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Posts Tagged ‘haiti’

YWAM Haiti Update

January 29th, 2010 No comments
16 days since the earthquake! Has it been that long? Days run together with short nights and little sleep. First there was the numbing reality of the situation, almost like a nightmarish dream you couldn’t wake up from. I think I had a bit of denial of the reality that the earthquake really happened. Yet there was no escape from the shocking reality that it was true. The destruction and death was everywhere and reported death totals were grossly under estimated. The death totals are much higher than realized. For the people who ask me how I know this, my response is simple; “Where are all the people?” There were approximately 3 million people in PAP before the earthquake, 60 to 70% were left homeless, I ask again. Where are all those people now?

By the approach of the second week I was asked to serve on a committee for the organization of the refugees that were expected to flood into the city of St. Marc. We planned, we prepared but no one came. Again, where are all the people? Refugees are reported to be in big numbers in Cap Haitien, Gonaives, but in St. Marc, which is actually located closer to Port Au Prince than either of these two cities, we’ve had no massive wave of refugees. After a week of registering victims in St. Marc that are staying in homes and churches, we have located 3000. We are still registering refugees and feel there maybe as many as 4000 to 6000 currently in the city. With over 2.5 million people left homeless, where are all the people?
We are finding in PAP groupings of people in fields, streets, and city parks. They are lost; no shelter, no supplies, still trying to figure out what to do. Thank God it is the dry season. Left out in the elements during rainy season would only have led to more deaths! These victims don’t know where to go or how to get anywhere. Many are too fearful to enter their homes to retrieve precious goods, money, or legal documents due to the continued after shocks that are still felt, yes even today.
We have been scrambling to formulate plans and preparations to receive these victims that are left in PAP but with no leadership or structure, it has been difficult to accomplish a lot quickly. Yet, help is on the way! Some would be content to let the need go unanswered, but we feel a call to proclaim that this is the hour for change and we must respond! In St. Marc, YWAM has linked with the local administration, non- governmental organizations, private foundations, churches and the UN to ready the local schools as temporary housing for those who are still sleeping in parks and streets in PAP. Currently there is a ship scheduled to arrive Monday, Feb. 1st, at the St. Marc port. This shipment brings 43,000lbs of rice, a 40′ trailer of assorted food and equipment and two 20′ trailers to assist an orphanage with food and materials to make repairs. Currently, in St. Marc, churches are being funded to feed hundreds of people daily. A once gutted and retired hospital has been re-enforced and repaired and our first medical team aided the sick just this past week.
In PAP we have located land to develop temporary communities that we will be ministering in for many days to come until the city is rebuilt and they are back on their feet. Our YWAM medical teams are treating 300 plus a day in front of the National Palace. They are also strategizing on the lay out temporary communities and ways to further assist as they transfer from a crisis team to a relief team. By this weekend we will have
130 plus volunteers working in PAP, St. Marc, and Gonaives!
Right now we are assembling tents, 16x14ft., to be shipped in. We have 200 ordered and a team of people coming to set them up. Each tent will cost approximately $300 USD which includes shipping. The first batch of tents could arrive as early as Feb. 10th. We plan to house people in schools and churches until then. The plan is to ship another order of tents directly following this first order. We need your help to get these tents here as quickly as possible. The order was placed in faith as we know they are needed and God will hold back the rains for only so long. By giving to YWAM Haiti “Relief” you will be contributing to see these tents purchased, delivered, and set up to provide temporary shelter for one to two years!
Let us know today if you can help make this possible! Below is the information on where you could send your funds to see this effort advanced.
Taking the High Places!
Terry W. Snow
National Director
YWAM Haiti
If you would like to help you could send a US Dollar contribution payable to YWAM Haiti “Relief: and mail to;
YWAM Haiti
PO Box 236
Akron, PA 17501
If you would like to send funds through the internet you may give through this link;
Categories: missions, Uncategorized Tags: ,

Special Haiti Earthquake Update

January 27th, 2010 No comments

The world has come together to reach out to the earthquake victims in Haiti — and yet so much more needs to be done to ease the enormous suffering. Food For The Poor’s feeding center in Port-au-Prince is operational again, feeding thousands of people each day, but we need more funds to ship lifesaving food and clean water to benefit the countless families struggling to survive. Tent cities, some with more than 50,000 people, are scattered throughout the city and lack the basic necessities such as food and water.

The process of recovery in Haiti will be long and difficult. That’s why your continued support is so crucial to the relief efforts.

Please continue to keep Haiti in your prayers. Thank you for your compassion and generosity.

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Update from Joy in Hope Ministries – Working in Jacmel, Haiti

January 27th, 2010 No comments

Day to day the needs seem to change on the ground here in Jacmel.  We’ve spent the last few days working tirelessly getting food out into the hands of the people.  We don’t spend a whole lot of time reading the news, (mostly because we don’t have the time to do so,) but today I saw a story on CNN.com about thousands of people crowding two trucks of rice that was being distributed.  It was a first come first served situation and it was chaos.  The UN ended up having to spray the crowd with pepper spray to control them.  One Haitian man being interviewed said something like, “we’ve lost everything—our homes, our families… and now our dignity.”

