Our staff members continue rushing relief items and support to areas left ravaged by the deadly 7.0-magnitude earthquake. The stories of survivors are as emotionally compelling as the staggering need, which grows by the day. (Listen to an audio message from World Vision’s president.)

January 2010

Compiled by Peter Warski, World Vision U.S. Story contributions from James Addis.

Following the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti, Gina Jean recounted her experience to World Vision reporter James Addis, who was gathering stories from survivors in the disaster zone in Port-au-Prince.

The mother of two explained how she was pulled from the rubble of her home shortly after the quake hit. Bewildered, she ended up sitting in a street full of screaming people. When she eventually composed herself, and was able to thank God that she was still alive, and her children had also gotten out, she was struck by a fresh fear: What about her husband out at work?

He has not been seen since the events of Jan. 12. Gina has since checked the local hospitals without success. If things were not bad enough, she now lives on a patch of spare ground with her two children. One of them is only 4 months old. The other is 10. A few strung-up bed sheets and a washing line hung with clothes are their protection from the sun. These items amount to their home at the moment.

“It is shameful for my children to have to live like this,” she lamented.

Injured and homeless, but alive

Meanwhile, an 18-month-old boy named Navensky waited anxiously with his parents outside L’Hospital General in downtown Port-au-Prince, which was heavily damaged by the earthquake and deemed uninhabitable. Survivors seeking treatment simply had to wait on the street. Trucks regularly passed by Navensky’s bed, carrying corpses from the city morgue.

The boy suffered a broken shoulder, leg, and arm as his family fled their collapsing home. It took them nearly two hours to reach the hospital, which World Vision is supplying with basic medical items. Navensky may be injured, and his family may have lost nearly everything, but at the very least, the young boy is alive. (Read Navensky’s full story here.)

The same cannot be said for tens — most likely hundreds — of thousands of others who lost their lives in this tragedy. At an orphanage in Port-au-Prince where World Vision workers delivered relief items the weekend after the quake, scores of children shared cots or a bare mat on the floor. When the relief workers arrived, many of the children lifted up their arms, begging to be picked up. Others were suffering from infections, including diarrhea.

Adding insult to injury

It’s the worst earthquake to hit Haiti in more than 200 years. But this was a place of desperation long before the disaster. Haiti is the poorest and least-developed country in the Western Hemisphere — a place where the average annual income is $520, or less than $2 per day.

Extreme hunger and malnutrition, lack of clean water, and HIV and AIDS are all prevalent here. Poor or nonexistent infrastructure exacerbated the destruction caused by the quake — and has complicated relief efforts.

World Vision has extensive experience responding to disasters of this scale, as well as a long history in Haiti: Our teams have worked there for more than 30 years, with more than 800 staff members on the ground when the disaster struck. World Vision offers child sponsorship in Haiti, as well as a variety of development programs, including child nutrition, water and sanitation, HIV care, and care for orphaned children.

Only the beginning

With some 3 million people affected by the deadly quake, the immediate humanitarian needs are enormous. World Vision’s initial priority is to provide life-saving assistance — like food, clean water, hygiene products, cooking sets, and temporary shelter — to survivors living in dire conditions.

But emergency relief is just the beginning. With our staff and programs already positioned in Haiti, World Vision will be working alongside survivors of the devastating quake for years to come — helping children, families, and communities rebuild their lives and re-establish livelihoods.

“In visiting Haiti, I carry a message of hope and help,” said Rich Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., as he arrived in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 19. “World Vision, its donors, and the international community are all here to assist you, as you climb from the rubble to rebuild your lives and communities over the coming months and years.”

Hope may be a sparse commodity in a place that’s overwhelmed by sights of destruction and smells of death and decay. But even in this place of desperation and heartache, there are reasons to look toward the future — in children who smile, despite their circumstances; in thankful caregivers who are moved to tears when relief workers arrive with assistance; and in responders working with unwavering determination regardless of the obstacles they face. These may just be the glimmers of hope that survivors need to pull through.

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of donors already,” added Stearns. “But this is a marathon, and we need people who will continue to run that race beside us.”