Following is a brief report on the Haiti situation from YWAM international (YWAM is one of our key church planting partners). You can donate to the relief efforts directly to their local, Haitian team here.
Thousands, of people are feared dead in Haiti where an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale hit south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, at 16:53 local time on January 12. Early reports indicate that YWAM staff and students in the region were unharmed, but YWAM property has sustained damage.
The BBC reports that the capital city is in darkness as power lines are down and many people have fled their homes fearing further aftershocks. Many buildings have collapsed and the number of dead is rising.
Haiti has a population of 10 million people, and is one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. It has suffered frequent storms and hurricanes in the last few years that have devastated the landscape and contributed to the poor economic situation. The infrastructure is ill-equipped to deal with yet another natural disaster, and millions will be affected by the devastation.
Youth With A Mission operates in two ministry locations in Haiti with around 30 staff. We know they are busy responding with compassion. We have no details at this point, but YWAM teams responded quickly with relief efforts in 2008 after a tropical storm brought extensive damaged in Haiti. Here is part of the 2008 report:
YWAM Haiti is determined to stand in the gap for the people during this time, holding true to YWAM Haiti's vision: to be a blessing to their community and to the nations. Local YWAM leader Lubens Romulus said: "As YWAM, we would like to answer these needs. We have been blessed to be a blessing." Funds are already pouring in to help, as well as food supplies which are estimated to provide meals for 5,000 people. The YWAM teams are already well engaged in relief efforts of food assistance, house cleaning and clean water delivery. They have mobilized 11 truck-loads of potable water to distribute in the worst-hit areas. A strategy for identifying and assisting needy families with food, water, prayer and encouragement is in place. They are also assembling teams to assist with cleaning homes, some of which are filled with over six feet of mud. Clean water is also being delivered to help with hygiene, cooking and drinking.
Hopefully YWAM-Haiti's previous experiences will help them to compassionately and effectively deal with this present crisis.
Comments