Earthquake Devastates Haiti

On January 12, an earthquake reaching a magnitude of 7.0 devastated the people of Haiti just 15 km from the capital city of Port-Au-Prince. While the death toll may never be fully determined, more than 200,000 are feared to be dead. Another three million are affected as schools, homes and hospitals have collapsed.

Organizational Capacity

Free The Children has a 10-year history of working in Haiti. To date, we have built nine schools, a nutrition centre, sanitation facilities and helped support teacher salaries and technical training for students. Nearly 2,000 children in Haiti attend Free The Children schools.

Early Response Efforts

When the earthquake struck, Free The Children immediately responded with a strategy focused on protecting children. A small convoy from Free The Children, including Craig Kielburger, travelled to Haiti to assist with early response through delivery of basic supplies to Port-au-Prince, and to carry out rapid needs assessments in regions which are destined to become home to internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Long-Term Program Plan

As emergency and first response efforts wind down, Free The Children is carrying out a comprehensive needs assessments for our long-term aid and development program. By implementing our Adopt a Village program in Haiti, we are committed to getting children quickly and safely back in school and equipping communities to be healthy and sustainable.

Central to the overall plan for Haiti is the need to decentralize the population and relocate IDPs to areas outside of the capital where more land and resources offer greater potential for infrastructure that will support them in the long-term. The area where Free The Children works, 120km outside of Port-au-Prince, has been identified as one of the primary sites for IDP relocation. The Commune of Hinche is already welcoming people who are fleeing Port-au-Prince and is preparing to receive 5,000 families and hundreds of orphans in the weeks to come.