January 12, 2012 | Haiti Missions

Haiti: Two Years Later, We Tarry On

I want to say Haiti has changed a lot over the past two years. But I can’t. The emergency aid effort and the donations that flooded into Haiti after the quake undeniably helped save lives and provided basic and essential services, including food and water, to millions. But rapid progress in Haiti’s reconstruction and rebuilding has been quite another issue.

Yet the thing that struck me when I first visited and continues to strike me today is the energy, creativity, and the intelligent spirit of Haiti’s people – despite the daily difficulties and the challenges. Haitians are survivors; realistic, but not defeatist. They still hope for change and believe that some day, change will come.

— Caroline Gluck, for Oxfam, on her return to Haiti, now two years post-earthquake; read the entire post.

On our end, we continue to send short-term teams and connect North American and Haitian churches. This month also is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month; through last autumn’s crisis with the Son of God orphanage, we experienced at an even more personal level how extreme poverty is a catalyst of trafficking; so, we continue our microfinance efforts to empower the people to be self-sustaining.

For last year’s update on the progress that had been made, click here. A chronicle of the crisis can be read here:

All the progress made wouldn’t have happened without you; thank you.

On this second anniversary, let’s resume the campaign/petition for a full, high-level of investigation of the social services agency (IBESR: Institut du BienEtre Social et de Recherches). Click here to sign the petition, if you hadn’t already; or, share it (again).

If you’ve already served in Haiti short-term and are interested in serving for longer, please call us at 800.881.2461.