The majority of her people already lived lives of relentless hardship before being rocked by one of the most devastating earthquakes in modern times. Simply returning the country to what it had been before is not an option. Every indicator—water supply, sanitation, health, nutrition, education, income—was a summary of despair even before the earthquake. Nor is it acceptable to pour vast amounts of money into a broken system. We and our partners target every investment to ensure long-term, sustainable good for the greatest number of children, families and communities.

 

Responding to an earthquake of such strength would be complicated even in the best-resourced nations. The factors that made Haiti so vulnerable to this calamity compound the difficulties of responding to it. The country lacks resources and infrastructure, skilled workers are rare, governance is weak and the history of political violence is strong. It’s hard to find land for housing, hurricanes batter the island every year and food shortages are common.

 

World Vision’s response to the earthquake began immediately. Many of our colleagues were victims themselves and were struggling to find their families in the rubble. Nevertheless, enough were able to respond that we had our first distributions within 24 hours.

 

Today, in addition to the development work we have been doing for 30 years, we are providing post-earthquake emergency relief reaching hundreds of thousands of families in five regions across the country. Activities range from a combination of child protection, health, education, water, sanitation and shelter services down to single activities, supplying water or building latrines. We have begun work to get people’s livelihoods back on track, making them more resilient to future shocks, while helping youths and children engage in rebuilding their country.

 

We invite your partnership on this journey and, along with the people of Haiti, we covet your prayers for the successful rehabilitation of a land whose time for good news has come.

 

Kevin J. Jenkins

President and Chief Executive Officer

World Vision International