Friends of Haiti,
This one is not going away quickly or quietly into the night. Over four months removed from the January 12th earthquake, there is not much difference now than there was a week after it happened. This is not to say absolutely nothing has been done. But considering the amount of money given, it makes you wonder. There are still pallets of supplies sitting at the Port-au-Prince airport. It makes you want to start asking questions.
When I came home in January, a reporter asked whom I thought people should give to or through; naturally I named Haitian Island Ministries, but also gave the names of ones that always come to mind. Now I wish I had not said that. Now I would say to give to whom you know, if you know anyone who has been there or is working there. The reason? Those groups like ours who have been there for years are the ones making a difference. In fact, because of your giving, we are feeding and reaching more people than we ever have; and other ministries like ours are doing the same thing. We know the people, and the people know us. This isn’t the case with new faces coming in, setting new rules, trying to do things the way we do them in the U.S. It just doesn’t work. As a result, you still have people going without, even though the money and supplies are there.
Over a million people are living in the streets or in makeshift tent cities. Bodies are still entombed in collapsed buildings. Thousands of injured are going without basic care. It is very easy to forget this when it isn’t the news of the day any more, or CNN isn’t carrying news of it 24×7. But believe me when we say it is the absolute worst situation we have ever seen or been a part of.
To give you some idea as to why so many people were killed or injured — other than poorly constructed homes and buildings — J. David Rogers, who studies earthquakes, says that low-lying land will feel a quake and see more damage than hills. Low-lying land will amplify the shake up to 600%. Port-au-Prince lies in a natural depression. The quake’s epicenter was 15 miles away and 600 feet higher. Haiti (about the same size as Maryland) has nine million people (compared to 6 million in Maryland) and a third of the population lives in the small neck of land around Port-au-Prince, giving it a density of 73,000 people per square mile (compared to 8,000 in Baltimore). Add those figures to the housing and building situation, and you’ll have a complete disaster.
Disaster experts are calling this the greatest humanitarian disaster in modern times. Little did most of use know the actual danger we were in. In 2008, those experts warned the Haitian government of a possible 7.2 earthquake. They weren’t far off (it was a 7.0), but it was not a public announcement; you have to assume the government did not put much importance into that report. We won’t ever know.
What we do know is that it is going to take years for things ever to be “normal.” Even with repairs to school buildings, most of the kids are afraid to be in a building, because Haiti is still having aftershocks in the 4.0-4.5 range. So we are having classes for those children in tents. And we know that without the help you are providing, many more would be going without.
Some of you know Beaubrun. He and I were talking about this the other day, and he said 95% of everything you see being done in Haiti is being done because of churches in the U.S. and groups like ours. We don’t know where he came up with that figure, and it probably isn’t close to that high, but without small groups and churches here at home, Haitians would be in much worse shape than they are. Those ministries and ours are very grateful for the help and prayers you provide. The people in Haiti who benefit from those prayers and your giving are more grateful than we will ever know. Thank you for all you do.
Serving HIM together,
Steve and Terry
P.S. We should tell you about Marjorie and her surgery! It went well. Three days after surgery, she emailed us to let us know she is doing well. She asked us to let those who prayed for her know she is very thankful for your prayers. Continue to prayer for her complete recovery.
