Resilience and Preparation: Responding to the Haiti Earthquake

October 20, 2021

Over the past 10 years, Water Mission has developed a robust safe water program in Haiti. We’ve formed and nurtured community-led Safe Water Committees, equipped local churches to share God’s love with those around them, and built a network of partners. Thanks to friends who have been praying for and supporting this long-term engagement, we were well-positioned to respond to the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in August.   In southern Haiti, where the earthquake caused significant damage, 35 of our best-in-class safe projects had been providing lifesaving water for years. Since Haiti is prone to hurricanes and earthquakes, our engineers proactively incorporated  safety factors when constructing the buildings that  house the systems. This proactive approach protects safe water systems from natural threats. The result of this intentional approach is that the systems were still running after the earthquake and able to produce extra water for neighboring impacted communities. 

Access to safe water is one of the top needs after a disaster.[/caption] Because we have an office and warehouse in Port-au-Prince, emergency water treatment systems were also ready for deployment. This preparation—and dedicated local staff—allowed us to get safe water flowing for other communities quickly. Providing safe water is one of the top needs after a disaster and a way to show God’s love to those facing overwhelming loss. As our work in Haiti continues, we are blessed by the opportunity to bring lifesaving safe water and hope the hope of Jesus Christ to our global neighbors.

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