Haiti: Six months after the earthquake
A late afternoon thunderstorm exploded in the skies northeast of Port-au-Prince, spawning flash floods that turned dirt roads and footpaths into muddy streams. People scrambled to find shelter from the pelting rain.
Hundreds of people in Titanyen and Lafiteau ducked inside snug, one-room homes that were built by Samaritan’s Purse to provide temporary housing for families who were left homeless after the January earthquake, nearly six months ago.
A group of six children huddled in the doorway of their 12-feet-by-12-feet home, shrieking at the thunder and lightning. They were drenched from playing in the downpour, but their home was safe and dry.
“We used to get wet, living under a tarp,” said 12-year-old Celesian, describing the lean-to they lived under after their home collapsed in the earthquake. “Now we get to sleep inside a good house.”
In another home, a widow named Raymond held her 8-month-old son as he slept through the storm. She and her five children were selected by a group from the community that chose the area’s neediest families to occupy the 260 Samaritan’s Purse shelters at the site called Lafiteau I.
“Our whole house was flattened in the earthquake and my husband was killed,” Raymond said. “The Lord gave us this house to live in.”
Samaritan’s Purse is coordinating the construction of 10,000 temporary shelters in hard-hit areas around Port-au-Prince. The homes are framed to include bunk beds for children, a metal roof with rain gutters, and a barrel for collecting run-off. The houses are wrapped in heavy-duty blue sheeting that keeps the rain and wind out, and sets them apart as Samaritan’s Purse dwellings.
A woman named Marie was thankful to have her husband and four children safely beside her. She echoed the thoughts of many in Lafiteau I who are living one day at a time, looking to God for guidance.
“God gave us this house and He will continue to take care of us,” she said. “We were living under sheets, but now we have this home.”
With the help of donations from supporters in the UK, Samaritan's Purse will also be implementing a church-based women's livelihoods programme. The aim is to empower 360 women to care for themselves and their families through Women's Community Support Groups, which would provide them with life-skills training as well as emotional, psychological and spiritual support.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
PRAY:
For Haitians still trying to rebuild their lives six months after the earthquake.
For the aid agencies and their workers to have wisdom on how best to help the people of Haiti.
For God to grant strength and endurance for Samaritan's Purse teams working in Haiti.
GIVE:
Please consider giving to our Emergency Relief fund and helping us to respond to future disasters and emergencies, like the one in Haiti.
