World Concern commemorates 5th Anniversary of Haiti earthquake

Haiti in 2010 after the quake
Photo courtesy World Concern

World Concern staff in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Shoreline, Washington, will pause for a moment of prayer at 1:53pm Seattle time (4:53pm Haiti time) on Monday, January 12, 2015, the moment a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on this day in 2010.

“We will never forget the tragedy of January 12, 2010. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti on this five-year anniversary. We stand with them as their nation continues the arduous but hope-filled process of recovery,” said World Concern President Jacinta Tegman.

World Concern, a Christian humanitarian aid organization based in Shoreline, has implemented disaster response and community development programs serving the people of Haiti for 39 years, beginning in January 1976.

World Concern immediately responded to the earthquake, providing emergency assistance to more than 100,000 people. In the first year after the disaster, more than 7,000 people were employed through our Cash for Work program, 1,284 homes were repaired, 530 transitional shelters were built, 989 livelihood grants were distributed to business owners who lost their businesses, and 32 churches were repaired or rebuilt.

Since then, thousands of people in communities throughout Haiti have been trained to prepare for and reduce their risk to future disasters, thereby saving lives.

Haiti today: disaster simulation drill
Photo courtesy World Concern

“January 12, 2010, remains the saddest day in our history when the country lost hundreds of thousands of lives in just 39 seconds,” said World Concern Haiti Country Director Kimcy Blaise. “The Haitian people were not aware of the country’s seismicity. We are more familiar with flooding and hurricanes … Now people have the capacity and are taking appropriate measures (to protect themselves).”

Blaise believes the Haitian people now need a different kind of support to move forward. “We are grateful for all the support the international community brought to the country. Haitian people want to be more resilient in their context. They need the humanitarian community to come alongside private enterprise in creating jobs, supporting microenterprise, good governance, and strengthening our institutions for better services,” he said. “Every Haitian dreams of a good job and a good salary to take care of their family.”

World Concern is a Christian global relief and development organization. With our supporters, our faith compels us to extend life-saving help and opportunity to people facing the most profound human challenges of extreme poverty. At World Concern, the solutions we offer, the work we do, creates lasting, sustainable change. Lasting change that provides lasting hope. Our areas of expertise include disaster response, clean water, education, food security, child protection, microfinance and health.