Rebuild Haiti progress: both spiritual and physical
Apr 05, 2011
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti --- Southern Baptist rebuilding efforts in Haiti in the year since its devastating earthquake have made good progress -- and the improvements are as much spiritual as physical, a leader in that effort said.
“Rebuild Haiti,” a cooperative joint venture to put as many as 6,200 families in decent housing by the end of 2013, has completed 796 homes, with another 130 nearing completion, said Jeff Palmer executive director of Baptist Global Response.
“In the aftermath of the earthquake, getting an effective program of rebuilding was very challenging,” Palmer said. “Moving people and money into the country, assembling all the supplies needed, just dealing with the nuts and bolts of getting things done in a place devastated by the earthquake was hard. Doing it in a way that enables Haitians to stand on their own, rather than continue the dependency patterns of the past, made it even a greater challenge.”
Fritz Wilson, director of disaster relief and recovery for the Florida Baptist Convention, said the decision to use local labor and supplies has multiplied Rebuild Haiti’s impact.
“A key component in the strategy is that we are purchasing materials from in-country sources, work is done by Haitian men whom we have hired from the communities, local churches are helping us identify the people who need the houses the most, and we are building homes back where people lived before the quake so that they do not have to relocate,” Wilson said. “This means we are impacting the communities much more than just providing houses, by putting money back in the economy, providing jobs and elevating the church’s status in the community.”
The Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake killed 300,000 people and left more than 1 million homeless. Even before the earthquake, Haiti’s people were the poorest in the Western hemisphere. A year after the quake, only about 2 percent of the rubble had been cleared and aid officials said clearing all the rubble would fill 1,000 trucks a day for more than 1,000 days.
Over the past few months, Baptist Global Response volunteers have worked a total of 2,484 volunteer days in a variety of capacities. More than $11.2 million has been donated to the relief effort through various channels. The Florida convention reported the $7 million they received included $171,665 sent by individuals, Sunday school classes and individuals specifically to build houses. State Baptist conventions also have gotten involved in Rebuild Haiti, like the Kentucky Baptist Convention, which has earmarked $200,000 for the effort.
The challenges of rebuilding communities from the inside out are being met as partners in the joint venture demonstrate a spirit of cooperation and work alongside Haitian believers to achieve a shared vision, Wilson said. Haitian Baptists assisted their joint venture partners -- Baptist Global Response, International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, and the Florida Baptist Convention -- in designing a 12 foot-by-16 foot cement block “transitional home” for quake survivors and looking into the future at what kind of communities would reflect God’s love for Haitians.
“The brightest spot in this is how the partners are all working with a common mission and vision,” Wilson said. “It is much like the tribes of Israel working on the walls of Jerusalem. Each group working on our own section, but we are tying it all together to push back the darkness.”
Communities like the Port-au-Prince suburb of Damien need more than just physical rebuilding, Palmer said. “Most disaster recovery efforts focus on the externals like reconstructing buildings, but Christian recovery also understands the need for an inner change that creates new lives,” Palmer said.
“In Rebuild Haiti, we are encouraging community members to lift their eyes beyond their own needs to the needs of others. We have structured the initiative to encourage people to take responsibility for their future and work hard to make a better life for the entire community.
“What we see happening in Damien is not only is a community getting new houses, they are also getting a new community,” Palmer added. “As the houses are being constructed, we see more people helping and sharing to ensure that everyone gets what they need. For example, one widow received a house but didn't have enough money to furnish it. The local church members used their own money to buy her a bed, chair and small table.”
The change in Damien has been dramatic, said Jo Brown, who works with her husband, David, to direct BGR work in the Americas.
“When our assessment team arrived in Damien after the earthquake, the community felt very eerie," Brown said. I was ready to leave the moment we got there. People were sitting on the ground, staring blankly into nothingness. We saw practically no businesses.
“A year later, Damien has been transformed. Many small businesses have cropped up. People at the building sites -- all ages, both male and female -- are carrying block and needed items to the sites. We see hope and hear laughter. People smile and greet each other-and stop to talk.
