A YEAR AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE, HAITI SOUTH RECOVERING WITH GRATITUDE

In the days after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated his community, Br. Marcelin did not see cause for despair. If you had asked him what he was thinking as he surveyed the collapsed buildings in Haiti South, he would have focused on action.

“I would have said that we will be down for a long time, if and only if we don't get to work right away.”

This August marked one year since the earthquake destroyed homes, schools, banks, bridges, roads, clinics and other essential infrastructure in Chalice’s Haiti South sponsor site. Br. Marcelin, our site director, took a moment to reflect on the 12 months of recovery and rebuilding.

Last August, the most affected areas looked abandoned and deserted. The residents felt “discouraged for fear of starting over,” he recalled. “If we had not received help from various organizations like Chalice... our means would never be enough to get out of this disaster alone.”

They certainly were not alone. Through Chalice’s disaster relief fund, supporters gave the staff the resources they needed to provide the children and families immediate emergency relief. They could also quickly tackle the challenge of getting students back in classrooms by the October start date.

“We have made the reopening of classes our main priority,” Br. Marcelin says. With Chalice relief funds, the site constructed wooden classroom shelters at the Notre-Dame du Perpétuel Secours school in Latibolière. Thanks to the shelters and other site supporters, almost 80% of students started school on time, and 100% of sponsored students returned to school in the academic year.

“It is with a feeling of joy that we were able to see that the schools started to function normally again in October,” says Br. Marcelin. “The children were happy to go back to school to see their friends again, to talk about the earthquake to their classmates.”

The Haiti South site also ensured families could access their sponsorship and disaster relief funds despite the damage to the banks. The community rebuilt their clinic, and Chalice supported them to equip it with medical supplies and furniture such as beds, scales and medicine.

“Thanks to the resilience of the population and the mutual solidarity, and above all the presence, the solidarity, the generosity of the sponsors of Chalice, we have been able to recover gradually,” reflects Br. Marcelin.

After having progressed through the ‘emergency’ and ‘recovery’ phases of their plans, the staff are now in the midst of the ‘reconstruction’ phase. At the time of writing, they are undertaking renovations at the St Pierre de Prévilé school. (Check out a short clip of some of the work being completed!)

Even with all this progress, many children are still experiencing trauma from the memory of the earthquake. “The shock remains registered in their body,” he says. Children and adults alike are sensitive to sensations of tremors, and a fear of aftershocks can keep families sheltering at home for days.

Another significant concern is food insecurity. The cost of food in Haiti has risen exponentially and many families cannot keep up with the rising prices. For most children, their best chance for at least one nutritious meal per day is to attend school and receive lunch at school. Chalice supports a school lunch program in four schools in Haiti South, where 1386 sponsored children learn. You can support them through our School Feeding in Haiti South program.

Overall, Br. Marcelin’s message is one of gratitude.

“A big thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” he says on behalf of his staff, the families and the children, “thank you to all the people who have shared the little they have gained with our brothers and sisters.”