Compassion International Commemorates the Third Anniversary of the 2021 Haiti Earthquake

Compassion Supported the Reconstruction or Repair of 47 Schools and 22 Churches as Part of its Response COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – August 14, 2024 – Today, Compassion International commemorates the third anniversary of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Haiti in 2021. Together with its Haitian colleagues, Compassion International remembers the devastation that struck the island nation and reflects on the remarkable resilience displayed by its people.

The 2021 earthquake was the worst natural disaster the country experienced in over a decade. UNICEF estimated that the earthquake took the lives of more than 2,200 people and injured more than 12,500. 97% of children and youth enrolled in Compassion’s program experienced damage to their homes.

Compassion provided over 40 million USD for immediate relief efforts and long-term response (2021 to date). This included emergency food aid for over 17,000 families, micro-loan programs for more than 1,100 caregivers, psychological and spiritual support for 81% of registered participant households and reconstruction assistance for more than 11,000 individual homes, as well as reconstruction and repair support for 47 schools and 22 churches. Those schools and churches will now meet seismic and hurricane-improved construction codes and standards.

Reflecting on the micro-loans provided, Patrick Mathieu, Haiti income generation activities program coordinator, shares that “after the earthquake that shook [the] southern region, many families were decapitalized—they had no funds to rebuild or to make a living. It was necessary to find a way to help them to recover. For us it was [one of] the best ways to assist the households of [children registered in our program].”

“The reconstruction of churches and schools, among other interventions, has been a great blessing to their communities,” shares Abbel Joseph, senior manager of program support for Compassion Haiti. “This has especially empowered the churches to minister in an impactful way in their community. Because Haiti is a disaster-prone country, we are now more confident to face the future and even serve as a safe haven in case of natural disasters in the future.”

In the 2021 earthquake’s devastating aftermath, an estimated 650,000 people needed assistance and over 130,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. UNICEF estimated that more than half a million children were impacted. Only two days later, on August 16th, Haiti was struck by Tropical Depression Grace, further compounding the disaster and increasing the vulnerability of its citizens.