The truth is, that’s not the kinds of things we’re seeing here in Jacmel.  We’re seeing hungry people. We’re seeing desperate people.  We’ve even seen a few demonstrations that you might call a riot.  But that is the exception.  In so many ways, people are moving on. The tenacity if the Haitian people is awe-inspiring. We’re desperately searching out normalcy for our family as well.  We took all the kids to the beach yesterday as that was a pretty regular thing in our house pre-earthquake.  It was good.  But it was still weird.

As a ministry we’ve been focusing on distrubuting large quantities of food to the people of Jacmel through their pastors.  Yesterday we moved over 15 tons in/out of our warehouse.  ALL BY HAND.  We’re tired.  Today is a bit different, because we’re out of food.  Not sure what this is going to mean quite yet.   The good news is that there IS food to be had in Jacmel right now and the larger governmental organizations are starting larger scale distribution.   It would seem God is leading us to refocus once again and figure out how to best serve families in our community.  Lots of ideas swirling around, but nothing definite yet.  Today we’re going to try to breathe a little bit and invite God’s rest to inhabit us and strengthen us.

We are still all sleeping in tents outside.  Our house doesn’t appear to have any major damage, but we’re still nervous.  We continue to have strong aftershocks and have been hearing that we may continue to feel them for months to come.  They are unnerving.  We have a team of structural engineers coming in tomorrow to check on all our buildings.  I think once that’s happened we might be able to start the process of moving back indoors.  Well, maybe.

We’re so thankful for the prayers on behalf of our family and our ministry, Joy in Hope.  I am thankful that God positioned us where we are at this time to be able to walk through this, but it is stretching us beyond what we thought we could bear.

As you continue to pray, please lift up our families.  Our orphanages are not traditional orphanages.  They are families.  Large families.  And all of our family members are experiencing grief, loss, anxiety, fear and dozens of other emotions…  We need prayers for the ability to walk our children through the chaos that has become their lives.

To learn more about Joy in Hope please visit http://www.joyinhope.org/earthquake/index.html

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MAF to Assist Media Covering Haiti Disaster

January 25th, 2010 No comments

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – As international relief groups rush to Haiti following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in its capital city, MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) has a permanent presence there, positioning the organization to fulfill a unique role in the distribution of earthquake aid.

Currently MAF is serving an essential role in coordinating arrival and distribution of relief through its hangar at the Port-au-Prince international airport. Its staff is well positioned to assist the media with up-to-date information and interviews in covering the Haiti disaster.

MAF, a Christian missionary organization that provides air transportation, communications, technology and education specialists to support missionary efforts and humanitarian needs in hard-to-reach areas of the world, has served the people of Haiti since 1986. MAF knows Haitian culture, language, people and geography.

Seven MAF missionary families, seven national staff members, and three aircraft have served 16 airstrips from a base of operations in Port-au-Prince.

• As MAF’s role in the rescue and recovery operations involves helping many international relief agencies and humanitarian organizations that have arrived in the country coordinate their operations, MAF can give an overview to the media concerning these efforts.

• MAF is setting up a critically important GATR VSAT emergency communications system that will provide high-bandwidth communications for relief workers at the Port-au-Prince airport. MAF also provided this critical satellite telephone and Internet access service through the inflatable, deployable satellite communications system for FEMA and other workers when Hurricane Ike hit Texas in 2008.

• Disaster response is an MAF area of expertise. In past disaster situations, including the Indonesian Tsunami of 2004, Hurricane Felix and Cyclone Sidr in 2007, and the Haitian hurricanes of 2008, MAF provided communications systems, delivered relief supplies, transported medical teams and assisted humanitarian organizations in reaching people and areas that had been otherwise cut off from assistance.

Founded in the U.S. in 1945, MAF (www.maf.org<http://www.maf.org/>) missionary teams of aviation, communications, technology and education specialists overcome barriers in remote areas, transform lives and build God’s Kingdom by enabling the work of more than 1,000 organizations in isolated areas of the world. With its fleet of 55 bush aircraft – including the new KODIAK – MAF serves in 31 countries, with an average of 101 flights daily across Africa, Asia, Eurasia and Latin America. MAF pilots transport missionaries, medical personnel, medicines and relief supplies, as well as conduct thousands of emergency medical evacuations in remote areas. MAF also provides telecommunications services, such as satellite Internet access, high-frequency radios, electronic mail and other wireless systems.

