As hurricane approaches, ministries serving Haiti brace for more suffering
Tim Yarbrough teaches Jasmine St. Pierre how to give a tetanus shot at Son Light Children’s Home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in February 2010. The brave volunteer (playing up his reaction for the camera) is Mackendy Charles. (Photo by Erik Tryggestad)
As Hurricane Tomas batters the coast of Haiti, relief ministries associated with Churches of Christ are gearing up to respond.
“Several hundred rain covers have — thankfully — already been sent weeks ago,” said Randy Uthe, medical director for Abilene, Texas-based Global Samaritan Resources. “Additionally, some 30 water purification units have already been delivered and installed. These items will be immensely important as Tomas passes near the edge of Haiti, and the hurricane unleashes its destruction on the country.”
At this point, the hurricane is not predicted to make a direct hit on the heavily populated areas near Port-au-Prince, still recovering from the devastating January earthquake. But the storm “has already spewed several inches of rain that threatened to unleash mudslides from denuded hills and send torrents of floodwaters down mountains into heavily populated areas,” Randal C. Archibold of The New York Times reports today from the Haitian capital.
We reported recently on the cholera outbreak in Haiti and its effects on Churches of Christ. (Read our earlier reports on the earthquake’s impact on churches in Haiti and Haitian congregation in south Florida.)
“Tomas is coming at a bad time for the redevelopment of this already disaster-stricken country” said Larry Musick, CEO of Global Samaritan. “We have been in prayer for some time for the people of Haiti and will certainly continue to do so. We are working through our friends and partners to gather the most accurate and up-to-date information and will use this information to best assess how we can respond most appropriately to the needs of the Haitian people.”
“Due to generous donors, GSR has emergency funds which will enable us to begin assistance anywhere on the globe when disaster strikes,” Musick said. “Additional funding will surely be needed as the problems unfold from Hurricane Tomas. We ask that folks utilize our website, especially our Facebook link, so that they can keep updated on the needs in Haiti.”
Several other church-related ministries are working in Haiti relief, including Healing Hands International, Manna Global Ministries and WFR Relief Ministries. We will post reports on the hurricane and relief efforts as they become available.
This video summarizes how Healing Hands has been involved in Haiti relief since the earthquake:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH1nxVGVfOA&feature=player_embedded
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“We are poised and ready to help people who are affected by this storm. All of our systems and networks are still in place from the ongoing earthquake relief effort. As always, our goal is to show the love of Christ as we strive to be His hands in these relief works. Thanks to all those who unselfishly give to support this work and to God be the glory!”