I just returned from Haiti on Sunday morning and I can tell you, it’s as big of a mess as ever. Reports state that, “virtually no major reconstruction is evident. Landmarks such as the grand Roman Catholic cathedral and the majestic presidential palace remain misshapen carcasses. Only 5% of the rubble has been cleared, according to one estimate.” We stumble through cholera tents set up by UNICEF and saw continual devastation in a country that’s already been battered by all nature has to give.

Pledges of aid rushed to Haiti’s rescue, but few of those promises have come to fruition. Many have fled to the outlying cities in hope of a better life than what they have experienced in Port-au-Prince for the last year.

The Los Angeles Times reports, “The majority of the population remain jobless. And the nearly 1,200 tent encampments scattered across the city, where more than 1 million displaced people sought shelter, have taken on a deliberate permanence, much as aid workers a year ago said they feared would happen.”

Children’s HopeChest supports several orphanages in Haiti and this trip was focused on another potential project introduced to us by Christian recording artist, Meredith Andrews and her husband, Jacob. Jon Egan, lead singer of The Desperation Band was also on the trip to see what God is doing in Haiti. 

The answers for Haiti did not occur in the past year, nor will it in the next. What Haiti needs are people who are willing go the distance and develop genuine relationships with the Haitian people. The hype has worn off and now there is work to do – hard work. 

Many would ask where the hope is for Haiti. Can such devastation have a happy ending? I believe there is hope for Haiti. I believe hope for Haiti will come from what I saw in the eyes of so many orphans. They are future of that country. Please continue to pray for the people of that country. “Some see a hopeless end, while others see an endless hope.”  ~Author Unknown