The turning of the calendar into January 2012 will put us at two years since a massive earthquake devastated our neighbours in Haiti.

And to those who have made the trek to the country and its misery, not much has changed for the inhabitants in those two years.

The Observer on Sunday has to give kudos to the team of five from the Cayman Islands that recently went to Haiti to help build houses, working with the charity Haven Partnership from Ireland.

Murali Namburi, Taura Ebanks, John Heron, Kathryn Walsh and Derrylee Carter recently took part in the Build It Week project.

During that time they helped erect 55 houses; five more than was originally mandated.

The people who moved into those houses have been living in squalor since January 2010. For two years they have made their homes in tents, bathing in dingy water in the streets; fighting for survival.

The homes, while not equipped with running water or electricity, are surely a welcome respite from life under a tarpaulin.

While Team Haiti from Cayman performed a wonderful act of kindness in getting those 55 houses built, they came away with a feeling of awe and despair; that what they did wasn’t enough.

But it was.

By empowering just one person to improve their lot in life, Team Haiti has paid it forward. It is now up to the people who received help from Team Haiti and others during the Build it Week to step out of their comfort zone and help a fellow countryman.

To experience helplessness while on the ground in Haiti isn’t unusual. The country is not in much better shape than it was two years ago when hundreds of thousands of people died and millions were left homeless following the 12 January quake.

There are still seas of tents and tarps; sanitation is non-existent.

Website after website of offerings from people all over the world who have been to Haiti to help with relief express the same despair - when they leave it looks as though nothing has been done.

But it has.

There is still much to do in Haiti. It has been and will continue to be a long row to hoe. If you find yourself in a position to help out in Haiti during this season of giving, please do. One by one, we can make a difference.