Story of Marlene

Story by Casey Whiteman. 

In 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake blindsided the nation of Haiti, killing an estimated 230,000 people and leaving another 1,000,000 homeless. Since then, Hope Force International has been at work, building homes for families without proper shelter in the village of Sous Savanne through the "Houses of Hope" project.

While visiting Haiti with my cousin this past August, I had the humbling privilege of interviewing a few women who will be moving into their new house in the coming weeks. Marlene was among them, a 29-year-old single mother who had lost her house in the earthquake.

When I asked Marlene what happened to the house, she said (through a lovely translator), "The house broke apart." I walked over the foundation of her former home where rubble was still scattered. There, she had made a kitchen from scraps of wood and whatever else she could find, complete with a door.

Of the 10 people living in the 10x10 foot home, only Marlene was inside when everything began to shake. She recalled feeling the vibrations and quickly running outside -- an action that saved her life. The nine others in her family were all either at work, gathering food or water, or en route to the house.

Marlene's cousin Maudeline was walking on the street with her six-month-old boy at the time of the quake. When she felt the ground begin to move, she stopped, sat down on the ground, and held tightly to her son. Everyone in the household survived without physical injury, though one of Marlene's cousins suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress which resulted in sudden hallucinations of earthquake sensations that sent her into panic. Marlene remembers having to calm her down many times. Of the ten people living with Marlene before the earthquake, many were displaced to different villages after the dust settled and have not been back since.

For the past year or so, Marlene and her cousins have lived with family members in a wooden house built by HFI. These homes are what would be called in America a very small studio (not including kitchen or bathroom), or an average sized bedroom for the American teenager. There are four beds to sleep three adults and three children. Soon, Hope Force will be switching from wooden homes to a block house model (with the help of Haitian contractors), making the homes more sustainable.

Marlene is very excited to have a place all to herself that she can call home. She has not had a permanent home since the earthquake and has also been separated from her 12-year-old son. After the earthquake, her son was sent to live with his grandmother, who had a more suitable home than the makeshift shelter Marlene was forced to live in. Directly following the disaster, Marlene and her family lived in a tent made from tarps, which had been donated by various relief groups.

Hopefully, Marlene and her son can reunite under the same roof once the new "House of Hope" is finished. Her son is currently on the waiting list for Hope Force?s Child Sponsorship Program in Sous Savanne. The program provides parents with basic hygiene items, as well as food supplies such as rice, beans, oil, corn, and spaghetti noodles once a month.

Haiti's resilience is mind-boggling to me. The majority of the people live in unfathomable conditions. But, one thing I am not confused by is the faithfulness of God. He uses all things for the good of those who love Him. These Haitians love the Lord and live the best that they can with the life they have been given; isn't that just exactly what the Lord wants? I was saddened by their situation, but encouraged by their strength. God is indeed bringing hope to Haiti, while Haiti shows the rest of us how to praise God despite adverse circumstances.