PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Heavy rain may be the next disaster for Haiti.
One example: a windy 20-minute downpour left a half-foot of water inside makeshift tents on the sloping golf course of the Petionville Club, now a tarp-and-tent neighborhood of about 45,000 people, according to an Associated Press report.
SLIDELL – The start of the rainy season is a reason for a major push of housebuilding, said Larry McEwen, pastor of Northshore Baptist Church in Slidell.
McEwen has a 20-year relationship with Haiti, and Northshore is leading in an effort to build houses for Haitian families.
A friend of the pastor’s, Stefan Vervloet, “is retooling his factory to build pre-fab houses for the people of Haiti,” McEwen wrote on a recent blog. “At this time it looks like a complete two-room, 200 square foot home, wood framed, and on a slab, will be available for $2,000. However, the Dutch government, where Vervloet is from, is involved in this new effort and for now, we can get two for the price of one! So that makes these houses only a thousand dollars each.
“The other exciting thing about this is that once the slab has been poured, it will only take a few tools, like a hammer, crow bar, and ratchets, to put these prefabbed homes together,” McEwen continued. “Now I know that 200 square feet doesn’t sound like much to you and me. However, for many of these people, it would be a great improvement over conditions even before the quake. Another thing to remember is that the rainy season is fast approaching Haiti. Without some form of shelter, many others could become victims of the quake.”
Mission teams that would like to get involved with this project are encouraged to call McEwen at 985.960.3490 or email him at larry@northshore.net. The church’s website also has more information: www.northshore.net.
COVINGTON – Johnny Huffman of Fairhaven Ministries in Covington reported that the first container of relief supplies and food he had shipped to Haiti arrived at the orphanage there and was unloaded Wednesday, March 31.
The second container arrived in Port Au Prince Tuesday, April 6, and at presstime was pre-cleared but not yet though the customs process.
“From Pastor Jean [at the orphanage], we have learned that the rains have been bad lately and that some of their tents were flooded,” Huffman emailed. “Just because it isn’t all covered by the media anymore doesn’t mean that the needs are not still there.”
IDAHO – At presstime, Laura Silsby remained in a Haiti jail. She had gathered another nine people, mostly from her church – Central Valley Baptist in Meridian, Idaho – and Eastside Baptist in Twin Falls, to “rescue Haiti orphans” shortly after the earthquake. They were arrested just before entering the neighboring nation of the Dominican Republic, and jailed Jan. 29 on charges related to not having the proper documents to take the children out of Haiti.
Eight of the group were released Feb. 18; Silsby’s assistant was released March 8. Paul Thompson, pastor of Eastside Baptist in Twin Falls, requested prayer for Silsby as well as action.
“[C]all your U.S. senators, the U.S. State Department, and President Barack Obana requesting them to engage with the Haitian government for her immediate release,” Thompson said to Baptist Press, in an article published April 8 on www.bpnews.net. The State Department switchboard number is 202.647.4000. The White House comment line is 202.456.1111. Senator’s numbers are available through Senate.gov.
HAITI – Ten weeks after the Jan. 12 earthquake hit Haiti, Baptist leaders there noted an openness to the Gospel unseen before. The number of professions of faith rose as of April 9 to 85,377, plus the start of 64 churches – making a new total of 954 Haitian ongregations, according to the Disaster Relief Incident Command Center in Haiti.
Florida reported a total of 111,000 “Buckets of Hope for Haiti” have been received so far and Louisiana reported 37,000 buckets, for a grand total of 148,000 to date, either at the shipping warehouses or already on a ship to Haiti, according to a www.namb.net report.
“We will reach 150,000 easily,” said Mike Ebert, communications team leader for the SBC’s North American Mission Board.
Fritz Wilson, Florida Baptist disaster relief director, who is also serving as incident commander in Haiti, blogged on the success of “Buckets of Hope.”
“I noticed several posts about the ‘Buckets of Hope’ and became amazed how the whole bucket thing has gone viral,” Wilson wrote. “We have been telling the Haitian pastors about the buckets but I still do not think they fully grasp the concept. It will be fun to watch them as they open the first container. Imagine them as they look inside and see 1,300+ buckets (the approximate amount in each container). Then imagine them opening one to see what’s inside the bucket. Only then will they realize what folks in the US have done for Haiti.”
Volunteers in good health, able to do manual labor, will be needed for months to clear debris, the Haiti Incident Commander wrote. Medical teams also are needed.
“Pray especially for the safety and health of the demolition teams working to move piles of rubble – once churches and homes – in high heat and humidity,” Wilson wrote. “The work is incredibly hard, but necessary, before houses of worship and homes can be rebuilt. Our medical teams have shifted their focus outside of Port-au-Prince where hundreds of thousands of Haitians have migrated and are living in tents and makeshift homes.”
Other Disaster Relief updates:
AMERICAN SAMOA – Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia have completed their stint in this island nation. Utah-Idaho Southern Baptists are on their way. More volunteers are needed to help with disaster recovery after a tsunami Sept. 29 that wiped out entire villages and killed 119 people.
CHILE – An earthquake Feb. 27 brought destruction to this South American nation but not to the extent of Haiti.
Volunteers from South Carolina, Texas and California are onsite at press time, in scheduled rotation with other states. “They’ve trained some Chilean Baptists in the operation of mass feeding and locals are now doing it,” Ebert said.
NEW ENGLAND – Government agencies have asked New England Southern Baptists for help in the wake of recent flooding.
“This is a first,” Ebert said. “The doors are open; we need to walk through them.”
Two Incident Command centers have been set up, in Billerica, Mass., and West Warwick RI. The primary need: mud-out crews.
“There are more than 45 jobs waiting to be done and over 100 being assessed with the potential of many more,” Ebert said. “The work is great; the potential for ministry is even greater.”
To date, 10 states have joined New England Baptist’s response: Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Delaware, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia.
“There is plenty of room for your teams of about 8 to 10 people each,” Ebert said. “Most of the homes sit on stone basements with limited access: interior stairs or bilco doors. Most basements are finished so there will be ruined contents.
“There is not so much thick mud as there are soaked things to move out, and then strip and dry out basements.”
A few basements are walk-outs, Ebert continued; some main floors also were flooded.
“This is a great opportunity for us because the government has requested help from Southern Baptists,” Ebert said. “But because it’s floods, we don’t have a lot of units that do mud-outs. So if you are a DR unit that does mud-outs, we need you.”