Contacts
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HAITI RELIEF
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You will find updates on the Haiti relief effort on this page. Find out what is happening and find out how you can help. |
HOW CAN I HELP?
You can support the relief efforts in Haiti financially through Jersey Baptist Church.
You can give in all venues during the offering time.
Simply include the words 'Haiti Relief' on the memo line of your check.
LATEST UPDATES
Long-term Haiti relief plan in place
Feb. 15, 2010
ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- Southern Baptists’ long-term relief response to the Haiti earthquake will be led in Haiti by a six-member coordination group, making plans that will be implemented by a team of experienced disaster relief specialists who will work through Haitian Baptist churches.
That decision was made Feb. 11-12 in Alpharetta, Ga., by representatives of four Southern Baptist organizations meeting at the North American Mission Board’s offices. The relief effort will be coordinated by representatives on the ground from Baptist Global Response, the Florida Baptist Convention, International Mission Board, NAMB and two Haitian Baptist conventions -- the Confraternite Missionaire Baptiste d' Haiti and the Convention Baptiste d'Haïti.
Fritz Wilson, the Florida Baptist Convention’s disaster relief director, will serve as the incident commander on the ground in Haiti. Wilson’s team, which will include experienced Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers, will implement countrywide ministry strategy set by the coordinating group, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response.
“The coordination group will begin working immediately on identifying specific projects and locations, which in turn will determine specific volunteer needs,” Brown said. “They will be in constant communication with the incident command team as decisions are made. There are still many internal logistics issues to be resolved -- lodging, security, transportation and translation -- before teams can begin working on the ground.”
Based on reports from the disaster relief efforts over the past two weeks, five priorities for urgent and intermediate response have been identified: food distribution, shelter, water purification, medical teams and chaplains.
A “mirror” team in the U.S. will provide communication and mobilize resources, both financial and human, for projects identified by the “coordination” group, Brown added. News services are reporting that the Port-au-Prince airport will reopen to commercial traffic Feb. 19, making it possible for volunteers to travel directly into Haiti, rather than driving in from the Dominican Republic.
During the meeting, Wilson, who returned from an assessment trip to Haiti last week, recalled the sound of familiar hymns sung in Creole rising above the rubble as Haitian Christians gathered for worship one recent Sunday morning.
“Churches all across Port-au-Prince, Carrefour and other communities were meeting outside the walls of their buildings because they were either destroyed, damaged or the fears of the people prevented them from going inside their buildings,” Wilson said.
Many of the camps where displaced Haitians have set up temporary shelters are located near Haitian Baptist churches, Wilson reported.
“Time and time again, we noticed that where there was a cluster of people living in tents, God had left a church intact to minister to those people,” Wilson said. “We have a divine opportunity to come alongside Haitian Baptists in order to meet the needs of those affected by the earthquake. Our response has to be done through the Haitian church, there is no doubt.”
The incident command team will help identify ministry locations and resource them with volunteers. They also will work with leaders from the two Haitian conventions to coordinate volunteer housing, transportation, ministry sites, security and other in-country logistics.
The group wrestled with the challenges of placing volunteers on the field where housing and transportation are limited and security remains an issue.
The North American Mission Board’s Disaster Operations Center will open Feb. 15 to support the operation, said Mickey Caison, NAMB’s team leader for adult volunteer mobilization.
Medical and well drilling teams already have begun work in Haiti, Caison said. Once logistics are in place and the incident command team is on the ground, more teams will be able to enter to work on water purification, food distribution and temporary shelter.
The group affirmed Haitian pastors and church members who have been reaching out to earthquake survivors since day one with support from Southern Baptists.
“We have the opportunity to be the people of God during the midst of great hurting,” said Cecil Seagle, director of the Florida Baptist Convention's mission division. “In the midst of this event, there is a cross and a Christ. We want to lift up Jesus Christ and make Him known. We also want to undergird the church in Haiti so that it would transform the culture of that nation.
“There is a heart hunger to see lives changed,” Seagle continued. “We want volunteers to be intentionally responsible for conveying the Good News of Jesus in any way possible.”
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network leaders said volunteers need to be spiritually as well as physically prepared. Plans are being made to give volunteers training that is specific to the Haiti response.
