January 11, 2012 (SEATTLE) – More than 3,000 families are out of tents and living in homes in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with the help of Seattle-based Christian humanitarian organization World Concern and its donors. Another 8,000+ people have been employed and earned income through World Concern’s programs since the devastating 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti two years ago, on January 12, 2010.
Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in the earthquake, and 1.5 million people were left homeless. “Generations will be forever affected by this disaster,” said World Concern Deputy Director of Disaster Response Chris Sheach. “But the changes since the earthquake are remarkable. Humanitarian agencies and others are helping to rebuild Haiti – better than before.
The economy is stabilizing, but there is a long way to go.” Sheach says over the two years since the disaster, the response has shifted from the massive task of removing rubble from a city with a completely debilitated infrastructure to rebuilding homes and businesses. The humanitarian focus now is shifting again to helping Haiti prepare for future disasters. “We have an opportunity to prevent this from happening again,” said Sheach. “We can’t stop earthquakes from happening, but we can lessen the impact of a catastrophic disaster by reducing Haiti’s vulnerability.”
World Concern’s has helped thousands of families since the Haiti earthquake by:
Repairing 2,532 houses
Building 773 new houses
Employing 7,944 people (temporarily) and 1,054 people employed (permanently)
Restoring assets to 5,500 people
Training 115,715 people to protect themselves and families from cholera
Distributing 71,806 cholera prevention kits
Equipped 1,450 houses with rainwater catchment systems
Rehabilitating 450 latrines
Rebuilding or repairing 47 churches