Upon landing in Haiti just twelve days after the earthquake, it seemed all of Port-au-Prince laid in rubble in the streets.
Now six months later, while some of the roads are now clear, the National Palace continues to collapse slowly, while the Haitian government tries to decide if they are going to build a new capital and stay in Port-au-Prince.
The tent cities continue to move and grow. People are still afraid to live in their houses, and others remain homeless. Broad reconstruction has not really begun.
One tent city, leveled with bathrooms and new tents, remains unoccupied since February.
The government’s stance is ‘business as usual’ and so NGOs do not want to work too closely causing a lot of tension. While people live in squalor, the government’s concern is solely their own pocket.
As for PID, we have finally found stability since the earthquake. Our child sponsorship program has grown. Our small business program has identified all its past business people. People did extremely well in pausing the loans, and most loan groups have now renewed their loans since the earthquake.
Our housing program has finished its first post earthquake house, with three more almost complete. We are also looking into alternative material for our houses (more earthquake proof and less expensive).
But it’s our medical program that has changed the most. Usually only serving those in our programs with about 5,000 visits a year, we’ve now expanded greatly and expect it to reach about 60,000 visits this year. This has been a miracle in every sense of the word. We have become a bridge, filling the gap for those in need, landing somewhere between a clinic and a hospital, of which many seriously ill people who can’t get into a hospital, but need more care than a typical clinic can provide.
Our teams have been amazing; filled with skilled people with a desire to help.
For me, it has been a challenge I am not sure I was ready for. I didn’t know how much time from my life it would take, how exhausted I would become, or how many sick people there would be. But through this, I have learned how amazing PID truly is. We are small, but we are strong. We have taken care of so many people since the earthquake, and continue to do so with each coming day.
We look forward to continuing this work in the coming year. We hope you will support us with your hands (in both Haiti and the US) and with your donations, so we can continue in this work we have been given.
Sincerely,
Gale Hull
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