Right now, people in Haiti are busy clearing away rubble from the January earthquake in trucks and wheelbarrows. There’s much work to be done, but Port-au-Prince and the surrounding towns are slowly putting buildings, shops, and homes back together. Yet underneath the surface lies things that are still broken and will take years to heal, like the hearts of the survivors who’ve lost so much.

Caline Brevil and her 7-month-old daughter, Ronese, are just a few of the many earthquake survivors in Haiti who need our help.

The stories of loss coming from Haiti are heartbreaking and almost too much to bear. People like Caline Brevil, 23, are struggling to deal with the emotional scars left by the disaster. Caline, who was nine months pregnant at the time of the earthquake, spoke of her horrifying walk back to her house immediately after the quake. She said that the closer she got to her house, the more bodies there were in the streets. Caline had to step over and on top of bodies on that walk. She would turn around and say “Excuse me” to the people she stepped on, only to realize they were dead.

When she arrived at what was once her house, all she could see was the roof—that was the new floor. The damage was so severe in her neighborhood that there was no one left alive to ask where her husband and twin 5-year-old daughters were. Caline never found them that day.

Three days after the earthquake, Caline gave birth to a baby girl, who she named Ronese. She begged a ride to Kobonal, Haiti, a remote mountain village where she grew up, and she now lives with her grandmother in a crowded mud-walled home. Caline has nightmares often and she can’t sleep at night—she will jolt awake and feel as if the bed is shaking. She also has a recurring dream that she and her husband are together and the earthquake hits. In the dream, he carries their twin daughters and they all begin running. They come to the fork in the road, and Caline goes one way and her husband and children another.

Earthquake victims like Caline will never forget January 12, 2010. But there is something we as Christians can do—we can help them rebuild their lives. Cross International Catholic Outreach has programs in place throughout Haiti to help earthquake victims like Caline. With help from American Catholics, we can work to replace what has been lost.

Click here to find out how Cross Catholic is reaching out to earthquake survivors like Caline—and how you can make a difference!

If you look at Haiti solely in terms of statistics, the picture looks bleak: barely half of Haitians over 15 can read and write, more than two-thirds of the workforce is unemployed, and about 15 percent of Haiti’s children are orphaned. And after the devastating earthquake in January, poverty and homelessness are on the rise.

Judex Mondesir, 18, wants to use his education to help Haiti recover from the earthquake.

But if you look at Haiti at the “people level,” you’ll see a different picture altogether, one of hope that comes from the young people of Haiti.

Take the example of Judex Mondesir, an 18-year-old young man whose life changed forever after meeting Father Marc Boisvert and coming to live at Pwoje Espwa (Project Hope) in Les Cayes, Haiti. Judex comes from hard circumstances: his father passed away years ago and his mother could barely provide for him and his siblings. Life was tough, Judex said. When he heard of Pwoje Espwa, a place supported by Cross International Catholic Outreach where about 750 children live, are fed, go to school, and learn about Christ from a kind priest named Fr. Marc, he went straight there.

Judex has lived at Pwoje Espwa for two-and-a-half years now. He speaks fluent English, teaches Bible school on Sundays for the children, and works as an interpreter at Pwoje Espwa as needed, such as for dentists and doctors when they visit. Judex also teaches English at Pwoje Espwa during the summer in the mornings for ages 3-6 and in the afternoon for ages 11-15.

Judex says Father Marc has helped him greatly, and he plans to go to a university to become a teacher or a computer programmer. More importantly, Judex wants to help Haiti—he says he wants to stay in Haiti after finishing school and give back to his country. “I just want to share what I have with the others,” he said.

Young people like Judex are all over Haiti—and thanks to caring Catholics like Fr. Marc, their talent and desire to help Haiti is nurtured. Places like Pwoje Espwa offer education, a place to live, and the wonderful message to Christ to the next generation of Haitians. Cross Catholic has a long relationship with Pwoje Espwa, and we know that thanks to Fr. Marc’s dedication to the Lord and the children of Haiti, young men and women like Judex are ready to help Haiti recover from the earthquake.

