Haiti (MNN) — More than two million Haitians (one in five) are at an emergency or catastrophic need for food today. Over 8,400 people have crossed into Phase 5 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system, facing the threat of starvation. In response, the UN’s World Food Programme has appealed for nearly 50 million dollars for relief for Haitians over the next six months.
But David Durance with TeachBeyond explains the trouble on the ground: “It’s not that there’s a shortage of food, but there’s a shortage of access to food. The problem is actually getting food to the right people and right moment.”
He explains, “One of the challenges is when the unrest really hits, it doesn’t matter if we’re offering free food at lunch, because we can’t get people — mostly our students — to the campus when things are really bad.”
(Photo courtesy TeachBeyond)
Durance says TeachBeyond receives weekly advisement from security groups that work with missions agencies. “It’s incredible to see the real-time information that we can get now.”
In many cases, Durance says, Haiti’s lack of infrastructure means there are no authorities in place to work with. TeachBeyond’s local partners then must determine when and where aid can be given.
Serving with the local church
Thanks to lessons learned during COVID, TeachBeyond’s campus easily pivots between in-person and online classes depending on security concerns. Missionaries with TeachBeyond see gospel significance in how the local churches respond to the crisis.
“We really want to be active in walking alongside the local believing community and seeing how we can be a part of that,” Durance says of their mission.
“I know many of our missionaries present in these situations are thinking about that: ‘How do we walk alongside the believing church in these moments, knowing this is actually the critical opportunity where the church can be most visible and most itself, if you will, in a community?’”
Please pray for Haiti!
“When we see these [crises] happen, we always are praying that the local church can step into the hole, step into the void, step into the chaos as the place that provides stability and care and, of course, eventually hope that is ultimately delivered through the Gospel,” says Durance.
“When I think of Haiti, it starts with the letter H — we want to pray for hope. We know there are so many people in this country that are waking up today without hope, and we need to pray that they have hope and that that is grounded in a reality that God delivers this nation from the turmoil that they’ve been living under.”
Another prayer point is “wisdom and deliverance for those that need to be making decisions here, both in country and those are trying to support out of country.”
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Miguel Caret Serra via Pexels.
