13 Oct 2022
This summer, the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working with the MSC community in southern Haiti, to support them in the construction of houses in the region of Camp-Perrin, where thousands of local families lost their homes in a devastating earthquake which took place in August 2021.
The people of Haiti have met with many challenges of varying severity in recent years, from natural disasters to political instability and a difficult economic climate. In January of 2010, an earthquake killed 300,000 people in Southern Haiti, and was followed just five years later by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. This hurricane ripped through the south-west of the island, caused landslides, floods, and fire. As the country once more did its best to rebuild, in August 2021, another devastating earthquake hit 150km from the Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, with its epicentre in the city of South St Louis.
    
A “crucial” time for southern Haiti
In addition, the country has reached crisis point in terms of political unrest. Criminal gangs are a very serious issue, with theft, kidnapping, and murder a constant threat hanging over the population. The further issues brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have added another layer of challenge and significant difficulty to a society that was already struggling severely.
Currently, the people of southern Haiti are attempting to overcome the fallout of the earthquake that took place on August 14th, 2021.
“The great south of Haiti was terribly affected by the earthquake of August 2021,” writes Fr Juan Tomás GarcĂa MSC. “At the moment, the consequences are crucial.”
Devastation in Camp-Perrin
Camp-Perrin, a mountain settlement, suffered great destruction, with immense damage affecting all aspects of life. The local economy was extremely weak prior to the earthquake, to the point that it could not respond to even 10% of the needs of the local population. This percentage has now fallen further as the economy continues to weaken. The agricultural sector has been almost completely demolished, firstly by the earthquake itself, and now because there is no access to seeds to replant. The landscape was badly damaged by landslides and collapses, especially in the mountains, where many people live. The few roads that did exist have been ruined, in many cases irreparably. Rivers have dried up, and the soil is so malnourished that it no longer has the ability to grow produce successfully.
The people too have suffered seriously in a psychological and emotional sense, especially children. Local water and electricity systems have been destroyed, and have not yet been repaired.
In Camp-Perrin, the figures speak for themselves.
3,200 homes were completely destroyed,
while a further 1,100 houses have serious – in many cases, irreparable – damage.
510 houses have reported minor damage.
Only 290 homes have remained intact in the region.
In addition to the homes that have been lost,
25 Catholic chapels and churches have been destroyed by the earthquake.
Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed in Camp-Perrin following the earthquake of August 2021. Only 290 homes remain intact.
Local water and electricity systems in Camp-Perrin were destroyed by the earthquake, and have not yet been repaired.
The people of Camp-Perrin have suffered psychological and emotional damage as the agricultural sector has been almost completely destroyed, with landscapes ravaged, rivers drying up, and no funds to buy seeds for regrowth, even if it were a possibility in the current climate.
MSCs building for the future
MSCs ministering in the region are doing their best to help those who have lost so much in the wake of this terrible natural disaster. The MSC team there are currently in the completion stages of 14 homes in the region, and are working to raise funds to build 20 more anti-seismic, hurricane-proof houses in rural communities.
The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart is proud to support the work being carried out by our brothers in Haiti who are working to fund the construction of these houses, which are being built with help from local volunteers and the families who will live in them. For people who have suffered so much in so short a time, these homes will be a lifeline, and a promise of hope for the years to come.