Click here to learn more about how Cross Catholic makes a difference in the lives of children at Pwoje Espwa—and how you can help!

In the midst of despair people around the world have been touched by the faith and resilience of the Haitian people in the months following the devastating earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, killing thousands and leaving more than 1 million people homeless.

Cross Catholic staff members working in the field in the days and months after the earthquake saw this display of faith first hand. Our Haiti projects officer, Mike Henry, described this scene just a week after the earthquake:

“While walking amid the ruins of Port-au-Prince, I came across a spontaneous outdoor gathering of Haitian believers who had just watched their whole world crumble, now joined together in prayer and worship. The earthquake could take their homes and churches, but it could not take their faith! I was amazed by the joy, gratefulness, and prayerful resolve these Haitians were showing in the face of such devastation.”

And this wasn’t an isolated incident. NPR did a piece last week in honor of the six-month anniversary of the earthquake that touched on that very subject. A group of doctors shared an inspiring moment they experienced in the midst of tragedy and pain, at a makeshift tent hospital in Port-au-Prince. This happened to be there very same tent hospital that Cross Catholic supported with tents, medicines, and other aid after the quake.

In the piece, the doctors explain what happened: “…a man begins to play a guitar in the corner of the tent, and patients begin to sing.  Soon every Haitian in the tent is singing or clapping or dancing.  The song: “Jesus, thank you for loving us.” (Click here to listen to the full audio segment.)

These doctors were overwhelmed by the experience. As one put it: “It’s extremely humbling to be around a people that, in the worst time of their life, have it in their hearts to give gratitude for what they have left…”

This is reminiscent of the story of Paul and Silas praising and singing hymns to God despite being chained and in prison (Acts 16:25-31). And if you recall, through their worship the jailer came to Christ. Like this story, the Haitian people’s hopeful attitude despite the devastation caused by the quake is an amazing testament to the awesome power of God to overcome any circumstance.

Click here to learn more about what Cross Catholic has been doing in the last six months to help earthquake victims in Haiti.

Romans 8:28 is one of those Bible verses that is easier to believe when life is going well. But when tragedy comes our way, that’s when we really need to hear that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

Moise Vaval (center) and Cross International Catholic Outreach Projects Officer Claudio Merisio (right) have worked together to organize aid distribution in Haiti.

This verse was a recent focus of our morning devotions here at Cross Catholic, and a very relevant one in light of the suffering we’ve been encountering in Haiti. God doesn’t promise us a carefree life, but he gives us hope in the midst of hardship and strengthens us to do everything to his glory.

It’s hard to stand among the ruins of the Port-au-Prince cathedral and see signs of God’s providence. But as Christ once told his disciples, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” One person who has displayed this supernatural hope is Moise Vaval, a Haitian pastor and friend of Cross Catholic. Moise lost his son Jean-Marc to the earthquake when a school building collapsed on top of him. Moise spent two full days digging through the rubble to find Jean-Marc, who was just short of his ninth birthday, but to no avail.

It would have been easy to succumb to despair, but instead Moise jumped into the disaster relief effort, all the while thanking God for sparing his other three children who had been in the same school. Moise’s volunteer service was crucial to our work, as he tirelessly coordinated the distribution of Cross Catholic emergency supplies to mission partners and refugee camps throughout the country.

God’s people very often shine brightest when times are darkest. Moise, like so many other compassionate people who are working alongside Cross Catholic, has been an inspiration to all of us. We can approach the difficult task of long-term recovery with cheerful hearts, knowing there is real hope for Haiti and for all who seek refuge in Christ.

Cross International Catholic Outreach President Jim Cavnar and several staff members recently returned from a trip to Haiti. During their time in the earthquake-devastated country, they visited several of the ministries we are helping during this time of recovery.