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YWAM Collecting Donations for Haiti

January 25th, 2010 No comments

Youth With A Mission – YWAM, in partnership with the Mennonite Central Committee – MCC, will be collecting donations for the Haiti earthquake victims.  The goal is to provide Relief Kits, sheets, blankets, and comforters that will be sent to earthquake victims in Haiti.  MCC is asking for donations of 10,000 comforters and 10,000 flatsheets as part of its response to the Haiti earthquake.  In addition, donations of 20,000 Relief Kits, are requested.  Relief Kits and blankets provide valuable supplies to families traumatized by the earthquake.

For information about a sending a donation or making a Relief Kit, or specific details about blankets and comforters you can contact us at:  Youth With A Mission, 1275 Birch Road, Lebanon PA 17042.  Or email:  ywampa@comcast.net Telephone: 717.274.9010

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Cornerstone Christian Church collecting items for Haiti

January 25th, 2010 No comments

Cornerstone Christian Church in Duncannon, PA is joining the efforts of earthquake relief in Haiti by collecting items to aid the country. More information for donations we are collecting is available on their website www.cornerstone-efca.com.

MCC sends structural engineers to assess soundness of homes in Haiti

January 25th, 2010 No comments

MCC sends structural engineers to assess soundness of homes in Haiti

By Linda Espenshade

Jan. 22, 2010

AKRON, Pa. — Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is sending three structural engineers to Haiti on Saturday Jan. 23, for one to four weeks.

The engineers will examine houses and other buildings to determine if they are in danger of collapse or if they are safe for occupation. Currently many Haitians are sleeping on the streets or in open areas because they don’t feel safe in their homes.

“People are scared to go back in their buildings without someone looking at them to be sure they are sound,” said Ron Flaming, director of international programs for MCC.

Leading the engineering team for MCC is Johann Zimmermann, a licensed structural engineer from Harrisonburg, Va., who served with MCC in Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Nicaragua. He attends Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg.

He will be joined by Peter Pereverzoff of Rochester, N.Y., and Marcus Schiere, from the Netherlands.

Zimmermann, who is self employed and a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, said he was motivated to go to Haiti as he thought about the safety of the people.  From his personal experience of living through an earthquake in Central America, he understands the uncertainty that survivors feel.

“You’re afraid. Am I safe or not?” said Zimmermann, explaining the uncertainty. “It’s really anxiety producing. If you have children, you are worried about them more than you are about yourself.”

In Haiti, Zimmermann hopes to work alongside Haitian builders because they are the ones most familiar with the local building techniques. He would like to teach them how to assess the structural soundness of buildings, so the work can continue after he and the other engineers are gone.

The engineers’ task involves a significant element of judgment and probability, Zimmermann said. They will look at the way cracks in houses were formed to determine if they are only aesthetic or if the house is in danger of falling down.

In anticipation of sending a second crew of structural engineers, MCC is inviting people who would be willing to volunteer for two to four weeks to send an e-mail to Jan Siemens in human resources, jds@mcc.org.

In addition to engineers, MCC is recruiting a disaster coordinator to lead MCC’s earthquake relief and rebuilding efforts over the next three to five years in Haiti. For a complete job description and contact information, visit mcc.org/work/positions/haiti-disaster-coordinator.

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CityGate Collecting Items for Haiti

January 25th, 2010 No comments

City Gate is teaming with several doctors to get these items to Haiti, as a mission to the children. We are asking for you to donate these items and drop off at CG this week. If you are attending Replenish, you may bring items there.

beanie babies, other small stuffed animals, matchbox cars, small boxes of crayons w/ small coloring books, small balls (not tennis as these go stale), topical antibiotic ointment, gauze, cloth tape, rope, a small tarp (people sleeping outside), packs of underwear for everyone young and old (as no one ever donates that), socks, Sun glasses, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, small boxes of crayons w/ small coloring books

Also of interest are long-range walky-talkies (for communication, not toys).  Twin solid color sheets.  Money for plane fuel to fly supplies and volunteers in, if anyone wants to donate.

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Joy in Hope Interview

January 25th, 2010 No comments

Fred interviewed  long-time Creation Festival volunteer Gwenn Goodale Mangine of Joy in Hope Ministries.  Gwenn and her husband Nick are serving in Jacmel, Haiti.  Jacmel is a city of 40,000 people with reports of 3 to 4000 killed from the earthquake.  Gwenn shares her memories of the earthquake and how God has worked since then. You can hear the full interview by clicking HERE.

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Mr. Bill in Haiti

January 18th, 2010 No comments

Lisa Landis spoke with Mr Bill in Haiti on the Kids Cookie Break. You can hear the interview by clicking HERE or by clicking on the photo of Mr Bill and his family.

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Cookie Sale Money to Help Haiti

January 14th, 2010 1 comment

This just in from our friend Jen Weber and The Cookie Sale:

“Fortunately for the people of Haiti, our Cookie Sale monies are available to them when their need is greatest.  The Cookie Sale proceeds will provide 1 million meals. I know that WJTL is in touch with many organizations and missions that aid Haiti and know that they are pulling all of their resources to help as well.  I’ll keep the Haitian people and all those aiding them in my prayers.”
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