Moïse was four years old when he lost his left leg in the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.
Wecheline, his mother, remembers every second of that dark day, 10 years ago this week: "I was taking a meal to my husband when the earth began to shake,” she says. “When I came home, there was nothing left of our house. I could hear Moïse under the rubble. He was crying and shouting, ‘mom, mom, mom!’”
A week later, Moïse had his leg amputated. "It was a very difficult time for me," explains his mother. “Moïse didn't have any crutches. He couldn't walk around. He had to crawl. When they told me he was going to be fitted with a prosthesis, I jumped for joy."
With support from Humanity & Inclusion, Moïse received physical therapy from our rehabilitation team and was fit with his first prosthesis in 2010. Since then, Moïse has grown, and the prosthesis, worn from use, has been replaced several times.
In recent weeks, Moïse has been busy cleaning the house and doing the washing and cooking. But his real passion is soccer. He and his brother often play on the construction site next to their house, which doubles as their soccer field. This past summer, however, his prosthesis, which was too small for him, began to hurt when he walked. Instead of playing himself, Moïse used a soccer app to play on a mobile phone.
At the end of August 2019, Moïse was fitted with his new prosthesis at a physical rehabilitation center run by Healing Hands for Haiti, which receives support from Humanity & Inclusion. Today, Moïse attends school and enjoys playing soccer with his friends.
Moïse has his sights set firmly on the future. He doesn't dream of becoming a soccer player anymore. He wants to be an engineer or doctor instead, convinced his leg could have been saved if there had been enough doctors in Haiti after the earthquake.
Watch his moves!
Haiti's 2010 earthquake
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti, killing 230,000 people and injuring more than 300,000 others.
In the wake of the disaster, Humanity & Inclusion ramped up its operations, and mobilized about 600 people who deployed unprecedented levels of resources and assistance.
Humanity & Inclusion's impact, by the numbers:
- 90,000 people with rehabilitation care (click here to watch Christella's story!)
- 25,000 people with psychosocial support
- 1,400 people with orthopedic braces or artificial limbs
- 5,000+ wheelchairs, crutches and walking frames to people with disabilities
- 1,050 shelters for extremely vulnerable families
- 20,000+ tons of aid for people affected by the disaster
Today, we’re still helping Haitians with disabilities stand tall.
Donate to support our ongoing work.
NOTE: until Jan 2018, Humanity & Inclusion was known as Handicap International.