Fifteen Years After Earthquake: FFTP Reaffirms Pledge to Help Haiti
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2025) – As the 15th anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti approaches, Food For The Poor (FFTP) remains committed to the country and its citizens, even as the nation is struggling with the continued trauma of gang violence and civil unrest.
FFTP began working in Haiti in 1986. Because of its history in the nation, the charity was positioned to provide immediate and ongoing assistance when the earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, at 4:53 p.m. A reported 250,000 people died, including four students and two faculty advisors from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., who were on a Journey of Hope mission with FFTP. An estimated 1.3 million people were left homeless.
While Haiti has made strides in recovery since the earthquake, natural disasters and civil unrest have delivered a powerful blow. The COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the assassination of its president, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace in 2021, a fuel shortage, a cholera outbreak, and unrelenting gang violence have hampered its progress.
In early 2024, armed gangs burned police stations, forced the closure of the main Maritime Port in Port-au-Prince and the Toussaint Louverture Airport, and raided the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 incarcerated individuals. The violence continued, reaching a devastating height in 2024, with more than 5,000 people being killed and approximately 700,000 being displaced from their homes.
Armed assailants set fire to Bernard Mevs Hospital on the evening of Dec. 16, destroying four operating rooms and all its laboratory equipment. No patients or staff were harmed because the hospital had been evacuated following the threats.
Despite these and other challenges, FFTP remains committed to helping Haiti.
“We’ve been in Haiti for nearly 40 years, and we don’t plan on going anywhere,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said. “Together, with our incredible team in Haiti, we are prepared to provide assistance when and where we can, as we continue working toward real, lasting change.”
In 2024, the charity made 551 shipments of food, health-related items and other essential items to Haiti. The FFTP-Haiti team provided critical support to communities across the nation, addressing food insecurity, health care needs, and displacement challenges. FFTP-Haiti distributed 220,343 bags of rice to people throughout the country, benefiting an estimated 1,059,325 individuals, and provided medicine and medical supplies to 158 health centers and hospitals, supporting 1,163,713 patients. In addition, during 2024 the team:
- •Responded to the needs of displaced families by distributing hygiene kits to 33,475 families in the metropolitan area who fled gang violence and are now living in dire conditions in temporary shelters.
- •Provided essential care for displaced women by distributing women care kits to 1,920 displaced women residing in temporary shelters.
- •Supported education through school canteens, serving meals to 201,607 students in 1,059 schools under the National School Canteen Program.
- •Cared for vulnerable mothers and children suffering or at risk of malnutrition, providing lifesaving services to 603 recipients weekly at the Nutritional Recovery Center.
- •Improved living conditions by building 238 homes, giving 1,190 individuals a roof over their heads, and enabling them to live in dignity and significantly improving their quality of life.
FFTP also works with trusted partners in its efforts to support Haiti. The charity continues to ship tractor-trailer loads of aid to Haiti, including containers of rice from partner Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Airlink, Amerijet, Feed My Starving Children, GlobalMedic, Heart to Heart International, MAP International, USAID, and more, have been instrumental in their support of FFTP and its mission in Haiti.
Because of its longstanding involvement in Haiti and its network of in-country partners, FFTP is well-positioned to continue its efforts after the current crisis is brought under control. The charity is developing a long-term strategy to achieve sustainable community development goals, focusing on housing, food security, education, health care, and youth engagement.
“When the earthquake struck in 2010, we pledged to stand by Haiti, not just in the immediate aftermath, but for as long as it takes to build a stronger, self-sustaining future,” Raine said. “With the help of our generous donors, we stand by that commitment, and we hope others will embrace our effort in the years ahead.” To support FFTP in its work in Haiti as the charity reaffirms its commitment 15 years after the earthquake, click here.
About Food For The Poor
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 15 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Ernestine Williams
Communications
305-321-7342
[email protected]