“God is doing something amazing among the churches in Haiti, and we are coming alongside them to strengthen them and help them share the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the country,” said Bruce Poss, NAMB’s disaster relief coordinator. “We've got to tie the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the transformation of life to all that we do.”
Right now, Southern Baptists are being asked to fill “Buckets of Hope” that will be sent to Haiti in the coming months. Churches and individuals can purchase and assemble five-gallon buckets for Haitian families packed with enough food to feed a family for a week. Even after Haitians use the supplies, the bucket can serve multiple uses for a family. Visit www.namb.net/bucketsofhope to find a list of items to pack in the buckets.
Questions about pickup and delivery of buckets should be directed to state conventions. Monetary donations, designated for “Buckets of Hope” on the check, may be sent to the Florida Baptist Convention, 1230 Hendricks Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32257. Haitian Baptist churches in Florida will use those donations to purchase buckets and fill them with food.
Disaster relief leaders continue to emphasize that helping Haitians rebuild their lives and communities will be a long-term effort.
Already, SBDR has sent 77 volunteers to Haiti including six medical teams. Volunteers have distributed 20 tons of rice, given medical treatment to 6,482 patients, assisted 100 pastors, made 2,475 ministry contacts and have seen 98 professions of faith.
“This is bigger than any of us,” Caison said. “We are just a small part of a much larger thing that God is doing in Haiti. Our efforts will undergird church planting, evangelism and leadership development in order to transform lives with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and ultimately transform Haiti.”
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Feb. 10, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As the official death toll from Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake matches that of the 2004 South Asian tsunami, Americans who care are responding by donating generously through Southern Baptist disaster relief channels.
The financial gifts for Haiti relief are flowing in a steady stream of donations both large and small – even from very young donors, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response.
Haiti's government announced Feb. 9 that the catastrophic earthquake had claimed 230,000 lives in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but that number did not include bodies buried by private funeral homes in private cemeteries or the dead buried by their own families, news services reported. The new figure matches the death toll from the tsunami that ravaged South Asia in 2004.
But the suffering of Haiti's people – more than 700,000 of whom remain homeless – has touched many hearts in the United States, and the desire to help Haitians in need launched a tidal wave of donations to Southern Baptist organizations involved in the disaster response.
At last count, more than $4 million has been given through four Southern Baptist organizations – $1.0 million through Baptist Global Response, $1.1 million through the International Mission Board, $1.54 million through the Florida Baptist Convention, and $400,000 through the North American Mission Board.
The great thing about giving through Southern Baptist disaster relief channels is that 100 percent of every dollar donated goes directly to ministries that help people in need, Brown said.
"All four organizations have seen checks, cash, and on-line donations stream in by the thousands – an average of more than $130,000 a day all together," Brown said. "It's such a blessing to see good-hearted people respond so generously. Many of the people we've talked to have said they wanted to give through Southern Baptists because they knew every penny would be used to help people in need."
The donations have come in from churches, businesses, schools, and individuals of all ages, said Megan Stull Riel, associate director of BGR's U.S. office.
"A rural school in Bakersfield, Calif., sent a check, saying they are in a small, economically disadvantaged community that has a large heart for helping others," Riel said. "The student council of a school district in Braymer, Mo., raised $132 by letting students pay a dollar each to wear a hat to school, then the student council matched the donation. Fifteen members of the senior class in a Christian school in Upper Marlboro, Md., personally signed a letter that accompanied their donation, thanking us for the opportunity 'to be a part of the healing of this nation.'
"We also had parents whose children gave them money and asked them to send it in," Riel added. “One parent said her three boys – ages 7, 8, and 12 were so touched by the plight of the Haitian people that the two youngest kids gave all the money they had and the 12-year-old gave $20. Another parent said her children were giving money they had saved from their allowances and sent a check for $267.50."
One Florida congregation was moved to respond, in part because so many members of their community had family directly affected by the earthquake, said Kathy Burton, a public relations specialist for the Florida Baptist Convention.
