FIVE years after the devastating earthquake that killed 220,000
people in Haiti, much has been achieved, but much more still needs
to be done, relief agencies said this week.
The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United
States, Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, said that there was "abundant
opportunity for thanksgiving" as a result of the efforts to rebuild
communities destroyed by the magnitude-7 earthquake, which struck
on 12 January 2010 (News, 14
January 2010). Established in 1861, the diocese of Haiti is the
Church's largest, with 83,700 members and more than 100
parishes.
Speaking of the part that the Episcopal Church had played in the
"renaissance" of Haiti, Dr Jefferts Schori said: "Haiti can and
should emerge from its status as a least-developed nation in the
hemisphere, if the world will keep its pledge and stay the
course."
Much of the country's infrastructure was destroyed by the
earthquake and has had to be rebuilt. More than 1.5 million people
were displaced from their homes, and thousands were injured.
Streets were full of rubble, and were closed to traffic for
months.
Despite the huge relief and rebuilding efforts, many Haitians
still lived in desperate poverty, Christian Aid said. Five years
on, an estimated ten per cent are still living in tents or
temporary housing.
Christian Aid's country manager, Prospery Raymond, who was in
Port-au-Prince at the time of the earthquake, said: "The majority
are trapped in poverty, with little access to basic services. More
than 85,000 are still displaced, living in temporary camps. The
country needs investment to build around 30,000 new houses a year
for the next decade."