From Steve Austvold
About Haiti


Dear EFCA Churches,

Greetings in Christ. You have probably heard about the earthquake that just hit Haiti yesterday afternoon. Haiti is a country of over nine million people and some reports state that possibly three million people have been affected by this earthquake and the aftershocks.

What can EFCA churches do right now?

1. Pray for the people who are affected by the earthquake. Pray for the responders and rescue people who are already on their way.

2. What is needed now is getting funds to Haiti. Here are some organizations that are trustworthy and that are working in Haiti.

• Samaritan’s Purse: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
• World Vision, http://www.worldvision.org/
• World Relief, http://www.wr.org/ and click on the link to the Haiti page to donate.
• Baptist Haiti Mission, has a hospital near the capital. http://www.bhm.org/ Click here to donate.
• Voice of Hope Ministries is an EFC work in northern Haiti. They are not directly affected by the earth quake. Read about them at http://www.vohmhaiti.com/.
• Crossworld, This is the organization that Bethel EFC in Fargo, ND has a partnership with. http://www.crossworld.org/
• EFCA ReachGlobal, www.efca.org/reachglobal has no link so far for donations for Haiti. RG has no official work in Haiti.

3. If your church has a partnership already in Haiti or if you have contacts there, there might be opportunities for church to go to Haiti to do construction. Contact organizations that you already have relationships with there to find out about short-term opportunities.

Blessings,
Steve Austvold

Here is an update from Pastor Doug Anderson, an EFCA pastor, who used to live and do short-term teams in Haiti.

Here’s what I know…
The Bible School, the large white structure on the Bolosse campus, was heavily damaged. Classes were just beginning for the afternoon. Most students got out without injury. Some were injured, two are buried in the rubble and sounds from them have not been heard for several hours. They are presumed dead.
The homes and other buildings on the campus have sustained some damage but not sure yet if they are inhabitable or need demolishing.
The thousands of homes that surround our campus have been heavily damaged, no clear word yet on injury and death, but we presume high.
The Capital building downtown, one of the most fortified and well constructed buildings in all Haiti, and the symbol of Haiti has been heavily damaged, you’ve seen those pictures on TV.

Here’s what I assume…
MAJOR loss of life was probably averted due to the timing of the quake…5pm, most people are outside. Had it been midnight, I can’t imagine the death toll.
However…major damage to buildings of all types will be across the city of Port-au-Prince, leaving the people today with the major task of rubble clearing. They have little large equipment and no where to take the rubble except into the harbor or far out of the city. You’ll remember “open land” was simply non-existent.
MEDCIAL care for those injured will be a very high priority, and you’ll recall there were few hospitals and clinics in PAP. I will imagine foreign medical aid will be a priority today.
FOOD will be a major issue…with most homes uninhabitable, where will people find food to cook and where will they cook it? Remember the open markets…those are supplied by food being brought in each night from the rural areas…but if roads have been impassable???
Clean Water will also be a major need. Water sources are unreliable in PAP in good times…we can assume water lines have been broken, water treatment plants destroyed etc.

Here’s what you can do if you care to help…
http://www.crossworld.org/ is the mission organization Dawn and I served with, and with whom I took you to Haiti. I’m confident they will have updated information on their web site and information about how to help, especially financially.
The U.E.B.H. is the national church leadership. They will work hand in hand with CrossWorld missionaries in PaP and across the nation, to gather information about our 250+ churches, the situation in various towns and cities, and they will develop a strategic response plan. They are good and Godly men. Financial help to them will likely go through CrossWorld, although they may set up some direct flow help.
Pray…of course we all understand the power of prayer, and you probably remember some of the people and places so you can pray specifically.