Burton said: "One church sent a note with their donation that said, 'We have a large Haitian community in our church and they are definitely hurting. Every Haitian family in our church has some family still in Haiti and most in Port au Prince. It has been a very trying time for them, trying to locate family members and learning of family members who were injured or did not survive. We had a special prayer service this past Wednesday and took a collection for the Florida Baptist Convention to help with the disaster relief. Please find a total of $6,316.06 enclosed from our congregation.'"
From Colorado, Dolores Southern Baptist Church wrote the Baptist Global Response office to say they showed slides of the devastation in Haiti and took up an offering of $1,000 for Haiti relief. As the church treasurer, Colleen Smith, was organizing the money, a 9-year-old boy ran up to her and said, "Wait until I go to the van. I want to help." He returned with a handful of $1 and $5 bills – $50 in all – that he had been saving to buy a toy he wanted. "He told his mother that those people needed the money more than he needed the toy," Smith said.
Another Colorado congregation, Circle Drive Baptist Church in Colorado Springs, got their children engaged in the Haiti relief effort by asking them to make handcraft items that could be sold to adults in the congregation. Children’s minister Kathy Routt, whose husband, Mike, is senior pastor of the church, wrote to say the children were excited to see they could play an active role in helping suffering people in Haiti, and the congregation raised $1,359 for the Haiti effort.
"One of the passionate desires of the Colorado Kid Company of Circle Drive Baptist Church is for each of our children to develop a heart for the people of the world to know Jesus," Routt said. "So as the images of Haiti’s begin coming in one of our first thoughts was 'How can our kids help?' So we prayed, 'God, what can our kids do to help?'
"That Sunday morning and the following Wednesday evening, the children worked very hard making crafts. We prayed over them and ask God to use these crafts to raise money to help the people in Haiti," Routt added. "The next Sunday our pre-teen fifth graders and their teachers manned the tables as members of our church made donations to Haiti in exchange for craft items. It was so exciting to see the eyes of our fifth graders light up as they collected donations and realized they were having a part in making a difference in someone’s life in Haiti."
As much as money gifts are needed for the long-term disaster response in Haiti, church members will be more enthusiastic when leaders find ways for them to be personally involved, Brown noted.
"It's great to see people finding creative, hands-on ways for children and teenagers to help. We hope others will look for ways to help their people experience the satisfaction of doing something personally to help Haitians in need," Brown said. "The 'Buckets of Hope' project being coordinated by the North American Mission Board is a great example of how that can be done.
"Everyone who has given – or will give – to Haiti relief through Southern Baptist channels can be certain that their gifts will be used for ministry projects conducted in partnership with Haitian Baptist churches," Brown added. "And it will make a long-term impact because we are in Haiti for the long haul, just like Southern Baptists are still working in areas affected by the tsunami with long-term development projects that offer people the ability to help themselves.
“We'll not only help in Haiti with the urgent needs of the moment, but we also will be helping families and communities rebuild their lives,” Brown added. “Southern Baptist relief and development ministries are designed to help people experience the love of Christ today and find hope for the future."
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Haiti volunteers making the difference – even in U.S.Feb. 5, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Volunteers are making a profound difference in the lives of Haitians who survived the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake – from medical professionals and disaster relief experts who are using specialized skills to relieve suffering, to the multitude of lay people who have been fervently praying and generously giving for the past three weeks.
While medical teams from Kentucky, Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina have been joined in Haiti by a leadership coordination team from the North American Mission Board, a Feb. 10-11 meeting in Atlanta will chart the course for the long-term response and involvement of general service volunteers, said Jeff Palmer, executive director of Baptist Global Response. Additional medical teams from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee, a multi-state water purification team, chaplains, and a volunteer coordinator from Florida will be among the volunteers leaving for Haiti over the next four days.
But volunteers also are playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in Haiti earthquake relief from right here in the United States – multiplying the effectiveness of full-time staff by catching phone calls, answering e-mails, and processing contributions, noted Megan Stull Riel, associate director of Baptist Global Response’s U.S. office.
For the past two weeks, a steady stream of volunteers from Brentwood Baptist Church near Nashville has given the small staff in BGR’s U.S. office the breathing room they need to focus on urgent issues of coordinating response to the disaster.
