Happy New Year, everyone!
The New Year began in Haiti like so many before it, with uncertainty. In a post on Reuters-Alertnet, Anastasia Moloney of Trust.Org says, “Almost two years after a massive earthquake hit the Haitian capital, Port Au Prince, reconstruction has barely started, with many aid agencies still focused on basic humanitarian needs and containing a cholera epidemic.” How very true that statement is.
To date (and this changes each day) there have been over 7,000 people die from a sickness that just over a year ago was never even considered in this country. And over 500,000 have been sick with it. Containing this killer is a top priority for anyone working there, not to mention the dangers of contracting it yourself.
The reasons why things are not moving any more quickly are as many as they are varied, including the cholera outbreak and political uncertainty. There are no clear titles to many pieces of land. Many records were lost and there are sometimes four or five people who will claim ownership to a piece of land. The American Red Cross refuses to build houses unless titles are clear, and who can blame them for that?
According to published reports, around half the estimated 10 million cubic meters (1 cubic meter equals 35.3 cubic feet) of rubble left by the earthquake has been cleared. One of the delays in clearing it is the lack of dump sites in and around the capital. This scarcity alone is hindering the reconstruction efforts.
This list could go on and on. We only list these few to let you know what the country of Haiti is going through. Obviously, there is nothing we can do to help with any of these problems except working to help prevent cholera, which we are doing.
What we can do, with your help, is continue to provide the assistance we have been in each of the areas we work. And we can continually seek new, better and more efficient ways to provide that help.
A few days ago, Terry and I were talking about this very thing; What can we do more, in each village, to make lives better?
One of the things we do that many of you help with is the schools. We have long said that we feel the key to many things in Haiti, or any “third world” country, is education. Teaching them to read gives them the ability to make informed decisions on their own and not have to have someone read them something and tell them what it says or means. This is important not only when it comes to current events in their country, but when it comes to God and the Bible as well.
All of you have received this long enough to know the system of beliefs in Haiti and how it is so different than ours. While talking about these things, we discovered something we had not noticed before: We are teaching children to read, but what are we giving them to read? Nothing.
Not a person we know, in any of the villages can afford to buy a Bible and if they can, it won’t be for a child. We want to change that. We want to buy a Haitian Bible for at least each child in each of our schools. We are teaching them to read, so let’s give them a Bible to go home and read in the evenings. To have the ability to give to other children would be even better.
A Haitian Bible, containing the New Testament and the Psalms, purchased in Haiti, costs about $6.00 US. Can you imagine the look on the faces of the people who operate the “Bible Book Store” in Port Au Prince when we walk in and order 500 Bibles, or more? If we can do this, that just might make their year! We want to purchase them there for that reason.
We want to do nothing that will slow or stop the feeding programs; these programs are a priority. We have to continue with them as long as we can, but we feel this is important as well. What better book to reward a child with when they learn to read than one that can change their life? Please pray about this. We won’t buy any until we can buy for at least one full school at a time, and we will keep you up to date on it.
As we move into the new year, we do so with full confidence this is God’s plan for us to start and that He will direct 2012 as He has all those years before it. We are very thankful for all of you and we pray that the coming year will be filled with blessings for you, your families and businesses.
Steve and Terry