“Where I once felt fear, now I am able to walk alone in this community, even after dark,” Brown added. “Each morning before work is started on the sites, the U.S. volunteers join hands with the Haitians and sing and praise God. The focus is not on what the North Americans are doing, but on God's provision.”
The change in Damien is a good example of BGR's vision to see "people experiencing a full and meaningful life with hope and peace that inspires them to raise their families in confidence, build their communities with dignity and share this life with others," Palmer said.
“We see homes built, but people are being built up as well. We see communities working together for the benefit of all and we see people whose lives are being literally transformed by the message of hope our team was living out among them and sharing verbally,” Palmer said.
“In the communities where our BGR teams are working, the rubble is returning to community -- not only in terms of good housing but in terms of people whose hearts and lives are being transformed. “I want to thank Southern Baptists as well as others for their gifts and volunteerism that is such a key part in this transformation that we're seeing,”
Palmer added. “And I want also thank our Haitian partners who are opening up their lives to the transforming power of God.” People in Damien and other Rebuild Haiti communities won’t forget who helped them find new life when their world was in a shambles, said David Brown.
“Our friends in Haiti want their friends in the U.S. to know how thankful they are to God that they were not forgotten in that desperate hour,” Brown said. “Haiti has such a long way to go, but we have begun to see the first fruit of what we believe will be a harvest of new life in Haiti.”
Find out how Southern Baptists are helping the victims of the Haiti earthquake, how you can pray for disaster relief coordinators in Haiti, and how your church can start preparing for a disaster relief missions trip to Haiti.
Download this special edition of the Inside the BCM/D podcast! Listen now!
Bucket of Hope Collection Information
For churches or individuals who are participating in the "Bucket of Hope" for Haiti.
We are collecting the Buckets of Hope at Extra Space
Storage, 10400 Old Columbia Rd, Columbia, MD 21046. The facility is ¼
mile from the Baptist Center.
The Extra Space Storage office hours are:
Monday-Friday: 9:30—6
Saturday: 9—5:30
Sunday: closed
For a list of directions for drop off collection, Please click on the pdf titled "Buckets of Hope Collection Information" (located on the right hand side of this page).
If you have any difficulty, please contact Ellen Udovich at
443-250-2555
Read the February 16 Disaster Relief Update
Brief Update 2/16
Follow Haiti Response
Disaster Relief Update - Wednesday, February 10, 2010
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“Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:7-12 (HCSB)
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Haiti Earthquake 
New Bulletin Insert Volume 5 Available - download pdf
“Buckets of Hope” - $40 sends a five-gallon bucket filled with food items that will feed a Haitian family for a week. A bucket and the specified contents will cost about $30 and a $10 donation will ship the bucket to Haiti. To help, visit the “Buckets of Hope” website. Log on to the SBDR Facebook page and tell us what your church or organization is doing. To see more details about “Buckets of Hope,” visit the “Buckets of Hope” website.
Donate via Text: If you like the simplicity of making a donation via cell phone and text message, you can now do so to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. Text the word nambdr to 40579. A $10 donation will be charged to your cell phone account and sent to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
Day of Prayer for Haiti - Sunday, February 14. Read the Baptist Press article here.
We cannot all be in Haiti, but we can all be a part of what God is doing through the relief efforts of Southern Baptists. We can pack a bucket of food, make a monetary donation, talk to a Haitian friend or neighbor and all of us can pray. What a gift God has given us. Through the power of praying believers, God’s love is shared in places that most will never set their feet. This is an important week for Southern Baptist response efforts in Haiti. Thursday and Friday, leadership from; BGR, Florida Baptist, IMB and NAMB, will be meeting to map out both short and long term strategies for Southern Baptists. Friday, as this meeting is ending, Haitians will begin three days of fasting culminating in a day of worship and memorial on Sunday. What a joy it will be for all Southern Baptists to join them in these days of fervent prayer. Pray for an awesome moving of the Holy Spirit.