“We couldn’t have done it without them. We have one person in our office to handle donations on a daily basis – and that was probably only for about an hour a day,” Riel said. “The earthquake greatly increased the number of donations we received. In all of last year, we processed 400 to 500 donations; after the earthquake, we received more than 500 donations for Haiti in one day. Besides that, the number of phone calls increased dramatically. Before the volunteers came in, the only thing we were doing the whole day was answering caller questions. We weren’t able to get to anything else.”
Scott Harris, the associate pastor at Brentwood who focuses on hunger and relief ministries, knew BGR’s Nashville staff was limited in number and would need help responding to a crisis of this magnitude.
“As soon as we heard about the earthquake, we called BGR,” Harris said. “We knew we could assist by offering prayers and financial assistance, and, in time, long-term involvement. But we also wanted to aid BGR in more tangible ways.”
Harris offered to make office space available at the church and asked if they could send volunteers to help them in the Nashville office. In two weeks, 20 Brentwood volunteers provided 150 hours of donated time.
“We were able to send rotating shifts of volunteers to help process donations and help with other tasks,” Harris said. “Our people continue to volunteer at BGR's facilities. It instills such confidence in our people to see the character and competence of the BGR staff up close and personal.”
Brentwood Baptist first became acquainted with Baptist Global Response through BGR’s promotion of the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. The church hosted BGR’s first official event, a world hunger summit in the fall of 2007. Harris is glad they have the opportunity to lend a hand with the office tasks.
“We are blessed to have BGR in our own hometown. Through our relationship with BGR, we are able to touch the world right where we are,” Harris said. “Global missions can indeed be local.”
Local office volunteers make an important difference as BGR’s stateside staff focuses on preparing the way for the larger volume of general service volunteers that will be flowing into Haiti in a few weeks, said Jim Brown, director of BGR’s U.S. office.
“Our role in sending volunteers to Haiti is the role of facilitator,” Brown said. “We work with partners like the North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, Florida Baptist Convention, and other state conventions to find appropriate places for volunteers to serve and facilitate logistics to make that happen. This is not an easy task, considering our small personnel resources in the Nashville office. Volunteers make an enormous difference.”
A lot is at stake in designing an appropriate response to the earthquake that doesn’t create Haitian dependence on American resources, Brown added.
“BGR’s goal is to focus on both short- and long-term disaster response efforts that work through the local church – helping Haitians to help themselves – in a sustainable way that minimizes the challenges related to dependency,” Brown said. “This will be a huge challenge the longer we are there, as the response moves from the initial disaster relief stage to rehabilitation and then on to development work.”
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New medical teams on the ground in Haiti
Feb. 2, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Southern Baptist medical units from Kentucky and Mississippi arrived in the Dominican Republic Feb. 1 and crossed the border into Haiti without incident, Baptist Global Response U.S. director Jim Brown has announced. Medical units from Florida and South Carolina will depart Feb. 3, taking the same route into the country, which suffered a catastrophic earthquake Jan. 12.
Brown received a text message from the medical teams during a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network conference call Feb. 1. The message said "the teams are at the rendezvous point in Haiti," Brown told the group. "They got through the border without problems."
The 10-member medical teams include doctors, nurses, chaplains and disaster relief experts, Brown said. They plan to treat as many Haiti earthquake survivors as possible during their five-day stay in Port-Au-Prince and the surrounding area.
Medical teams from Arkansas and North Carolina recently completed ministry stints in Haiti and returned home.
The Southern Baptist disaster response is only just beginning and volunteers who want to help in Haiti will have the opportunity, said Jeff Palmer, BGR's executive director.
"I want to urge people to pray for those who are going into Haiti to help," Palmer said. "Pray for the teams on the ground now, as they help with medical needs there. There will be many more opportunities in the future for those who want to go and help."
Because conditions in Haiti are so difficult and the needs require specialized skills, Baptist Global Response currently is sending only volunteers specifically trained and experienced in disaster relief work, Palmer added. General service opportunities for volunteers will be available soon.
The outpouring of support for Haiti through Baptist Global Response has been amazing, Palmer added.
