Haiti: Two Years of Recovery

Haiti has seen a lot of change in two years.  Initially, following the earthquake, all of the changes were catastrophic:  Tens--possibly hundreds--of thousands of people died.   One and a half million people were left homeless  Ten billion cubic meters of rubble covered the landscape.    Twenty-seven government buildings were destroyed.   A government workforce was rendered powerless to help its own people.

Then, a miracle happeded.  The world--especially Americans--responded, overwhelmingly, to the needs of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  In the days and weeks after the earthquake more than half of all Americans gave money to help make a difference in Haiti's future.  People were called into action by a chorus of urgent pleas from nonprofit organizations and concerned individuals, such as these two remakes of "We are the World" (one in English and one in Spanish), rededicated the Haitian recovery effort, which together reached a viewership of 100 million.

While the recovery effort still faces many obstacles, it has brought about positive change in surprising ways, for example:

• More Haitians will have access to potable water and sanitation services as a result of the recovery effort than before the earthquake.
• The power grid in Haiti is not only being restored, it is modernizing, and will reach more people than it could have before the earthquake.
• Business investment will start to shrink Haiti's 40% unemployment rate, driven by the construction of a $257m industrial park near second-city Cap Haïtien that will create a projected 80,000 jobs.
• All branches of Haiti's government are functioning for the first time in 25 years, thanks in part to the first democratic and peaceful election to bring an opposition party leader to power.

Below we have gathered videos from nonprofit and other organizations that have contributed to Haiti's recovery effort.  We've done our best to use the most recent videos available to keep this update as current as possible.  Please send us your favorite nonprofit videos if you think there is something we've misssed!