Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Relief in the Aftermath of the Haitian Earthquake

Please continue to pray for the country of Haiti as its citizens attempt to make sense of the damage caused by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit on January 12th. The current death toll is approximated to be 65,000 with over 200,000 displaced and 3,000,000 total people affected by the quake (USAID, Jan 18, 2010).
Specific Prayer Requests:

  • That the people of Haiti will cry to God and recieve the hope and joy of the Lord in the midst of despair

  • Healing for the injured

  • Comfort for the bereaved

  • That the missing will be found

  • For the many relief workers, emergency workers, and doctors, both Haitian and foreign

    • for their safety and health

    • against fatigue

  • For water purification efforts and waste santization to prevent spread of disease

  • Safe and clear air, sea, and ground transport of supplies especially within the city of Port-au-Prince

  • For the restoration of communication channels
  • Against looting and theft of emergency supplies
  • That banks and businesses will remain open to help prevent further economic strain

  • For security of the many temporary and ad hoc facilities now in place

  • Increased and lasting mobilization and compassion for Haiti's situation
As my heart is especially inclined toward the Ministry of Compassion International, I've included an update from their blog. For more information you can visit their website at compassion.com. If you would like to make a one time donation toward their Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund you can do so here.
Compassion International's most recent update on the situation in Haiti:
------------
Jan. 19 at 8:15 p.m. (MT): With heavy hearts, we report that one of our Haitian staff members has succumbed to internal injuries sustained during the earthquake.
Please earnestly pray for her surviving family members and for the rest of our staff who will dearly miss her. Please pray for the morale of our Haitian team; they are deeply discouraged, especially after this news, and in the face of personal loss and widespread devastation.
Please continue praying for contractor David Hames, who is still missing. Your faithful prayers are needed more than ever, as it has now been an entire week since the earthquake hit. We are pursuing every effort on his behalf and are boldly asking God to miraculously intervene. We are in close contact with teams working at the collapsed Hotel Montana and are communicating with officials and hospitals in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Statement by Renee Hames: "For all the people who know and love David with me, we need to remember that God says, "Be still and know that I am God." He is our God who will provide beauty and joy even in the midst of devastation. I have been blessed with friends who have tucked me under their wings and have prayed with me, encouraged me, support me and cried with me. Because of the support structure they have built around me, I have felt a great peace. Please continue to pray for David's rescue and well-being."

Our latest estimates are that about 50 child development centers were seriously hit. We have made contact with nearly half of the affected centers and are assessing the immediate needs. However, at this time, no information has been received by our International Program Group in Colorado Springs listing the centers or the damage associated with them.
We have not yet received information about affected children. The sporadic communication and transportation problems in the capital hamper our teams' attempts to provide assistance and gather information about each development center and each specific child.
However, we have secured a mobile satellite-enabled communications unit that will provide more reliable and consistent communication with Port-au-Prince.
We continue working diligently to collect accurate information to share with you; however, this process will take some time, even for the church partners and children outside of Port-au-Prince.
If your child was affected by the earthquake, we will contact you directly.
As we reported earlier, the Haiti office building remains standing, but we still don't know the extent of the damage it sustained from the initial temblor and aftershocks. Thus, our staff are using the parking lot of the building as an operational base until the office's safety can be fully evaluated. Communication to this operations center from the rest of the country is hampered by the logistical problems affecting the country.
Until further notice Compassion is not conducting any travel to the country (e.g., sponsor visits, individual relief efforts, tours, vision trips, etc.).

No comments:

Post a Comment