"Southern Baptists have been overwhelmingly generous with their gifts, prayers and desire to help," Palmer said. "On behalf of Baptist Global Response, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"Please continue to pray for the suffering people of Haiti," Palmer added. "They will continue suffering for months and years to come at the loss of loved ones and as they recover from injuries they suffered during the earthquake."
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Medical teams to lead Haiti response
Jan. 26, 2010
By Barbara Denman
HIALEAH, Fla. (BP)–The joint Southern Baptist response to the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake will launch in the coming week with four “strategically selected” medical teams, leaders of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network decided Jan. 26 at the Florida Urban Impact Center in Hialeah, Fla.
Plans to respond to the urgent, intermediate and long-term needs in Haiti were addressed by assessment teams that had just returned from the quake-ravaged nation, along with representatives from Baptist Global Response, the Southern Baptist international and North American mission boards, the Florida Baptist Convention and other Southern Baptist disaster relief representatives.
The group wrestled with logistical arrangements and how to send mission teams and respond to needs in a country where transportation and in-country support for teams is practically impossible. Access to airports and shipping docks are extremely restricted, the teams reported.
“At this point, all we can sleep safely in Prince-au-Prince is 55,” said Cecil Seagle, director of the mission division of the Florida Baptist Convention.
The group decided the next step will be to send four “strategically selected” medical teams through the Dominican Republic to Haiti next week, along with two representatives from the Florida Baptist Convention, who will continue to make arrangements for trained disaster relief teams to travel in and out of the country.
Another meeting to discuss the logistics of getting additional response teams into Haiti will be held Feb. 11-12 in Atlanta, the group decided.
“Once we get the mechanisms in place, we will have numbers of teams in there, week in and week out,” said Mickey Caison, who directs disaster operations for the North American Mission Board.
“One of the things I am very excited about is that the four entities came together around Southern Baptist disaster relief to develop plans to respond to the disaster in Haiti,” Caison added. “I believe God is going to do something very good through all of us working together in Haiti. Through it all our efforts will be touching lives, changing lives and giving hope. Our purpose is to carry the message of hope found in Jesus Christ.”
The group acknowledged that Southern Baptists are passionate about responding to the immediate needs in Haiti.
The group hoped to reassure Southern Baptists that the response in Haiti will be long-term, but in the meantime they can minister to Haitians in their own communities and pray for people in Haiti, who are afraid to return to homes that are still standing because of the danger posed by aftershocks.
The group pled for patience as they try to solve logistical nightmares.
Southern Baptists will be asked to purchase and contribute “Buckets of Hope” to send to Haitian families - five-gallon buckets packed with rice, cooking oil, black beans, flour, sugar, spaghetti noodles and peanut butter. Even after Haitians use the supplies, the bucket can serve multiple uses for a family.
While Southern Baptists will mobilize to meet urgent needs, they also will be very focused on long-term assistance to help Haitians rebuild their lives and communities.
“Other relief agencies in Haiti are running a 100-yard dash; we are running a marathon,” said Fritz Wilson, disaster relief director for the Florida Baptist Convention.
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Haiti: ‘God sent us an angel’
Jan. 22, 2010
By Jack Caulfield
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Despite roadblocks in Haiti – both figurative and physical – the Baptist Global Response assessment team has gathered valuable information to shape a strategic response to the Jan. 12 earthquake and has already provided help for some of the island’s struggling people.
On Jan. 22, the five-member team began their work by trying to gain access to the Port-au-Prince airport in order to meet with other non-government organizational leaders. But the location is in high demand and access was limited. After waiting for more than an hour, team member Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response, sent out a prayer request about conditions at the airport.
“God literally sent us an angel,” Brown said.
Earlier, the team had received the name of a ministry partner with MAF, a nongovernmental organization that facilitates air travel in times of disaster, but Brown had been unable to make contact.
“He just showed up next to our car on the very busy public road, asked who we were, got in the vehicle with us, and then said to follow him,” Brown said. “We got right into the airport – a real miracle!”
Once inside, the team was able to make valuable contacts for logistics, supplies and airport status information. They are concerned, however, that the volume of traffic necessary to begin rebuilding the country will cause use of the airport to be more restricted in the future.
