Haiti (MNN) — "Help Haiti with
Compassion" raised just over a million dollars in it's kickoff, but there's
still a long way to go.
Compassion International staff in Haiti work
with 65,000 children. Now, they face the monumental task of locating them
again. Many of these children have
immediate needs like food, water and medical attention.
In the significantly-affected
areas, they have to search through the
"tent cities" around Port-au-Prince to find the children still unaccounted for.
The only way to do this is through a
grassroots, tent-to-tent approach. The process is slow, deliberate and
difficult, but it is moving ahead steadily.
Meanwhile, emergency relief
supplies are making their way to Haiti through Compassion's staging area in
Florida and the two supply warehouses in Haiti.
Church partners in the outlying
areas are sending people to supply stations to pick up needed supplies as well
as report on the condition of the facilities, staff and the sponsored children.
The talk is moving toward
rebuilding. Mission Network New's Greg
Yoder has been on the ground in Port-au-Prince this week. He observes, "We're starting to see the
ramifications of the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. I'm not talking about the
physical damage–the buildings, and the lives lost or changed forever–but the
infrastructure."
Bob Thorp, Compassion International's
Director of Complementary Intervention (CIV) for Haiti, describes
the damage. "What's been hit is the
whole development of this nation: the educational system, the judicial system,
the protection, and that's where the churches have to unite and fight for
Haiti."
The CIV programs pick up where
sponsorship programs leave off. They
help service the community so it can support a core Compassion program. Often, CIV will help provide access to clean
water and proper sanitation, disaster relief, and emergency medical care.
A CIV provides funding,
expertise, accountability, monitoring and evaluation. Its role is to empower
the local church in holistic ministry.
However, Yoder says it's clear
that the church in Haiti can't do it alone because the needs are just too
great. Thorp agrees. "The only thing I can compare it to is Berlin after World War
II. It's a reconstruction of a nation. That's what has to happen."
Because of Compassion's large
church network, your support is going a long way to accomplish reconstruction. Compassion
can't do it alone, but Yoder says, "If every evangelical church in the
U.S. would support a church in Haiti, it would be a huge start."
As Compassion is able to help with food, water
and even tents, hearts are open to hearing the Gospel. You
can help. Click here to learn more.
