Haiti Earthquake Update
On the morning of Saturday, August 14th at 8:29 a.m. ET a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. The epicenter was in buildOn’s impact region of Les Cayes. We are assessing the situation, but are extremely grateful to announce that all of the members of our Haiti Team have been accounted for. We will continue to stay in touch with them as the tremors subside. The immediate safety of our team, their families, and their communities is our current focus. Please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts. Thank you for your support.
Update August 16th, 4 p.m. ET
We now know that Saturday’s earthquake was stronger and shallower than the quake in 2010, which had its epicenter in the more densely populated Port Au Prince region and killed more than 220,000 people and left nearly 2 million homeless.
We can again confirm that all of the buildOn Team members are accounted for and safe. Immediately after the earthquake our team began assisting family and neighbors in and around the Les Cayes region. They have all been affected by this horrific earthquake and are doing everything possible to provide relief for those in need. While buildOn is not an emergency response or disaster relief organization, our team is working closely with our partners in Haiti to support their efforts.
Many of the roads remain impassable. Once it is safe to travel, we intend to assess all 184 schools that we have built in Haiti. This may take weeks or even months, depending on how quickly the roads are repaired. For now, we are temporarily suspending our school construction, Adult Literacy Programs and Enroll Programs to allow time for our staff to assist in the relief efforts.
We will continue to update you as we reach out to buildOn community members, assess the buildOn schools, and continue to monitor the situation. For now, please continue to send your thoughts and prayers to the people of Haiti.