On January 12, 2010, Haiti suffered devastation from a 40 second earthquake and in subsequent days, frequent aftershocks. Houses, schools and hospitals, government infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. The world responded knowing that Haiti was in no position to suffer a loss of this kind alone. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has long been plagued with political instability and wrenching dysfunction. "Rebuild Haiti!" was the battle cry of those early days. In the midst of conflicting perspectives on aid promised and received, on how much progress has been made, World Relief Haiti (WRH) is faithfully living out its commitment to serve the most vulnerable.

World Relief's perspective is similar to that of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king, heard that his people were in great affliction and reproach. He tells the king, "Why should I not be sad when my city lies devastated?" Neh. 2:3. The story proceeds with Nehemiah uniting his people and rebuilding in the midst of enormous pressure and conflict. The builders are also soldiers, with swords in one hand and building tools in the other. With enemies pressing in, each section of the rebuilt wall is a sweet victory and motivation to continue.

Haiti has well-documented "enemies" – entrenched poverty, lack of government integrity and transparency, a history of dependency, an unsustainable economy, displaced persons, poor options for medical care and inadequate education. This list is not exhaustive. Haiti's issues had deep roots long before the earthquake and this disaster only exacerbated them. WRH faces formidable odds; however, like Nehemiah, we do not lose hope, but move forward rebuilding our section of the wall stone by stone.

Some of our rebuilt walls lie in Thiotte. Here, we have planted nearly one million coffee trees. Along with coffee, World Relief Haiti's technical experts have identified promise in bananas, mangos, avocados, gardens, rice intensification, poultry, goats and cacao. WRH is rebuilding an agricultural economy for hundreds of farmers, knitting them together using existing co-ops and our network of churches. WRH is creating livelihoods and impacting farmers who will reap the benefits for years to come.

Another section of our wall is in Leogane where former tent dwellers now live in World Relief houses. New wells mean accessible water for needy families. New schools stand where two years ago, there was only rubble. Health programming continues to effectively serve the communities surrounding 40 churches with training and vaccinations; their section of the wall is beginning to be set.

Though good news, none of these gains are taken lightly or misunderstood as fix-its for Haiti. Real change comes when perspectives change and hearts change. World Relief Haiti is committed to messaging responsibility, integrity, and independence using local resources to solve local problems. At the same time, we are promoting a dependence on God as the main component in all we do.

At one point, Nehemiah is challenged by one of his enemies, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? [ . . .] Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?" Neh. 4:2

Similar voices tell us, "Is there really hope for Haiti?"

Then, the Israelites called out, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall." Neh. 4:10 (Who will stay committed to Haiti in a weak economy?)
Nehemiah, undaunted, prayed, revisited his strategy and then prayed again, "Oh God, strengthen my hands." Neh. 6:9

Finally, the wall was rebuilt and the enemies "lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God." Neh. 6:16

We believe that God has not forgotten those struggling in Haiti and that he desires to give this country a hope and a future.