In their first few hours on the ground the staff was struck by the empty streets of Port-au-Prince, which before the earthquake were teaming hundreds of vendors, children, cars, and animals.

Jim Cavnar, president of Cross International Catholic Outreach, surveys the damage in Leogane where nearly all of the houses were destroyed by the quake. Cross Catholic is supporting an IDP camp of about 200 people who lost their homes there.

“It was like being in a ghost town on the set of a Hollywood movie — it was unreal,” Jim said.

Michele Sagarino, vice president of development, added, “The lack of life in the streets and knowing what that means was very hard to process.”

The group from Cross Catholic met with Gladys Thomas, who runs an orphanage and Christian school we support just outside the capital, to survey the damage her ministry sustained. She told them that they’ll have to completely replace one of their buildings and rebuild the tall cement wall that protects their property from trespassers. She also said that her ministry has taken in 20 new children since the earthquake.

Jim and the staff from Cross Catholic also visited an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp we are supporting in Leogane, which was at the epicenter of the deadly earthquake. Despite the extensive destruction, there was hope among the people in camp. They had just received another shipment of rice when the group from Cross Catholic arrived.

With tents and supplies from Cross International Catholic Outreach, Project Medishare was able to set up a makeshift hospital that is helping hundreds of earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince.

After visiting a few other ministries we support, assessing damage, and planning an approach to help, the team from Cross Catholic stopped by Project Medishare’s tent hospital. Jim and the staff were very impressed by the work being done there — work that has been going on since the first day after the quake. Cross Catholic provided tents and supplies to the ministry, which were of great use when the ministry set up makeshift surgical and exam rooms, an infirmary, a lab, and a pharmacy.

Overall the group was impressed by the work we’ve accomplished together with our ministry partners to help those suffering in Haiti. “Our partners are showing tremendous courage and faith in the wake of this disaster,” Jim said. “Though it was difficult to see the suffering, we were glad to also find hope among the people as we met with our partners. We feel blessed to be a part of the recovery efforts that are bringing relief to those hurting in Haiti.”

Click here to learn more about our relief efforts in Haiti.

Cross Catholic Projects Officer Mike Henry helped to hand out emergency aid in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Jacquet.

On Saturday, Cross Catholic took part in another emergency aid distribution. The event was held at a church in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Jacquet. Much of the city remains in ruins since the Jan. 12 earthquake, and those who have not fled to outlying areas are still in need of food and shelter.

The distribution at Bethlehem Church was coordinated by our Cross Catholic mission partner World Concern, to whom we sent an emergency airlift of food, water, sheets, and blankets. During the distribution, Cross Catholic and World Concern handed out half of the Cross Catholic-sponsored food supply of nutrient-rich meal packets, as well as rice, beans, and tarps, to desperately needy local families who have lost everything: their homes, possessions, livelihoods, and even loved ones.

Today, Cross Catholic is on the ground in Haiti working with our partner Arc en Ciel to distribute food to earthquake refugees at internally-displaced persons (IDP) camps. There is so much work still to be done in Haiti, even if the crisis is no longer on the front-page news, and Cross Catholic is keeping boots on the ground to help ensure that no needy person is left behind. Click Here to learn how you can support our Cross Catholic disaster relief effort.

Two more staff members will be traveling to Port-au-Prince Wednesday to help with our relief efforts being coordinated from our office in Haiti. They will meet up with Project Officer Mike Henry, who has been working diligently from the devastated country since the earthquake hit Tuesday.

The victims of Haiti's massive 7.2-magnitude earthquake are still desperate for help.

“We will be doing whatever we can to help our partners. We plan to visit some of them as long as we have access to fuel,” said Claudio Merisio, our Latin America projects officer who just returned from Guatemala and postponed his trip to visit partners in Peru in order to go to Haiti.

