Just six months ago, the catastrophic earthquake rattled the lives of millions in Haiti. On January 12, 2010, we were merely witnesses from afar as the media plastered the devastating photos that depicted how badly people’s lives were affected. On that day, the people of Haiti were going about their normal routines when their lives were instantly shattered by the natural disaster. The resulting devastation of the earthquake caused geographical, emotional and physical hardships for millions throughout the country.

According to the United Nations, approximately 230,000 people perished, 300,000 sustained varying levels of injury, and more than 1,000,000 were suddenly left homeless. Approximately 250,000 homes and 30,000 commercial buildings were rendered unusable. Many roads were destroyed or blocked by rubble, and the Haitian people were left with nearly nothing.

Days later, buildings were still on the ground. Extreme shortages of food and fuel existed, along with minimal potable water. People were still missing.

On a large scale, there is much progress to be made because of the caliber and degree of devastation from this natural disaster. Despite the amount of progress that is still needed to rebuild the community, there are positive steps that have already been taken. Infectious diseases were effectively avoided and there has been minimal civil unrest. Some schools have reopened. Marketplaces are reopening. A small sense of normalcy has returned to the country, where we continue to see an immense level of resiliency, hope and courage from the Haitian community.

World Wide Village has been dedicated to building stronger communities in Haiti for nearly 10 years. The earthquake that the country suffered just six months ago has further enhanced our commitment to this country. Given that WWV had an established presence in Haiti prior to the January 12th earthquake we were able to respond quickly to the disaster by mobilizing resources and personnel to provide relief assistance.
World Wide Village is incredibly grateful for the donations of hundreds of compassionate supporters who have helped us positively impact the lives of thousands of Haitians in need. We believe that financial accountability and transparency is vitally important in the non-profit community, and we strive to maintain an open channel of communication with our donors. As World Wide Village takes a moment to reflect on the events of the past 6 months and pays tribute to those who are valiantly fighting to rebuild their lives, we wanted to reach out to our base of supporters and friends of the ministry to share some impact statistics and stories that you have helped make possible.

Health Care: More than $1.2 million has been donated and invested constructing, preparing and operating the field hospital and clinic in Leogane. In collaboration with University of Notre Dame, Children’s Nutrition Program, Intervol (a Rochester, NY based NGO) and the Hopital Ste. Croix (an operation of the Haiti Episcopal Dioceses), over 25,000 patients were treated, 750+ surgeries were performed and over 250 babies delivered. Early on the average cost to treat a patient was $10. Through the skill and expertise of highly trained volunteer hospital administrators, those costs are now reduced to less than $4 per patient. Over 550 professional medical personnel have volunteered over 5000 hours of service sometimes sleeping in tents and eating military rations. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of donated medications, medical supplies and equipment have been received and utilized in Haiti. Our vehicles were used to transport critically ill and injured patients to receive medical attention.

Nutrition: 1.6 million meals were imported into Haiti. Working with the Mayor of Delmas (a Port au Prince suburb), 15 tons of food was distributed to families mainly living in tent cities. 2.5 tons of food was airlifted by helicopter to 7 communities cut off from basic supply routes by the earthquake. Water purification systems were employed to insure clean, safe drinking water to thousands. The Medika Mamba program has expanded to a new location. We estimate that an additional 70 to 80 children will be treated in that program.

Education: Provided temporary shelter and new school desks to a school rendered uninhabitable by the quake. All 18 teachers and school staff employed by WWV were paid for every month this year – even when school was not in session. School meals were provided to the three schools operated by WWV as well as an additional 23 partner or affiliate schools. We have assessed the needs and have set in place plans to reconstruct and expand schools in Dumont, Leogane and Luly. The projected budget for the three projects of $103,000.
Employment: Since January, WWV has increased its Haitian employee count from 9 to 92 – 92 families being supported when they need it most.

Economic Development: Negotiations are underway to establish and expand our economic development programs by developing a savings and credit institution and the turn around of a severely damaged banking coop institution. We are formulating plans to construct three organic vegetable greenhouses that would employ 35 people per locations and represent a very sustainable enterprise model.

Overall year-to-date donations through June 30, 2010, exceed $1.8 million made up of both cash and in-kind contributions. 1437 donors contributed those totals – a 40% increase in donor count. This is a 3-fold increase over the 2009 results.

Patricia Mortensen recently spent a week with a World Wide Village, Inc. vision team in Haiti, and had the following to say:

“At first glance, there appears that not a lot of progress has been made since the earthquake. On the other hand, many Haitians have maneuvered around the devastation and have gone back to working as street vendors selling food, household goods, etc. as they did before the earthquake. Children are back in schools – even if most are huddled in temporary banana leaf structures.

It is important for our World Wide Village supporters to know that their contributions have made an impact. If they gave $500 they provided 125 people with life-saving medical care; $100 provided a family income for one month; and $50 provided a meal for 13 people. It’s huge.”

Much has been done, but the healing and rebuilding process is far from over. Though Haiti has dropped out of primetime news, there remains great need for financial donations. Many buildings still need to be reconstructed, and Haitians are still waiting on healthcare, food, water, and empowerment.

Please pray for Haiti and for all of those involved in the recovery process—this is a long-range process that will be completed over a number of years. World Wide Village is committed to being in Haiti for the future. Please consider joining us on the journey.