The incident Command team continues meeting with church and ministry partners in Haiti. They are making arrangements for food, supplies, housing and transportation for volunteer teams. They are also identifying ministry opportunities. On Tuesday the team met with Norma Patterson, of Joy House Ministries. Mrs. Patterson and the ministry are affiliated with several Baptist churches in Arkansas.
Photo (right): Sam Porter (OK), Bob Nigh (OK) Norma Patterson (Joy House) and Fritz Wilson (FL) meet at the Joy House.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 in Haiti, 56 Southern Baptist volunteers saw 26 people come to know Christ as their Savior. SBDR teams currently working in Haiti are from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina. The water team made up of members from Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma began drilling a well and reached a depth of 16 feet on their first day. The Building Assessment/Chaplain Team was able to assess 9 churches.
Photo (Left): Assessment team prays with Haitian woman during the initial assessment team trip in to Haiti after the earthquake. Coy Webb (OK) is at left and Bruce Poss (NAMB) is are right.
Learn more about the Joy House Ministry.
"40,000 Pounds of Rice to Haiti from Florida Baptists" - read the story.
Read the Baptist Messenger story, “Oklahomans Arrive in Haiti”
Read more about the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief effort in Haiti. about the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief effort in Haiti.
Disaster Relief Update - Thursday, February 4, 2010
Teams working in Haiti have seen great needs and indescribable devastation. Our Haitian Baptist partners continue to serve their neighbors as they search for ways to come to terms with the loss of family, home, and livelihood. Through it all they continue to worship “the Lord our Maker.” Disaster relief teams that have deployed to the country frequently report the incredible faith exhibited by the members of the Haitian Baptist churches. Songs of faith and worship are heard across the city at sunrise, sunset, and all hours in between.
Haiti Earthquake
New Bulletin Insert Volume 4 Available - download pdf
“Buckets of Hope” - Southern Baptists are quickly taking up the “Buckets of Hope” cause. Word is spreading and churches across the convention are collecting buckets filled with food to feed a Haitian family for a week. A discussion board has been started on the SBC Disaster Relief Facebook page for sharing your plans to respond to the call for help. Log on to the SBDR Facebook page and tell us what your church or organization is doing. To see more details about “Buckets of Hope,” visit the “Buckets of Hope” website.
Donate via Text: If you like the simplicity of making a donation via cell phone and text message, you can now do so to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. Text the word nambdr to 40579. A $10 donation will be charged to your cell phone account and sent to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
The Kentucky medical team worked at a hospital across from the damaged presidential palace on Wednesday, seeing 500 patients. “The days are long and hard,” reported chaplain Butch Vernon. The Mississippi medical team continues operating another clinic out of one of the Haitian Baptist churches.
Photo: John Carl Brickey, Louisiville, Kentucky, surgical tech, helps an injured Haitian.
Medical teams from South Carolina and Florida flew into Santo Domingo Wednesday and will travel by bus to Port-au-Prince today (Thursday). Pray for safety as the teams travel and that their journey will be swift. As evidenced by the work of the Kentucky and Mississippi teams currently onsite, there is plenty of work to do.
Fritz Wilson, Florida disaster relief director, reported that repairs and upgrades continue at the Florida Baptist Mission House, which will increase its capacity to shelter volunteers. Terry Henderson, NAMB disaster relief operations consultant, and a team of five will arrive in Port-au-Prince via Santo Domingo on Friday. They will continue the work Fritz and others have begun – making the logistical arrangements that will allow larger deployments of SBDR volunteers to be accomplished.
Dr. John Sullivan, executive director of the Florida Baptist Convention, issued a call to Southern Baptists to raise their "collected voices" Feb. 14 on behalf of "the hurting people of Haiti” as they try to recover from one of the most devastating disasters in the Western Hemisphere." Read the full story.
Read new article about SBDR medical teams treating quake victims here.
