Haiti Earthquake
Recovery Efforts
As I am sure you are aware of by now, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Haiti on August 14th and has, once again, left a trail of destruction in its wake. Our beloved Haitian brothers and sisters need our help! We know there is a lot going on in the world today, but we also know that when we join in unity to help the least among us, we are stronger and can overcome even the most desperate circumstances.
The 410 Bridge’s mission has, and always will be focused on redefining the war on poverty. What it means to win it… What it means for the people living in extreme poverty, and importantly… How we fight the battle together.
We will continue to work toward shifting people’s perspectives to ultimately create long-term, indigenous sustainability.
But, when a catastrophic event like the earthquake that has devasted southern Haiti occurs, we must press pause on our long-term development work to help our communities stabilize. Our relief help must be immediate, but short-term.
410 staff are actively engaging with the local church and community leaders to assess the damage left by the earthquake and determine the priorities once things stabilize. We are working closely with the faith community in Haiti to access resources and supplies from other disaster relief organizations.
Based on current information and based on the amount of funding that will be needed to address known problems, The 410 Bridge will focus on the following:
- Immediate food and temporary shelter to the most vulnerable.
- Restore 7 water projects as soon as possible. (Update: These have been repaired and people living in these communities, now have access to clean, safe water!)
- Restore 5-7 severely damaged or destroyed schools.
- Restore 10+ damaged or destroyed churches.
The reality is that we project the need to be $750,000-$1,000,000.
Will you prayerfully consider helping us bring relief to our Haitian communities? By working together, we can help provide the critical resources that are needed and help restore hope and dignity during a time of immense chaos and devastation.
Thank you for all you do.
Kurt Kandler
Executive Director
Community Updates
The 410 Bridge field team is mobilized and is on the move in the field. They are in contact with the Leadership Councils to get a more updated report, though the internet and the cell networks are spotty. Crizauld and Alteus were in La Croix and on their way to Maniche. Fenold, Enos, and Rosemay are on their way to the coastal communities for assessments.
We are providing 2,000 gallons of water to our communities and 505 food kits. Each food kit contains enough food to feed 5 people for 2 weeks.
Bousquette:
Four churches were heavily damaged or completely destroyed, including the MEBSH where we were about to start constructing a school. The Catholic Church was completely destroyed as was Pastor Jonal’s church. Current estimates are that 60+ homes have been heavily damaged or destroyed.
Debouchette:
More than 125 homes have been damaged, and about 25 totally destroyed. At this time there are no reported deaths in Debouchette, though reports are preliminary. The newly constructed water project in Debouchette is undamaged.
Figuier:
Homes constructed on the beach were destroyed or damaged by rising waters from a mini-tsunami after the earthquake. The water project remains operational and the new construction of the school building was not impacted.
Grand Passe:
We have only a preliminary report, but we know that the church in Grand Passe was completely destroyed. Many homes are damaged or destroyed.
Kalapa:
We have only a very preliminary report. The Chicken Co-op sustainability project was damaged and many chickens were lost, but the project was not completely destroyed.
Labeyi:
Waiting on information
La Croix:
According to the vice president of the LC, more than 150 houses are severely damaged, and 50 have collapsed. The house of the LC president is one of the homes completely destroyed. The MEBSH primary school is totally cracked and may be unusable. The water system remains functional, and the adjacent building is undamaged. The hotel Le Manguier, the main hotel 410 staff use in the south is totally destroyed. The owner and more than a dozen guests were in the hotel when it collapsed and have perished.
Maniche:
Reports from 410 Leadership Council members confirm the reports we received from HaitiOne. Maniche was very hard hit by the earthquake. More than 50% of the homes have been damaged or destroyed. The old MEBSH school building that housed the elementary school has collapsed impacting nearly 400 students. The house of the LC president is totally destroyed, and he lost his brother and niece. Five of the 20 teachers lost their homes.
Morency:
Coastal community where 48 houses have been heavily damaged and 17 totally collapsed. At this time there are no reported deaths in Morency, though reports are preliminary. The public school was not severely damaged, though reports from the two other schools are still pending. The water project is not operational.
Child Sponsorship Update
We are starting to receive information on our sponsored children and their families impacted by the earthquake. To protect the children’s privacy, we will be reaching out directly to individuals whose sponsored children were affected by the earthquake. We will continue to provide updates as soon as we have more information. Thank you for your patience during this difficult time.
