Emergency Relief

Today, Haitian Ministries is fully involved in earthquake relief efforts in Port-au-Prince and surrounding communities. Although our mission house was destroyed on Jan. 12th, we have established a temporary mission house where our Haitian staff and their families are safe. Today, at the house, we are able to lodge medical teams that will visit at least once a month (for about 10 days each time) through October.

Under the direction of Dominique Georges, who is supervising the mission house, we are regularly giving emergency funds and some supplies (to include food and tents) to a girls’ orphanage (Le Foyer des Filles de Dieu). We are helping another orphanage (La Maison L'Arc-en-Ciel, which cares for children affected by HIV/AIDS) with emergency funds. We also are supplying food to the families of children in a slum neighborhood who were participants in a meal program that we have supported for more than 15 years.

We are still tracking down the 140 students in our education scholarship program. As of early March, we know the conditions of 48: 6 were killed and 42 survived with no injuries. But they are all out of school, and they and their families are living day to day. (Their homes were either destroyed or damaged, and many don’t have safe places to sleep.) We intend to financially help them all with any tuition money that remains for the 2009-2010 academic year and emergency funds.

Also, we are giving special aid to the nine parishes in and around Port-au-Prince that are “twinned” with parishes and groups in the United States. We also have an emergency outreach to the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince itself. (The acting leader of the archdiocese, Bishop Joseph Lafontant, is on our board. He has taken over the leadership role in the capital since the death of Archbishop Miot during the earthquake.)