Tragedy often has a way of visiting those who can bear it least. And on January 12, 2010 this is exactly what happened to Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. At 4:53 PM on that day, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale hit a point just southwest of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. In a just a few terrifying minutes, a vibrant city was devastated, and tens of thousands died. Immediately the scale of the tragedy was apparent - a nation that was already so often on its knees had been knocked to the ground.
