HOPE staff member, Katie Straight, reflects on meeting HOPE’s clients in Haiti.

One year ago today, the struggling nation of Haiti was devastated by an earthquake that killed over 200,000 and left 1.5 million homeless. In the aftermath, stories of broken-down ports and backlogged airports began to cast doubt on the effectiveness of relief efforts—and the effectiveness of the billions of dollars in aid that had been poured into Haiti in the previous decades.

Even as some were predicting that Haiti was beyond hope, we* saw persuasive evidence to the contrary. HOPE has always believed that Haiti’s strength lies in its people. Resilient, determined, and hopeful, their spirits were not crushed. Those who had little began sharing with those who had less. Some of HOPE’s clients, who lived in northern Haiti and were not directly impacted by the quake, took others who were forced to flee the devastation of Port-au-Prince into their homes. We saw, and have continued to see, God at work in their generosity. Continue Reading…