Ten years ago this Sunday, on January 12th 2010, a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, with an epicenter about 15 miles west of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and the government of Haiti estimated that roughly a quarter million homes and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. This is a country already struggling economically; Haiti is considered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
And just in the past few months more than 40 people have been killed and dozens injured during demonstrations organized by opposition leaders demanding the resignation of the country’s President, Jovenel Moïse, because of anger over corruption, inflation, and a scarcity of basic goods.
We’re joined by three southwest Floridians who have ties to Haiti in order to get a sense of what’s happening on the island these days, how recovery has gone over this past decade, and how much work is left to do.
Our guests are Rosmy Louis, founder of the new United Haitian Chamber of Commerce of SWFL; Dan Shoemaker is Chairman of the United Haitian Chamber of Commerce of SWFL, and President and founder of Reciprocal Ministries International; and Dr. Marie Gladys Andre-Dupuy is founder and CEO of the nonprofit Education for One and All, which she formed in response to the 2010 quake.
