Haiti: Generation of Children Raised Amid Chaos 15 Years After Devastating Earthquake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 8 January 2025 — A generation of children is bearing the scars of Haiti’s catastrophic 2010 earthquake, with their futures shaped by repeated displacements, ongoing crises, and persistent disruptions to their education over the past 15 years, Save the Children said. 

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which struck on 12 January 2010, killed more than 220,000 people, displaced over 1.5 million, and devastated the nation’s infrastructure, including thousands of schools. While Haiti has made some strides in recovery, ongoing violence from armed groups has crippled progress, leaving children’s futures hanging in the balance. 

Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s country director in Haiti, said: 

“Life has been a series of crises for many children in Haiti. From hurricanes to earthquakes to the rampant violence we’re seeing today, many families we’ve spoken to have been displaced eight, nine, 10 times in the past 15 years. Today, armed groups have turned Port-au-Prince into an open-air prison for children. Nowhere in the city is safe. They can’t safely go to school, play outside, or leave their neighbourhoods. These children’s futures are slipping away.”  

Cassandra*, 17, is one of those children. She should be preparing to graduate this year, but instead, her education is on hold—again. The 2010 earthquake delayed her start to school, and now, escalating violence has forced her and her mother into an overcrowded shelter in Port-au-Prince. 

“My mom talks to me about the earthquake and how it affected us. I had bumps covering my skin because we were sleeping outside in poor conditions,” said Cassandra. “I am meant to graduate this year when I am 18, but I have lost two school years—one because of the earthquake, and another because of the violence. It is painful. I don’t know when I will return to school.”   

Cassandra has turned to crocheting to distract herself from the growing anxiety. As the violence continues to escalate, she explained that she feels more vulnerable each day.  

“I do not feel safe at all. Every day the gangs are getting closer. We can hear the gunfire getting closer, and I feel one day something could happen at this camp,” she said. “We sleep in a classroom with 35 other people. If there was more room, we would have better possibilities to cope but, in the camp, it is not possible to process what is happening properly.” 

Haiti’s ongoing struggle with armed violence, compounded by the long-term effects of the 2010 earthquake, has left many children like Cassandra uncertain about their future. 

In the past year alone, more than 700,000 people from a population of 11.7 million have been displaced due to armed groups, and at least 1,000 schools remain closed out of more than 18,000 schools in the country. The violence has restricted aid delivery, caused prices to soar, and led to skyrocketing hunger levels across the country. Desperation has pushed children into armed groups, seeking food and a sense of protection. 

“Many of the leaders of the armed groups today, and those in their ranks, were children themselves in 2010,” said Chantal Sylvie Imbeault. “Their futures were derailed in the aftermath of the earthquake, and now they are leaving a new generation behind. For many children in Haiti, education is their only hope. The world must act now to ensure these children have the chance to learn and build a better future, so history doesn’t repeat itself.” 

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978 in both urban and rural communities. The child rights organisation is calling for full, unfettered access for aid workers and life-saving supplies across Haiti, especially in Port au Prince, to combat hunger and severe acute malnutrition, and for all parties to do their utmost to protect children. The child rights organisation is also calling on the international community to urgently increase humanitarian funding for Haiti.    

Over the last 15 years, Save the Children has responded to multiple humanitarian emergencies in Haiti. This has included the 2010 earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak, Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and the 2021 earthquake. Save the Children has been providing cash assistance for displaced families in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince living in schools-turned-shelters to find more dignified housing solutions while helping to free up schools to resume educational activities. The child rights organisation is also working through local partners in Haiti’s West, Grand’Anse, and South departments, including in Les Cayes, to provide access to quality education, and psychosocial support to students in need.  

ENDS 

*Name changed due to privacy