Baptist World Aid/Baptist World Alliance - 2010 Haiti Earthquake

FROM WEBSITE:
Caribbean suffers destruction in the wake of Sandy

Created on Wednesday, 31 October 2012 12:33

Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance® (BWA), has granted an initial sum of US$20,000 for relief to the Caribbean following the passage of Hurricane Sandy through the northern Caribbean and the United States.

Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands were the islands most affected by the late-season tropical cyclone.

Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, suffered especially hard. Ronel Mesidor of the Haiti Baptist Convention reported that areas in and around Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince were particularly affected. A number of church buildings, including those of the Duvivier, Damien, Leogane and Tigoave Baptist churches were flooded. At least one member of Tigoave Baptist Church died as a result of the hurricane.

Some of the walls of a school operated by the Mussotte Baptist Church collapsed and its roof destroyed. Mesidor also reported that Baptists lost their homes and livelihood as many lost both crops and farm animals during the hurricane.

SEE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION

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FROM RELIEF WEB:

Baptists respond to Haiti cholera outbreak
Source: Baptist World Aid
Date: 28 Oct 2010

Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), has sent emergency funds of more than US$12,000 into Haiti to help counter the recent cholera outbreak.

The funds will be sent to Baptist Haiti Mission (BHM), a BWA member body in the north Caribbean country. The funds will be used by Baptist churches "to transport patients, pay medical help and supplies, and getting clean water to those in need," said Edrice Romelus of BHM.

Thirty one BHM churches are "in the heart of the affected areas," Romelus told the BWA. The monies, he said, are to be used by local churches to provide "direct support" to those who are ill or at risk.

More than 300 persons have died and more than 4,000 persons have been treated for cholera mainly in the northwestern part of the country in Saint-Marc, approximately 100 kilometers or 62 miles north of the capital Port-au-Prince. Contamination is believed to have emanated from the Artibonite River, the longest river in Haiti.

Cholera can be a deadly disease if left untreated. Symptoms include severe diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Transmission is primarily through contaminated drinking water or food.

Joel Dorsinville of the Baptist Convention of Haiti, another BWA member body, said the convention is collaborating with "medical persons to accurately survey the situation." He said reports indicate that the disease has spread "north to Gros-Morne, Plaisance, Limbe; and south to Archaie and Port-au-Prince." He said that "prices in the market places have increased due to the fact that our neighbor, the Dominican Republic, has closed the borders between the two countries."

French- and Creole-speaking Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic.

The convention, Dorsinville told the BWA, is engaged in providing information and educating the public on how to prevent the disease from spreading. He stated that proper water treatment is a necessity.

Haiti is yet to recover from a devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12 that killed tens of thousands of persons, injured several hundred thousand, and displaced more than one million, many of whom are still living in "tent cities" in and around Port-au-Prince, much of which was destroyed by the temblor. Since the quake, the BWA has spent several hundred thousand dollars in relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

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Operational Summary:
Baptist World Aid is working in Haiti with its member bodies and international medical teams. Haitian Baptists are in country, know the situations, have a local network of churches and are responding. Longer term relief and rehabilitation plans are being formulated to be able to continue to assist Haiti. BWA member bodies from North America are working to coordinate response efforts with shipments, response teams of volunteers and medical supplies.