A BASINGSTOKE woman who has returned from helping earthquake survivors in Haiti has spoken to the Gazette about her experience.

Catherine Gladwell spent five weeks in the struggling country with charity Save the Children, to help victims of the quake.

The 29-year-old, who is an education policy officer for the charity, visited the site of the epicentre where the quake struck nine months ago, claiming more than 200,000 lives.

The devastation following the earthquake in January left 2.3 million people homeless, and during her stay Catherine met some of those living through unbelievable hardships.

But she also found messages of hope from survivors.

She said: “You see the reports on the telly but nothing can prepare you for actually visiting.

“The stories people told me were just incredible. I met one man whose wife gave birth on the day of the earthquake, January 12.”

The woman was admitted to a different hospital than planned and gave birth minutes after the earthquake hit.

She later found out that the hospital they had originally planned to visit was completely destroyed by the impact of the quake.

Catherine, of Bramblys Close, Kings Furlong, said: “The family are doing well now and their story really touched me. I spoke to countless people who had lost a loved one in the earthquake and everyone there had been affected in some way by the disaster.”

While in Haiti, Catherine also had the chance to meet with education officials.

She said: “It made me realise how much work there is still to be done and how important education is in terms of helping children rebuild their lives and have hope for the future.”

Catherine has been working part-time for Save the Children for 20 months and also runs a charity called Refugee Support Network.

She said: “I’ll remember the faith, courage and dignity of the people I met in Haiti forever.”

A spokesman for Save the Children said: “While the response can claim many successes, Save the Children cautions that children are still vulnerable and must remain at the top of the agenda for all reconstruction efforts in Haiti.”