January 21, 2010
After a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on January 12, an eyewitness at the scene reported that the city was “gray with dust.” More than 70,000 are confirmed dead, and the death toll could rise to 200,000. Tens of thousands of people have been wandering the streets, dazed and sobbing—hoping desperately for assistance.
“It is a dire situation,” says Stephan Bauman of World Relief, a sister organization with which The Alliance is partnering in Haiti. “This is a significant tragedy that shut down every part of the infrastructure. The catastrophe has left 3 million people—about a third of the country’s population—in an extremely vulnerable position.”
Caleb Deliard, a U.S. Alliance pastor and former president of the Haitian South Association of the C&MA, reports that thousands of people, including his brother’s family, have been living on a soccer field in Port-au-Prince. Many of them are injured with broken limbs. Those who are strong enough have been able to reach relief supplies, but many of the orphans, elderly, and infirm have been unable to get help.
God’s People Respond
The Alliance family has responded quickly to the crisis in Haiti, offering tangible help—along with the hope of the gospel—to those impacted by the quake. The generosity of Alliance people continues to pour in, with more than $185,000 having been received thus far. “Praise God for His provision, and may He abundantly bless those who give,” says Bruce Dyke, an Alliance international worker in Dominican Republic (DR). Phil Skellie, president of CAMA (Compassion and Mercy Associates), the Alliance relief and development arm, flew to DR on January 21 to assess how to work with the C&MA national church in that country in providing relief to the people of Haiti.
Meanwhile, a C&MA-affiliated church in the city of St. Louis, an eight-hour drive from Port-au-Prince, has taken in hundreds of displaced people who have left the capital in a mass exodus.
Aid Is Getting Through
Despite news reports that aid has been slow in getting into the impoverished country, CAMA has been able to channel relief into Haiti through a representative from the U.S. C&MA’s Haitian Association who arrived in Haiti this week. In addition, CAMA has supplied funds to Alliance sister organizations already on the ground in Haiti when the earthquake hit, including World Relief and Samaritan’s Purse.
“There are more than 100 churches on the island nation that have a close connection to the C&MA, and we are already aware that several of those have lost their buildings,” says John Soper, vice president for Church Ministries of the U.S. C&MA. “We are praying for them and stand ready to do whatever we can to help.”
Hope amid the Ruins
Frenel Cevedieu, an Alliance pastor in Carrefour, Port-au-Prince, reports that more than 60 people have received Jesus as their Savior. With the little he has, Pastor Cevedieu has been feeding 600 people every day, and the Lord keeps blessing his ministry with new converts. “In the midst of the chaos and tragedy, God is still at work!” says Soper.
“On behalf of the Haitian Association, I want to thank the Alliance family for your help and the attention given to the catastrophe that happened in Haiti,” says Rev. Emmanuel Seide, an official worker of the Haitian Association of the C&MA. “Please continue to pray.”
Pray . . .
- For the logistical challenges of getting aid into the hands of the most vulnerable people, including children, the elderly, and the infirm
- For homes to be found in the United States for children orphaned by the earthquake
- That God will continue to use this tragedy to draw the people of Haiti to Jesus