Hurricane Matthew made landfall as a Category 4 storm onto Southwestern Haiti on the morning of October 4th, 2016. According to UNOSAT, Matthew affected about 1.125 million people. 

Last year after Hurricane Matthew devastated parts of my country, I documented the victims and destruction as our organization began offering aid to the people.  In a matter of hours, everything people had was gone.  Their houses, gardens, animals, even family members hung in trees and they could not give them a funeral.  They slept standing up in the rain every night. 

The pain and desperation I saw in people’s eyes was overwhelming.  Various NGOs have done what they could to help people recover some of what was lost.  And the hurricane was not the end of their problems.  The waters it brought also spiked a cholera outbreak that is still claiming lives.

I have the opportunity to direct an organization that helped rebuild 44 homes in a small community of 350 families.   For a number of weeks, we provided them with food, water and basic things they needed to survive daily.  Our goal was to help them get back on their feet again so they can return to supporting themselves.  We were drawn to help this specific community because of the number of elderly people who were in terrible condition and unable to rebuild their lives on their own.  Many of them are handicapped and have reached ages of 87, 96,100 and even 103 years-old.

Today the community has homes, water filtration systems, an elderly feeding program, and its residents have all been given medical attention.  Many animals have been replaced and gardens are beginning to grow. 

The devastation and destruction will impact the health and economy for years to come, but six months later we see hope for the future.