12 January marks the one year anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shattered the impoverished nation of Haiti. With its epicentre located 25kms southwest of Port-au-Prince, the country's capital, the earthquake occurred just before 5:00pm and was the worst in the region in over 200 years.
The damage Haiti sustained as a result of the earthquake left 300,000 people dead and one million Haitian residents without homes; it came with an estimated repair cost of over $14 billion and was described by Haiti's president, Renè Prèval, as "unimaginable".
News of the earthquake flooded the media and ignited an emergency response from governments and charity organisations across the globe. As the world's attention turned to the island, no one could have imagined the devastation that would ensue on January 12, 2010 and continue a year later.
Compassion has been operating in Haiti since 1968 and already had infrastructure and networks operating in Haiti when the earthquake struck. Emergency response teams from Compassion International arrived in Haiti 24 hours after the earthquake hit to locate and stabilise Compassion Haiti staff and immediately began work aiding individuals and communities in the affected regions.
In the last twelve months, Compassion has distributed over 37,000 emergency food and water kits; 14,345 children have been seen at mobile clinics and 4000 hygiene kits have been provided to beneficiaries and their families. Immediately 490 tents were distributed, and within a few months tarps, wood frames and metal sheets were provided to 4,822 families who had lost their homes.
In recent months, Compassion staff have also been educating families on essential hygiene and water purification techniques and are distributing tablets to purify water, soaps, serum oral and hand sanitisers, in an attempt to curb the cholera epidemic that has become prevalent throughout the region as a result of the living conditions.
Compassion supporters around the world have rallied behind the people of Haiti and raised $25 million, including $2 million donated by Australians, for Compassion's work in Haiti.
Compassion Australia CEO Dr Tim Hanna says, "We do not want to see families suffering as a result of their geography. While ever there are children and families in need in Haiti, we will be there, helping to rebuild, to repair, and to bring hope and life into a community that has been devastated."
Compassion is continuing to provide food and medical assistance and emotional and spiritual support as the rebuilding of Haiti carries on.
For more information, visit: www.compassion.com.au
Compassion is an international Christian holistic child development and child advocacy ministry committed to working in partnership with local churches to foster the spiritual, economic, social, physical and emotional development of children living in extreme poverty in over 26 countries.