This is my presentation for when I speak to various groups about my year in Haiti.

1. HAITI
“These are good people.
They’ve gotten a raw deal time
and time again, and they keep
coming back.” - Bill Clinton

2. Before the earthquake:
• Haitiwas the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere
• Haiti had suffered from three significant hurricanes
hitting the country in 2008
• Haiti was already a “country of NGOs” and the U.N. had
a significant presence there
• Haiti had experienced much political turmoil

3. An earthquake hits
January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
Ultimately, it is unknown how many
died in the quake, but most estimates
are over 200,000 people
“The streets are now Haiti’s living room
and bedroom.
Money, food, drinks, supplies, rotting
bodies, frustration, impatience, and
despair will all become a problem. …
The devastation is so widespread that
the folks who should be helping are
probably taking care of their own
issues.”
- Richard Morse, owner of the Hotel Oloffson
“The earthquake did not care if you
were rich or poor, American or Haitian.”
– Peterson Jules, UMVIM Interpreter

5. HAITI’S SITUATION
WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED

7. BEFORE
AFTE
R

8. BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY

9. BEYOND WORK:
Making Haiti my
home

10. OBVIOUS
NEEDS:
Robenson’s Story

11. STARTING A
BUSINESS

12. SUSTAINING A MINISTRY AND
PLANNING FOR A FUTURE

13. L’Eglise Methodiste d’Haiti
United Methodist Volunteers
in Mission
Questions??