(Photos courtesy AMG International Haiti)
Haiti (MNN) ― Ten American missionaries to Haiti now face kidnapping charges.
If convicted, they could face nine years in prison for child kidnapping and further jail time for conspiracy.
According to their lawyer, they say they were trying to help children abandoned after the devastating January 12 quake that killed an estimated 212,000 people and left at least a million homeless. However, they moved forward without the proper documentation.
Authorities caught a group at the Dominican Republic border trying to escort 33 children out of the quake zone into a hastily-arranged refuge.
Their case struck a nerve in a country already struggling with rampant child-trafficking issues. The situation brought to mind other ministries who work with children. Will this complicate similar ministry for others?
Roger Thomas with AMG International says that's possible. "The press has pretty much given people like us and people like this group a black eye, implying that we're really there for bad motives. We're there to help children." Thomas is giving them the benefit of the doubt.
However, this case could mean closer government scrutiny is warranted. Good intentions need to be backed by a proven indigenous structure. Thomas noted that in spite of the fact that the Haitian government is all but paralyzed, they were alert enough to catch this particular group.
The case may create more restrictions down the line, but it won't change how AMG approaches relief. He says, "We simply want to show the compassion of Christ in any way that we can, and sometimes that's misunderstood."
That's why AMG International partners with two Haitian pastors in childcare and medical care ministries near the north coast of Haiti.
These pastors provide education, daily meals, and Bible training for 1,500 children. AMG says the January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince did not directly affect any of their project partners.
However, most families living near the north coast of Haiti had family members, neighbors, or friends living, working, attending school, or visiting in Port-au-Prince. Thousands of people who survived are heading back with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Through their Haitian pastors and their congregations, AMG is reaching out to help these refugees with emergency food packages, health kits, and medical care.
An AMG team departs for Haiti on February 16 and will include an American doctor to assist the staff at Bethesda Medical Center. AMG is also purchasing additional medical supplies in the U.S.--items which are no longer available for purchase in Haiti.
The team will take some of these items in, and other things will be shipped into Cap Haitien even before the team arrives. Plans are also underway to send in hundreds of additional food packets of rice, beans, cooking oil, powdered milk, dry pasta, and textured vegetable protein. In partnership with another mission agency, a shipping container of beans is also being acquired for shipment to Haiti.
Thomas says working with these teams helps them to avoid trouble and misunderstandings. "We partner with Haitian pastors who have these ministries, and so our face in Haiti is completely Haitian."
You can help. Click here.
