Haiti re-emerging — 4 1/2 months after the quake, Haitians 'lost a lot of things, but now we feel OK'

PETIONVILLE, Haiti — His eyes don't have bags under them anymore. His doleful expression is gone. His soft voice no longer sounds sorrowful.

Harry Mardy looks like a new man without the heavy burden of caring for hundreds of Haiti earthquake victims. The bishop of the LDS Church's Petionville Ward has returned to "almost normal" life.

"I'm doing OK. I feel better now. All the people out."

The Jan. 12 earthquake took a large toll on Petionville, a hilly community just outside Port-au-Prince. In the weeks that followed, more than 600 survivors sought refuge in the courtyard and palm-tree covered grounds outside the chapel.

Bishop Mardy lovingly tended to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of his flock and continues to do so but in the more traditional way for Mormon bishops. Though many still face earthquake-related struggles, they say things are getting better.

Hervé Constant lived at the church without a tent for 20 days after the quake. His house wasn't damaged, but he felt a responsibility to help fellow ward members. People were filled with uncertainty as they struggled for food, water and shelter.

"We lost a lot of things, but now we feel OK," said Constant, who serves as Sunday School president in the Petionville Ward. "We've come to life."

Church services have returned to normal schedules. Schools and businesses have reopened. Some people have jobs again. But life remains hard.

After the earthquake, about 600 people whose houses fell down or were damaged took up residence outside the chapel. Church-issued tents and tarps filled every corner of the paved courtyard and grass. Suitcases and laundry baskets dotted the grounds. When mattresses and sleeping pads came out at night, there were few places to walk.

People were tired and depressed. They didn't know how long they would be forced to camp out, living on one meal of rice and beans a day.

"In January, it was very bad. Everyone was scared, fearing everything," said Jean Baptiste Richardson, a member of the Frere Ward. But now, he said, "We have opportunity to live the new life."

Due to an impending stake conference, local church leaders asked the people — mostly Latter-day Saints, some not — living outside the chapel to move the week of Feb. 14-20.

All of them left, though not necessarily to a house.