Haiti (MNN) ― Today marks nine months since a massive quake shattered Haiti. In the 273 days which have passed, roughly two percent of the rubble--almost 33 million cubic yards--has been removed.
In seconds, any efforts to recover from a series of calamities evaporated when the temblor struck, creating widespread death, homelessness, and hunger.
It has been a long struggle for Haiti's government. 11 of the past 15 years were spent struggling to recover from natural disasters, massive food insecurity and corruption. On January 12, the collapse of the seat of power sent everything reeling backwards by generations.
The struggle to survive and to rebuild have been overwhelming. Starting over...but even then, relief funds, like the early days of the humanitarian aid effort, have been bottle-necked at the organization level. It has been left to the smaller groups to function. Ministries representing the hands and feet of Christ in Haiti for dozens of years stepped forward to help.
Another wave of response began to form when it became clear that the children were becoming the most vulnerable. A recent report from the U.S. Bishops states that 1.3 million persons remain homeless, living in tent camps." Very little order exists, and there is not much in place to prevent families from smuggling and human trafficking across the border, as well as being separated.
Conditions are desperate, and many parents succumb to any offer of a better life for the child with the idea that he or she will be cared for and perhaps even educated. To that end, sometimes the children are sent instead to work for another family and submitted to slave-like conditions or worse.
Since 1943, Baptist Haiti Mission has been sharing the hope of Christ in the region. They are active in evangelism, education, health, relief and self-help (through agriculture). That positioned them to help families by getting the kids in school and sponsored. Ron Sparks says, "As they're plugged into the school system, that means they're taken off the street, and they're not so prone to fall into groups of roving children who are just left to fend for themselves. "
The kids are safer by being in the program rather than in taking their chances on the streets. "It gives them hope for the future," notes Sparks. A sponsorship assures that a child receives a uniform, schoolbooks, and often the only cooked meal he or she will eat all day. "As they learn to read and as they learn the stories of the Bible, that becomes the part of their lives, rather than just suffering, abuse and mistreatment."
It costs just $25 a month to sponsor a child. More than that, it teaches kids the personal side of someone being the hands and feet of Christ to them. Sparks explains, "They learn about love, to learn about how much God loves us. These children deserve to hear the same message, and it certainly has a great impact on their lives. When they accept Christ as Savior, that's going to have eternal consequences as well."
