Haiti’s ‘New Normal’

Under torn tarps next to an orphanage, some of Haiti’s earthquake survivors recall their devastating losses.

Grandparents, parents, children… each has a heart wrenching story to tell.

Two mothers searched frantically for their daughters under the rubble of a school.
 
For two days, they heard their daughters’ voices as they dug desperately to free them.  But they could not reach the girls in time.  On the third day, their voices fell silent.

One man was trapped for hours under the concrete debris of his home.  He was rescued, only to find out that his mother had been crushed to death.

Countless others have similar stories.  With such tragic memories, many survivors feel alone in their grief, still living in a fog of despair and surrounded by devastation.

Six months after the catastrophic disaster, this state of trauma is Haiti’s “new normal,” says Romnal Colas, World Relief’s Disaster Response manager in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.

“The people are learning to start their lives over again, step by step,” he says.  “Many of them have a fear of concrete.”

Among the survivors are local pastors and church leaders who’ve devoted themselves to serving others at the expense of taking time to heal their own deep emotional and psychological wounds.  Although God’s grace has given them strength to press on, they’ve struggled to cope with their own grief while counseling others.

But the global Church is at work in Haiti – and these church leaders are no longer alone.

Recently, a team of trauma counselors from Elmbrook Church in Wisconsin came alongside Haitian church leaders providing support to those who’ve suffered horrendous losses, including children.

For many of these church leaders, Elmbrook’s trauma counseling workshop was the first opportunity they’ve had to express their grief.

“Embedded in their stories was pain, questions, fears and hopes,” says Dan Green, a member of the Elmbrook Church team.

On the path to emotional healing, these church leaders are now able to talk openly with others about their own hurts and struggles, beginning the gradual recovery.

The healing that has begun with a few members of a church in Wisconsin and 40 Haitian church leaders will not end here.  One participant is sharing what he has learned about coping with trauma with others in a nearby tent community; another is counseling those who are working with vulnerable children.  Green believes others will also share what they’ve learned – and so the healing will spread.

“These people are local leaders, pastors and teachers who have an impact on thousands of people,” Green explains.

As its people adjust to the “new normal” of post-earthquake Haiti, the Church continues to play a vital role in bringing healing and restoration.

• Ask God to comfort and heal all those who mourn, to bind up the broken-hearted;
• It’s easy to despair when all seems lost.  Please pray for Haiti’s people to see hope amid the ruins;
• Pray for Haiti’s local churches to grow stronger and reach out with Christ’s healing hands;
• Ask the Lord to protect Haiti’s vulnerable children, to guard their hearts, minds and bodies, and to show them that faith conquers fear.