The 7.2-magnitude earthquake which occurred in Haiti on August 14 has left many citizens devastated. Presently, the death toll sits at 1,419 with 6,900 persons injured, and almost 1.5million homes affected. However, they have received help in the past days. One of the recent groups to assist Haiti is World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization. The advocacy and external engagement director of World Vision Haiti, Fédorah Pierre-Louis said,
“The earthquake hit Haiti pretty badly. World Vision is working with the government and NGO partners to assess needs. And we have deployed a team right now on the field focusing on the areas of shelter, food assistance, child protection and also, of course, COVID prevention as we're still going through the pandemic over here.”
Those affected in the earthquake include churches, schools, organizations, houses, markets, and many more. While some persons have been rescued, others are still in the debris.
“We need to act very, very fast. Time is very critical in making sure that we're providing relief efforts. We’re working to rescue people still trapped under the rubble and clearing out some roads as well to increase access to care. Given the vulnerability in the country, we’re prioritizing nutritional and emergency response support to as many people as we can,” Pierre-Louis told the Christian Post.
So far, 6000 people have gotten relief materials from World Vision. There are plans to make provision for 240,000 people with tents, water, food supply, hygiene kits, and child protection efforts. Likewise, they hope to give emotional and spiritual aid to helpless families.
“Whenever there is a crisis, child protection is not necessarily prioritized on a government level. World Vision tries to ensure that the well-being of kids is still protected. So we really want to raise awareness on that and continue to push for advocacy and the prioritization of child protection.
“Children, in particular, have witnessed a lot of traumatic events. We provide them with psychosocial support for children to protect their physical and mental wellbeing,” Pierre-Louis said.
Apart from World Vision, other Christian agencies that have offered aid to Haiti include Convoy of Hope and Operation Blessing. Pierre-Louis appreciated everyone who has offered help to the country as she requested prayers for the victims.
“There are multiple crises going on right now. We need to remain united in prayers, in solidarity and in action. To make sure that we feel like we're all part of one Christian family. We need to make sure that people know that they're not going through the crisis alone and that they have many people with them praying with them around the world,” she concluded.
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