On January 12, 2010, everything about life in Haiti was forever changed by a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives (the lack of an official death toll is evidence of the enormity of the disaster). 1.5 million people were left homeless.
Thanks to donors like you, we’ve been able to help more than 2,500 families move into homes. Since the earthquake, we’ve also employed 8,000 people and helped protect more than 115,000 people from deadly cholera.
Marie Virtile and her 12-year-old daughter were among those still living in a tent made of plastic tarps a year and a half after the earthquake. Marie prayed to God every day to rescue her from her desperate circumstances, but she was starting to lose hope.
The earthquake destroyed the two-story house her family had lived in for 14 years. Her husband passed away in a car accident in 2003, but Marie supported her two children by running a restaurant out of her home. In a matter of seconds her home, her source of income, and, tragically, a neighbor’s baby, were buried in rubble.
In the months following the disaster, Marie had to send her son to live with her brother. She couldn’t afford to feed two children anymore. But she continued to pray.
Her prayers were answered the day a World Concern staff member came across her tent. She interviewed Marie and determined she qualified for a new home. Marie cried tears of joy, thanking God that help had come.
She and her daughter were able to move into their new home just a few weeks later, and her son was reunited with the family.
“I wouldn’t have been able to afford to build such a beautiful and comfortable house. I was barely managing to feed my daughter,” she said.
There are still thousands who need help. We’re committed to walking with the people of Haiti, long-term.