Mike Wilson, our International Projects Director who several years of experience living and working in Haiti, is flying back early from visiting our partners in the Philippines to travel with Claudio. Both plan to stay in Haiti at least a week.

Since the airport in Port-au-Prince is still closed to commercial traffic, Mike Wilson and Claudio plan to fly into the Dominican Republic and take a bus across the boarder and on to Port-au-Prince. From there they will meet up with Mike Henry at our Haiti office.

Please pray for Mike Wilson and Claudio as they make their way to Haiti, and continue to pray for Mike Henry as he works from our office in Port-au-Prince! We covet your prayers and support.

Haiti is still reeling from the devastating earthquake that shook much of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas to their foundations on Tuesday, but there is hope. People continued to gather in the streets of the capital today, singing hymns and offering prayers to God, as help began to arrive.

A father and child wait in the streets for help to arrive in Port-au-Prince. (Photo courtesy of Matt Marek, IFRC.)

We are distributing millions of meals to the victims of the 7.2 scale earthquake that demolished much of Port-au-Prince. The meals are part of a 10-container shipment that we have on the ground in Haiti today.

The shipments include, nutrient-packed Vitafood meals, shoes, canned foods, and nutrition drinks. We have established a staging post on the ground and are now able to receive outside aid through the airport in Port-au-Prince.

Cross International Catholic Outreach President Jim Cavnar said that cash donations continue to be the greatest need. These will allow us to wire much-needed funds to our partners in Haiti for the purchase of food, clean water, and fuel for rescue efforts.

“As we continue our emergency response, we are also planning for the long-term needs of our partners,” Jim said. “A lot of rebuilding will need to take place once the dust settles. Cross International Catholic Outreach will be there to meet that need and help the vital ministries we support rebuild.”

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and join us in the relief efforts. Click here to donate. Also, visit our disaster relief page for updates from our staff in Haiti.

Reports have been trickling in all day from our staff and mission partners in Haiti. The devastation from yesterday’s 7.2-scale earthquake has been profound.

Photo courtesy of AP

“It looks like Dante’s Inferno. There are dead bodies everywhere,” said Mike Henry, our Haiti projects officer who is on the ground in Port-au-Prince today, working with our partners to bring aid to the people.

The most immediate needs are medical aid, food and water, and shelter. We’ve created a disaster relief fund to help provide urgent aid to Haiti’s desperate earthquake victims. The money we raise will help provide cash grants to our ministry partners to meet their most immediate needs.

You can donate by visiting our disaster relief page, sending a check to Cross International Catholic Outreach at 600 SW 3rd Street, Suite 2201, Pompano Beach, Florida 33060, or calling in a donation by phone at 800-391-8545.

The earthquake is the worst Haiti has seen in two centuries. The major quake sent 33 aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.2 to 5.9. Officials are estimating that about 3 million people — a third of Haiti’s population — were affected by the quake. Haiti’s prime minister announced today that he believes more than 100,000 have died in the disaster. Among those reported dead was Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince.

One of our project officers received an email from a friend doing relief work in Port-au-Prince today who said, “Much of the capital is in ruins. Having spent the last 12 hours in the streets, I assure you — you won’t have a hard time finding someone to help.”

Even our mission partners in Jacmel, a city three hours away from the quake’s epicenter in Port-au-Prince, felt the shock. Below is an excerpt from their email:

“Though it felt like hours, I think the earthquake lasted for about one minute. After it stopped, we went outside and heard people everywhere yelling and screaming and running all over the place. I was thankful to the Lord that we were safe. We went out to the people in the neighborhood to find out if anybody was hurt or needed help. We were told of several people whose homes had collapsed….All that we can do in this moment is pray. We thank the Lord who holds our lives in His hands. And we pray that lives are preserved all throughout Haiti during this time of crisis.”

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and for protection over our staff and other aid workers in the country, and join us in helping the disaster victims. We need your support!