Another possible work location in Port-au-Prince is a medical clinic run by several organizations BGR has partnered with in the past that is set up next to Haiti’s presidential palace. The strategically placed clinic is a hub of caregivers, displaced people, Haitian authorities and United Nations troops.
“This will most probably be one of our initial work sites,” Brown said. “We feel this place will be a strategic door for us to enter with the purpose of developing relationships with other partners.”
While at the clinic, the team had the opportunity to share food, medical supplies and prayer with the workers. But the clinic, which cares for thousands of people, is in dire need of baby formula and electrolyte solution.
“Babies are dying because of lack of this!” Brown said in a Jan. 21 e-mail. “They haven't had anything but canned milk in over a week.”
The team planned to purchase and deliver approximately $12,000 worth of baby nutritional needs. Mark Rutledge, an International Mission Board missionary in Haiti who is traveling with the assessment team, has connections in Port-au-Prince where the supplies can be purchased.
“I know this will be a real blessing, just like our food and medicine delivery today,” Brown said.
The team also provided $10,000 to leadership of one Haitian Baptist convention. The money will be used to distribute food, mainly rice and beans, in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien, a key city to the north.
“We are hearing more and more reports about displaced people relocating in the Cap Haitien area,” Brown said. “There may be another emergency medical need up there.”
Baptist Global Response was able to meet those needs because Southern Baptists give generously to their hunger and disaster relief funds.
On Jan. 22, the team planned to survey the needs of Haitian Baptist churches. A meeting was arranged with a pastor who has already done a preliminary assessment of churches to the south and southwest of Port-au-Prince.
“Mark Rutledge and I feel certain this will uncover other locations for emergency food purchase plus possible other sites for initial medical teams with Haitian Baptist Convention,” Brown said.
On Jan. 24, the team is scheduled to meet with Dominican Republic leaders to discuss future ministry possibilities along the border.
“We think this will be another "front" for us,” Brown said.
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Haiti conditions bad, but relief pipeline opening
Jan. 21, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Conditions on the ground in Haiti are very difficult, a member of Southern Baptists' joint assessment team reported from Port-au-Prince Jan. 20. A U.S. military commander, however, said important progress has been made on enlarging the conduit for relief shipments into the quake-ravaged island nation.
"We've seen quite a bit of damage – more so toward the center of the city," reported Jim Brown, U. S. director for Baptist Global Response, in a terse e-mail sent from his cell phone. "We've helped with a couple of deliveries. Helicopters everywhere. People still being found alive!"
In another report, relayed to a meeting of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network, team member Bruce Poss indicated that traffic in Port-au-Prince is terrible and milling crowds are making travel and security serious concerns. He reported seeing 5,000 or more people lined up outside the US Embassy in the capital.
The five-member team delivered relief supplies – water, plastic sheeting, bottled gas, beans, rice, eggs, diesel fuel, canned goods – to a couple of churches and orphanages, Brown said. They were planning to connect with a Florida Baptist assessment team later in the day.
A U.S. military commander said the flow of relief supplies into Haiti would be helped by the opening of three new airfields and the country's seaport, news services reported. Gen. Douglas Fraser, who heads the U.S. Southern Command, told the Miami Herald newspaper the capital's seaport would reopen Jan. 21 and could accommodate about 150 shipping containers per day. The port's capacity is expected to grow to 250 containers per day by Jan. 22.
The main airport in Port-au-Prince, which has one runway and one loading ramp, has been a bottleneck for the arrival of humanitarian aid, even after it was reopened. A total of 1,400 flights are backlogged to land at the airfield, Fraser said. Because congestion on the roads has been hindering delivery of relief supplies, 63 U.S. helicopters have been dropping water, food and medical supplies into the most inaccessible areas, he told the newspaper.
The U.S. Military has distributed 1.4 million bottles of water, more than 700,00 meals, and about 22,000 pounds of medical supplies directly to people in need, Fraser said.
As many as 2 million Haitians are homeless because of the Jan. 12 earthquake, relief officials say, with vast numbers of people living in makeshift tents made of sheets and sticks. The estimated death toll stands at 200,000, but humanitarian medical groups warn that number will continue to grow as people die of untreated injuries and disease that infects the ramshackle camps, news services report.
