Montreal

Haiti earthquake rebuild continues for Quebec groups

Five years after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, a group of Quebecers that's tried to help the country bounce back says there's still a lot more work to be done.

SPES-Haïti founder Dr. Albert Lamontagne has returned seven times since 2010 to help train doctors

Relatives place crosses in remembrance of those family members who died in the 2010 earthquake. (Jean Marc Herve Abelard/Associated Press)

Five years after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, a group of Quebecers that's tried to help the country bounce back says there's still a lot more work to be done.

Two aid organizations based in Quebec's Eastern Townships, SPES-Haïti and Solidarité Haïti, continue to help rebuild devastated parts of the country.

While the groups say access to water and electricity remain major problems, Dr. Albert Lamontagne says there has been some progress.

Lamontagne, one of the founders of SPES-Haiti, has returned seven times since the 2010 earthquake to help train doctors and improve the country's medical schools.

"We have now physicians locally who are quite a bit involved in continuing what we have done," he said.

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck outside Haiti's capital on Jan. 12, 2010, toppling thousands of buildings in Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities.

Officials believe more than 300,000 died, but no one knows for certain exactly how many people lost their lives.