On August 14, a major 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti’s southern peninsula, killing 2,189 people with 344 still missing. The quake also injured an estimated 12,000 and toppled more than 53,000 homes, schools, and church buildings.
The earthquake struck 78 miles west of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. This same region was battered by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which killed nearly 900 people and destroyed 90% of some areas, including the main road connecting the peninsula to the capital. The region was still recovering from this disaster when the quake happened.
Thanks to outpouring of donations, HFHC started purchasing relief supplies the following day and began coordinating efforts with other relief agencies including Healing Hands International, Haitian Christian Development Project, and IDES. Jeantyrard Elmera, Haiti NGO President, immediately organized a triage team composed of Haitian doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, security guards, and church volunteers. In August, the triage team assisted families in three communities with Christian schools — Rousseau, L’Asile, and Cavaillon — who had not had any assistance up until then. The medical clinic provided care to over 500 patients with broken bones, burns, wounds, skin problems, stomach ailments and trauma.
They also distributed rice, beans, cooking oil, tomato paste, sardines, and corn meal to more than 1,000 families in “care bags” which also included a tarp and hygiene kit. In September and October, the team is visiting additional locations and launching the rebuilding of homes and schools. You can track the locations where our team continues their work along with photos of their progress at https://tinyurl.com/hfhcrelief.