Southern Baptist medical personnel who are willing to help in the relief effort can e-mail to register their availability. Baptist state convention disaster relief offices also will be organizing teams of volunteers to help once the assessment teams have returned with strategic recommendations for the response.
The Southern Baptist relief effort, like the one mounted after Hurricane Katrina and the South Asia tsunami, will be focused on the long term, Mickey Caison, who directs disaster operations for the North American Mission Board, told the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network Jan. 20. Previous strategies have focused on short-term help for people being missed by large-scale humanitarian projects and a long-term emphasis on helping people rebuild their lives and communities.
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Major aftershock hits Haiti
Jan. 20, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The five-member BGR assessment team is on the ground in Haiti, driving toward Port-au-Prince. They are accompanied by Mark Rutledge, who has 26 years of experience serving as an International Mission Board worker in Haiti. The team will be connecting with Haitian Baptist leaders, surveying earthquake damage, and delivering relief supplies.
A strong aftershock measuring 6.1 in magnitude struck Port-au-Prince at 6:03 a.m., Jan. 20, according to news reports. The shock sent people scrambling for open ground as buildings damaged by last week’s quake shuddered and rubble began falling to the ground. Eyewitnesses said people already traumatized by the horrors of the past week cried and screamed at the new tremor. More than 40 significant aftershocks have hit since the Jan. 12 quake.
Members of the assessment team reported they did not feel the aftershock at their base in the Dominican Republic. However, Steve Leach, a member of Round Grove Baptist Church in Miller, Mo., who operates an independent hospital in northwest Haiti, reported the aftershock “brought down some of the damaged buildings that were still standing and will keep anyone from going back to what buildings are still standing for many days to come. With so many severe aftershocks over the last week and now another new quake, who knows when people who have a place to go will feel safe to return there.”
Leach said about 1,200 refugees have come to the hospital for treatment and he has been sending trucks into the capital to look for survivors with family who live near the hospital.
“We live in a place that is about as far from the capital as you can get and still be in Haiti and yet we have watched these very poor people trying desperately to figure out a way to get their family members out here so they can take care of them,” Leach said. “The truck drivers are less and less willing to [drive into the city] as the situation in Port deteriorates.”
Relief efforts are struggling to get essential relief supplies to hundreds of thousands of desperate people, but destroyed infrastructure and disorganization are hampering the effort. Officials are concerned that the desperation people feel will boil over into violence. Looters by the hundreds have been fighting each other with broken bottles, clubs and other weapons over whatever goods they can still find in damaged stores.
“Pray specifically for God to give those in control wisdom to direct the relief effort,” Leach said.
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Assessment team headed into Haiti
Jan. 19, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Our five-member assessment team is on the ground in the Dominican Republic and headed toward Haiti today. An assessment team from the Florida Baptist Convention is in Haiti, and a team of Southern Baptist missionaries is at work in a medical clinic on the border between the Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Please pray for safety and that the Lord will open doors of opportunity before all these tea members.
An initial $150,000 has been released from the disaster relief fund for Haiti, but the eventual need will be much greater. About $285,000 has been donated so far to the effort through Baptist Global Response, including a check for $100,000 from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. Every dollar given will be used 100% for disaster response efforts that will be conducted in partnership with local Baptist churches in Haiti. Gifts-in-kind are not being encouraged at this point because distribution poses huge logistical problems in a country where so much of the infrastructure has been destroyed.
Like the South Asia tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, initial response to this disaster is fast and furious, but Southern Baptists also will be focused on the long-term. Long after the large disaster relief organizations have left Haiti, Southern Baptists will still be there, helping people rebuild their lives and experience the love of God.
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Haiti teams focus on urgent & long-term needs
Jan. 14, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Southern Baptist assessment team is working out logistics for a trip into Haiti early the week of Jan. 18, to connect with Haitian Baptist leaders and craft plans for disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake that struck the island Jan. 12.
The international community is rallying to meet urgent needs – from food, water and medical services to transportation and security, according to news reports. Search and rescue teams began combing the massive amount of rubble in the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince. Military teams from other countries began establishing communications, transport and security services – critical needs in a country where government offices and basic infrastructure were destroyed by the largest earthquake in 200 years.
