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Earthquake hits Haiti

13-01-2010

Oikocredit is investigating the situation of Haiti project partner Fonkoze after a major earthquake devastated the nation on Tuesday evening.

According to the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI), the earthquake was centered approximately 15 kilometers west of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince and registered 7.0 on the Richter scale. Afterwards, several severe shocks continued to hit the Latin American nation. Countless buildings have collapsed and Fonkoze's headquarters was badly damaged in the quake. Unfortunately, there have been reports of injuries among Fonkoze staff and their families, though specifics are unknown.

Read Fonkoze updates on their website.

Fonkoze has been an Oikocredit partner for the past eight years and is the only Haitian microfinance institution (MFI) focused on rural financial services, providing clients with access to loans, savings products and technical training. In September 2008, four hurricanes struck Haiti in the space of three weeks. Despite the difficult conditions, Oikocredit was impressed by the organization's resilience and approved a US $400,000 equity investment. USAID and DFID (UK Government) provided major grants to Fonkoze after the hurricanes. These grants, combined with Oikocredit's investment, gave Fonkoze the support to again meet the needs of its microfinance clients. In the second half of last year, Fonkoze has strengthened as the economy slowly recovered. Oikocredit had also recently approved a loan of 40 million HTG (approximately US $990,000), which was almost finalized.

With this recent natural disaster, Oikocredit is extremely concerned for the people of Haiti and will continue to monitor Fonkoze's situation closely, offering assistance and support wherever possible.

Donate to Fonkoze's ‘Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Fund' and support the people of Haiti in their recovery. Visit http://www.fonkoze.org/innews/earthquakenews.html

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These press releases and other disclosures of news and events are correct to the best of our knowledge and belief, based on the information available at the time of publication. These may contain certain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. All press releases are current only as of the date specified. Oikocredit International disclaims any obligation to update or correct press releases as the result of financial, business or any other developments occurring after the specified date.

Earthquake hits Haiti

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