From Earthquake’s Shadow to Healing Light: A Partnership Rebuilds L’Asile
As the sun rose over L’Asile on the morning of the Health Center’s inauguration, Lanor Joseph, a 53-year-old father of five, stood quietly near the entrance, his calloused hands brushing against the freshly painted walls. For him, this moment was more than a ribbon-cutting—it was the end of a nightmare that began three years ago, when the August 14, 2021, earthquake buried his youngest daughter under rubble and exposed the deadly void of healthcare in his community.
“This building is a miracle,” Lanor whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “If it had existed back then, my daughter might still have both eyes. Others might still be alive.”
His words echoed through the crowd of hundreds gathered to celebrate the facility’s opening—a crowd that included Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, Health Minister Bertrand Sinal, and World Vision leaders. But it was the stories of survivors like Lanor that gave the ceremony its weight, transforming concrete and mortar into a symbol of redemption.
When the earthquake struck, L’Asile’s only clinic in the Changeux district collapsed, leaving 14,000 residents stranded. For Lanor, the disaster became personal within seconds. His then-3-year-old daughter, Marie Linsey, was trapped under a collapsed wall, bleeding from her ears and nostrils. With no local healthcare, Lanor embarked on a desperate odyssey—first by motorcycle, then on foot—to reach a hospital 44 kilometers away.
“I passed teenagers and pastors dying on the roadside. They’d been pulled from rubble but couldn’t survive the journey to care,” Lanor recalled, his gaze fixed on the new Health Center’s maternity wing. “My daughter survived by luck. Ten others from our community didn’t.”
Marie Linsey, now 6, still bears physical scars: she cannot shed tears from her left eye. But her father’s deeper wound is the memory of his wife’s five pregnancies, all requiring perilous treks to distant towns. “Not one of my children was born in Changeux. I dreamed of a day when fathers here wouldn’t fear for their wives’ lives.”
As Prime Minister Fils-Aimé praised the collaboration between World Vision, Cuban medical teams, and Haiti’s government, Lanor’s story hung in the air—a stark reminder of why this facility matters. The Health Center, equipped with maternity wards, vaccination clinics, and specialists, directly addresses the gaps that cost lives in 2021.
Health Minister Sinal underscored the priorities: “This center will ensure access to care for pregnant women, vaccinate children, and save lives through prevention. No more journeys of despair.”
While celebrating the Health Center, World Vision sounded the alarm on Haiti’s escalating food crisis. Nearly half of Haiti’s population faces food insecurity, with children bearing the brunt. Globally, 70% of infants lack diverse diets, and acute hunger afflicted 345 million people in 2022—half of them children.
World Vision’s “Enough” campaign calls for urgent action: scaling school meal programs, micronutrient supplementation, and gender-transformative policies to break cycles of malnutrition. “Haiti can produce enough to feed its children,” Vital-Herne asserted, outlining grassroots efforts like seed distributions, school gardens, and fortified canteens. He urged policymakers to regulate food systems and invest in community health workers.
The Health Center is a cornerstone in rebuilding Haiti’s future—a space where children receive vaccines, malnourished infants regain health, and mothers safely deliver. Yet the fight continues. World Vision called on citizens, organizations, and leaders to unite against hunger, ensuring every child thrives.
As the ceremony concluded, prayers echoed for the center to become a sanctuary of healing and hope. “May this place symbolize resilience,” Vital-Herne proclaimed, “where life triumphs and communities flourish.”
The road ahead remains steep: hunger, cholera, and systemic gaps persist. But in L’Asile, hope now has a heartbeat.