Read the Kentucky Baptist team's newest (2/3/10) update entitled "Haiti Team Confronting Difficult Situations" here.
Read more about the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief effort in Haiti.
Disaster Relief Update - Friday, January 29, 2010
Buckets of Hope for Haiti Click here for information
New! Southern Baptist Haiti relief video.
Watch it here.
Download the Volume 3 bulletin insert
about the Haiti Earthquake Response
(pdf format)
Haiti Earthquake
The medical teams from Mississippi and Kentucky have secured commercial airline tickets and will be arriving in the Dominican Republic mid afternoon on Sunday. They will spend the night there and early Monday morning make the seven-plus hour overland trip to Port-au-Prince. The two teams comprised of 21 Southern Baptist volunteers will be ministering to patients in clinics beginning Tuesday. These include medical doctors with a variety of specialties, a pharmacist, nurses, and support staff.
Two additional medical teams from South Carolina and Florida are preparing to leave for Haiti on Wednesday. These four teams are the first wave of SBDR medical teams.
Fritz Wilson and Dennis Wilbanks are traveling back to Port-au-Prince today (Friday) to work out more logistical issues. The North American Mission Board disaster relief staff is making arrangements for an incident command team to join Fritz and Dennis next week for additional support.
Photo: Siloe Baptist Church, heavily damaged by the earthquake, will be rebuilt with the help of volunteers from the U.S.
How wonderful it is to know that God is already in Haiti preparing the way for us. Pray for these men and women concerning sufficient security, transportation, food, and water as well as for the many spiritual needs. May the teams find strength for the journey in the knowledge that God knows and cares and has already sent His best via the cross and empty tomb.
Read more about the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief effort in Haiti.
Legislation Allows 2009 Tax Deductions for 2010 Haiti Donations
President Obama signed legislation on Friday, January 22, 2010, to allow tax deductible cash contributions made after Jan 11, 2010 and before March 1, 2010 for “RELIEF OF VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI” to be included as a tax-deductible contribution on 2009 tax returns. For more information read the article from Associated Press.
Haiti Disaster Relief Update - Friday, January 22, 2010
Ten days after a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, approximately two million people, homeless and hungry, roam the streets and countryside. However, missionaries, local pastors, and Haitian Baptists continue ministering in the midst of their own losses.
The pastor of Siloe Baptist Church perished in the quake; yet members of the church are reaching out to the community, providing tarps, supplies, and listening hearts.
Photo: Coy Webb of Kentucky (back), Ralph Shealy of South Carolina (middle), and Don Gann of Mississippi (front) visit Siloe Baptist Church, whose pastor perished in the earthquake.
Food distribution is being accomplished at the damaged Florida Baptist Mission House, which will be repaired by volunteer teams.
Photo: The Florida Baptist Mission House provides a point for food distribution.
The Arkansas medical response team is working out of El Shadai Baptist Church in Port au Prince and reports being extremely busy seeing patients. The team is identifying avenues for housing, transportation, fuel, food, and water.
The lead Southern Baptist assessment team remains on the ground making needed contacts and preparations for the teams that will follow. The assessment team has a wealth of experience in disaster response as well as working within the Haitian culture.
The assessment team is looking at logistical needs. They reported it took three hours to travel seven miles on Thursday. Two million people are roaming the streets with no place to go. People and traffic move together as a slow steady stream.
Communication is also difficult. The assessment team split into two groups in Port au Prince and could not communicate with one another via cell phone or satellite phone without help from the North American Mission Board team in Georgia. After many hours the two teams connected and were able to get food and shelter at the damaged Florida Baptist Mission House. It is a slow, sometimes dangerous task to accomplish even the basics in Port-au-Prince right now.
Photo: Ralph Shealy, M.D., Director of Charleston County EMS and professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, is using his decades of experience in emergency medicine and disaster response to determine the best ways Southern Baptist medical teams can help.
Read more about the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief effort in Haiti.