"God works in mysterious ways. He wanted our home to remain intact while others that were better built collapsed," said Eglide, pointing to his shabbily-built house in the heart of the Haitian capital.

His now-precarious home has become a small measure of comfort for Eglide and his many relatives since Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake as they mourn their dead, struggle to find food and beat back menacing looters.

On Friday, nearly 40 people crowded into the wood and tin shack even though it threatened to collapse at any moment amid the frequent aftershocks that still rattle the shocked Caribbean nation.

The 26-year-old teacher miraculously survived the earthquake that decimated the capital of Port-au-Prince killing tens of thousands of Haitians.

Initially his family fled their home fearing the flimsy structure could collapse over their heads in another earthquake.

They sought refuge in a public park where many Haitians have spent sleepless nights under the stars since Tuesday, but feeling more helpless and vulnerable there, they finally returned home.

"We need to protect and guard (our home). There are many armed men, a lot of looting," Eglide explained.

Henry Claude, the oldest brother in the family, was trapped beneath the mountain of concrete, stones and wires that used to be the once-majestic cathedral.

"Someone spoke to him yesterday. He screamed out his name and said he was surrounded by people. But this morning, he didn't answer us," Eglide said softly.

His sister, Marie Edithe Saint Juste, was among the first to seek shelter in his home. She left her husband buried in the rubble of their own home.

"I felt the tremor and reacted quickly. I left my house with my son and I ran. My husband was inside, but I know he died. I walked miles to get home to my family. It was a terrible scene," she recalled.

As countless bodies lay piled on the streets or buried in mass graves, the stench of death hung over the city, growing more unbearable by the hour.

When the first foreign contingents of humanitarian aid finally reached their neighborhood on Friday, the family's despair lifted slightly after three days of "total abandonment."

"No electricity is less serious than hunger, thirst and lack of drugs, especially antibiotics. We are surrounded by the dead," Eglide explained.

Desperately they have been searching for food and water, particularly fearful of contracting deadly water-borne diseases like cholera and dysentery from unclean supplies.

"I have this bag of water for the day. I have to ration it for my three-year-old son," said Victor's cousin Norberta Noiset, showing her precious asset.

"We had many needs in the past, but now we have even more, it's unimaginable. Today, I don't know what we will eat. Yesterday, we had only coffee and bread. We are many people to feed," Marie Edithe said.

When night fell, the family began gathering in their yard to sleep. They said they felt safer inside the house, but the walls could crush them at a moment's notice.

"Our life is in God's hands," said Eglide. "Leave Port-au-Prince? No, never."

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