Crisis Response
Quick Facts:
- The earthquake has affected the lives of over 3 million people.
- 200,000 people have lost their lives with an additional 250,000 injured.
- 1.5 million people have been left homeless.
- There have been over 50 aftershocks recorded to date.
Crisis Overview
In the late afternoon of January 12, 2010 Haiti experience the strongest earthquake to hit the nation in over 200 years. The 7.0 earthquake ripped through the capital city, Port-au-Prince, affecting the lives of over 3 million people. The nation settles atop eight fault lines, placing them in constant fear of earthquakes. As aftershocks continue to ripple through the country, children, women and men wait in fear without hope and any access to basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter.
Even before the earthquake hit, many families in Haiti were living in extremely vulnerable situations - without food, clean water or access to basic health care. The severity of the earthquake when matched by Haiti's already dire situations of civil strife, poverty and disease has escalated the damage to an unimaginable tragedy.
For over fifty years Haiti has struggled through constant political conflict, including dictatorship and 32 coup attacks. Constant flooding, hurricanes, mud slides and storms have prevented the nation from being able to establish sustainable infrastructure, agricultural security and commerce. Because of political struggle and natural disasters there has been a great breakdown of the family as people are forced to leave their homes and flee for safety in nearby countries.
What's Happening Now
ERDO is doing everything we can to ensure immediate relief is delivered to Haiti. Every dollar donated to ERDO before February 12, 2010 for Haiti earthquake victims was matched by the Canadian Government. Through your support and the support of our trusted partners, ERDO was able to deliver food aid, establish shelter and begin planning for recovery and reconstruction activities for families in Haiti.
Within a week of the disaster, ERDO worked together with the Assemblies of God to facilitate the arrival of an Emergency Medical Response team from the Dominican Republic. We supplied fuel as well as food relief which was distributed to our sponsored communities in Haiti.
ERDO works with 1,200 children in Haiti. Of these, 370 are sponsored through ChildCARE Plus in Port-au-Prince. Our ChildCARE Plus representatives in Haiti, Michel and Louise Charbonneau, are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of our sponsored children, their families and their communities. Tragically we have lost Pastor Gindi, one of our Haitian staff on the field, to the destruction of the earthquake. We extend our compassion and support to his family who is grieving over the loss of a loved one.
ERDO is now working with both the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) to prepare for larger scale food relief and with Canadian Churches in Action (CCA) providing water, shelter and sanitation to 13,000 in Grande Groâve and Lègâne.
In the last eight months, we have provided food for over 1,200 families. Over 40 orphaned children have been placed in new homes, providing a safe place for them to recover from the devastation of losing their families. Through the support of ERDO's donors, over 100 homes have been built, providing the first step in recovering from the disaster.
We are still working to rebuild schools and homes which were destroyed in the earthquake. Construction is underway on 12 child-friendly spaces, accomodating 1,200 children, and two schools which will house over 1,000 more. Your continued support will allow these essential projects to be completed.
Ongoing Work - How you can help
The most effective way to help during this time of crisis is to give a financial gift in support of ERDO's Haiti Earthquake Response Initiative. Each gift given will enable ERDO to provide supplies and relief support to meet the immediate needs of those affected by the earthquake.
Your gift today will equip ERDO with the resources needed to bring essentials of food relief and temporary shelter, clean water and sanitation to communities in Haiti devastated by the disaster of the earthquake.
Please partner with us and Pray for:
- The continued safety of our ChildCARE Plus sponsored children.
- Wisdom and favour as we work together with our trusted partners to help the suffering.
- Families who have lost loved ones, their homes and livelihood.
