 10 inches of rain on Monday, 16 August 2021. The death toll has already topped 1,400 people, and rescue efforts have been made all the more difficult with the rain.

In our line of work we see how easy it can be to reduce people to a data point—a number. And so we consider it to be of critical importance to take a moment to let the lives that are connected to that number 1,400 sink in. That is 1,400 births, with a great amount being to parents who likely welcomed their arrival with joy. That is 1,400 people with stories, histories, a real presence, who will now be missed by loved ones, and whose love in return will also be absent. We can rightly assume that the vast majority of those 1,400 people had hopes, and dreams, and were doing the best they could to survive the best they knew how, holding on to even a sliver of belief that the future held the possibility of something better. And all of that was ripped away in one unexpected moment. We hope that you feel the weight of such a devastating loss. Because these are real people with names, families, histories and loved ones.

If you are moved to help, we recommend seeking out those organizations that have representation on their staff and board, as well as those who will prove that 100% or close to 100% of donations will go directly to critical assistance in the country.

The earthquake has only added to the nation’s fragile state, as early last month President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Billions of dollars in aid (including $2.3 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development since 2010) have been sent to the Caribbean island yet the country continues to find itself in a cycle of despair. It’s not a lack of resources, but a lack of responsiveness to the needs of the people. When Haitian nationals who have solutions and ideas to help their community are not brought in and consulted but instead are ignored, it leads to a misuse of funds and resources.

This is why re-powering development is so important, and why impacted peoples should be at the forefront, leading development activities.