More than 1 million people were left homeless after the earthquake. The survivors fled Port-au-Prince in search of temporary shelter and food.

This week marks the six-month anniversary of the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12, killing more than 200,000 men, women, and children and reducing the capital city of Port-au-Prince to a field of rubble. Droves of traumatized survivors fled to the countryside in search of food, water, and shelter, and at least 1.5 million were left homeless.

As photos from Haiti published by the media this week show, the people are still in great need and it will take years for the country to recover. However, we at Cross Catholic are thankful for the progress that has been made with the help of compassionate Catholics who have selflessly given to help Haiti.

Already, with their support we have been able to provide more than $73 million in cash grants and shipped goods to help those hurting in Haiti. This first helped us provide emergency relief — food, medicine, and other supplies — to victims in the days after the quake. It then enabled us to work with our ministry partners in the months after the disaster to provide recovery and relief to thousands of displaced earthquake victims living in refugee camps.

In addition to the food we continue to ship to earthquake victims, Cross Catholic has turned its efforts to recovery with a plan to build hundreds of earthquake-resistant homes.

Now, six months since the earthquake, we have been able to turn our efforts to long-term recovery — clearing debris to make room for new structures and rebuilding schools and homes. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we’ve also began a plan to build hundreds of earthquake resistant houses in Port-au-Prince and three other regions for families whose homes were destroyed.

Please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers as we continue to work with our ministry partners to rebuild the lives of the earthquake victims.

Click here to read a full report of what Cross has been able to do to help Haiti in the last six months thanks to the generosity of American Christians.

Below is a video of relief supplies being unloaded from the 220-foot ship that was carrying 10 containers from Cross International Catholic Outreach. The food, water, medicines, and other goods are now being used by our ministry partner Fr. Marc, who cares for 760 orphans, and they will also be distributed to earthquake victims in Les Cayes.

Because the southern seaside town has only a small harbor with a wharf that cannot accommodate large vessels, small boats were used to transport the relief supplies to shore. Loading the 20-foot containers on the little boats was quite a feat!

After weeks of anticipation and a few bumps in the road, 10 containers of relief supplies from Cross International Catholic Outreach being carried by a treasure-hunting ship reached our ministry partners in Les Cayes, Haiti.

The 20-foot containers — carrying food, water, medicines, and other urgently-needed relief supplies — were a welcome site to Fr. Marc, who has been spearheading our efforts to help earthquake refugees pouring into Haiti’s southern region, and the more than 600 orphans he cares for at Pwoje Espwa.

The crew of the 220-foot Sea Hunter, which partnered with Cross Catholic to ship the supplies, encountered three vicious storms that delayed their journey. But through God’s providence they have arrived safely with the precious cargo.

The Sea Hunter coming into the port in Miami, Florida, where it picked up 10 containers of relief supplies from Cross International Catholic Outreach before heading south to Haiti.

Because Les Cayes has only a small harbor with a wharf that cannot accommodate large ships, skiffs were used to transport the supplies to shore where they were trucked to our ministry partner.

Dozens of boxes of food were a welcome site to Fr. Marc who cares for more than 600 orphans in Les Cayes.