(Photo above: Members of the Church of Christ in Chambellan, digging through the rubble of what was their home – note that Chambellan is a place that many of us have visited, and we’ve enjoyed a close relationship with the church there for many years.)
The most updated numbers I’ve seen, released late Wednesday night, are as follows:
I’ve included below a report from JT Elmera, the Haitian minister we’ve been working closely with since 2011, which details the impact specifically on the Churches of Christ in southern Haiti, along with a description of our initial response plan.
JT will be spearheading a coordinated effort between us (The Haiti Fund), Hope for Haiti’s Children, Healing Hands International, and the Whites Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe Louisiana. Note that the estimated need for our initial response is $25,000 – anything you’d be willing to put toward that is desperately needed, and greatly appreciated. 100% of all donations through The Haiti Fund will be used specifically to assist our Christian brothers and sisters in southern Haiti.
The Haiti Fund is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, so all donations are tax deductible.
Report from JT Elmera – the Delmas 28 Church of Christ Response to the Devastating August 14th, 2021 Earthquake in Southern Haiti
Haiti is in the news once again with a major earthquake disaster hitting the southern part of the country. During this time of desperation and despair, many are asking “Why us again, Lord?”
This earthquake was even more intense than the January 12th, 2010 earthquake and lasted longer — a full 1 minute. The southern part of Haiti has reported over 2000 deaths, and we have many homes of church members and church/school facilities which collapsed or have major structural damage beyond repair.
Though reports are still coming in, we can confirm that there are at least 8 church buildings, all of which housed Christian schools, that have either collapsed or have such structural damage that they must be completely rebuilt.
Another three churches report reparable damage to their floors and walls, including the Chambellan Church of Christ (home of the Chambellan Christian School), which was rebuilt after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
We have estimated that more than 400 homes of Christians in southern Haiti have collapsed or suffered major damage, and these brethren are homeless. They’re facing aftershocks, and it is very sad to witness their living conditions – sleeping under trees, on the muddy ground, and in need of everything. We fear more loss of life as many individuals need medical attention, food, water, and shelter.
Our elders, deacons, and church leaders at Delmas 28 met yesterday afternoon, and the government indicates that roads should be made passable and secure from gang activities by the end of this week. We have worked on a plan which would be implemented this next Monday (August 23) to take a triage team of doctors, construction engineers, and workers to bring food, water, tarps, propane stoves, solar lights, plywood, tarps, and medicines as an immediate effort to address the most urgent survival needs of these Christian communities and to properly scope and assess the repairs and rebuilding efforts from those who are looking to us for help. We are asking for $25,000 to purchase all supplies and medicines here this week for this triage effort and will make a list of additional medicines which could be ordered for our next trip. We need your prayers and partnership once again to meet the challenges ahead of us.
J.T. Elmera, Minister