The death toll among the city’s 3 million inhabitants could top 100,000, Haiti’s prime minister told reporters Jan. 13.
Serious security concerns could emerge as people become more desperate for food and water in areas where police and military control has not been established, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response. The capital’s main prison also collapsed in the earthquake, raising the prospect of criminals escaping into the city. As a result, near-term attempts to travel to the country would be ill-advised.
The five-member assessment team will evaluate ministry needs like rescue operations, medical services and shelter, as well as logistical concerns like transportation and security, Brown said. A separate Florida Baptist disaster relief team is planning its own assessment trip for the weekend and the two teams will collaborate in their reporting to the national Southern Baptist disaster relief network. The teams also will report back on long-term strategies to help Haitians rebuild their lives.
“There are two Baptist conventions in Haiti and the Florida Baptist Convention has historically partnered with one convention while the International Mission Board has partnered with the other,” Brown said. “We will combine our findings to draft the overall strategy.”
The Southern Baptist assessment team will be composed of representatives from Baptist Global Response, North American Mission Board and disaster relief specialists from Kentucky, Mississippi and South Carolina, Brown said.
Initial funding for the relief effort is coming from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. New contributions toward the relief effort can be made at the Baptist Global Response website, gobgr.org. Money donated to the relief effort will be used 100 percent for ministry in Haiti, Brown said.
Apart from donating to the disaster relief fund, concerned individuals can help greatly by joining in focused prayer for Haiti’s 9 million people, more than 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, said David Brown, who with his wife, Jo, directs Baptist Global Response work in the Americas.
“We want to encourage Christians to focus their prayers on several points,” David Brown said. “Please pray for those who have been affected by the quake – people who are trapped in rubble or homeless, those who are hungry or injured or traumatized. Pray for all those who are involved in the relief effort, that the Lord would give them strength to deal with the awful conditions they are facing. And pray for those who are trying to organize people and resources to assist with the relief efforts. Pray that God would stir up his people to respond with the love of Christ to help people in desperate need.”
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Haiti relief assessment underway after quake
Jan. 13, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Southern Baptists are mobilizing to assess disaster relief needs after the largest earthquake in more than 200 years rocked Haiti the evening of Jan. 12.
The initial Southern Baptist disaster relief effort will be led by Florida Baptists, who have had ministry relationships in Haiti for more than 20 years and currently have six staff members who live and work in the country, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board does not have long-term personnel stationed in the country.
The North American Mission Board’s disaster relief office is organizing an emergency consultation with state disaster relief directors to coordinate response to the catastrophe, Brown said. Disaster relief teams in Mississippi and Kentucky are on standby for immediate response.
An assessment team is being organized by Baptist Global Response, International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and state convention disaster relief directors to enter the country as soon as possible, Brown said. They will work with Haitian Baptists to identify immediate needs that must be addressed and will draft mid- and long-term plans for an ongoing relief effort.
Initial funding for the relief effort will come from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. Contributions toward the relief effort also can be made at gobgr.org.
The 7.0 magnitude tremor hit 10 miles from the center of Port-au-Prince, a city of 3 million people, at around 5 p.m. Jan. 12, according to news reports. One source said the quake could be felt more than 200 miles away. The earthquake triggered a tsunami watch for Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Multiple strong aftershocks continued to rock the country after the initial tremor, said David Brown, who with his wife, Jo, directs Baptist Global Response work in the Americas. Reports from inside the country indicate infrastructure and many buildings suffered catastrophic damage. The main airport is closed; power and communications are down and security is a serious concern. Specialized search and rescue teams and military units from several countries are being rushed into Haiti to help secure the situation and begin relief efforts.
Apart from donating to the disaster relief fund, concerned individuals can help greatly by joining in focused prayer for Haiti’s 9 million people, more than 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, David Brown said.
“Please pray for us as we assess and monitor the situation in Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks this evening,” Brown said. “The initial information indicates 2 million people in Port-au-Prince are directly affected. Please pray for victims and their families. Pray for wisdom as responses are initiated.”
The situation in Haiti is very fluid and additional information will continue to flow in on a daily basis, Brown said. Updates will be released as new information becomes available.
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