News:
Haiti Devastated by Earthquake
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Haiti Update 2-4-10
We are continuing to acquire information and monitor the situation in Haiti. The information is being provided by a variety of sources. The recurring theme that we consistently hear is that it is still too soon to send work teams to help. The situation in Port Au Prince changes daily and there is barely enough infrastructure to support the emergency and medical personnel working there. Our partners, Convoy of Hope and Compassion International, continue to be engaged on the front lines of the relief effort. Convoy has distributed over two million meals and Compassion is providing medical care, water, food and helping their many partner churches recover. Waiting is never easy in the face of such a huge calamity, but this will be a very long recovery process. At the moment it appears that our some of our resources may be best used in the coming months. Please pray that God brings clarity to how and when we as the Vineyard Community should respond.
Thank you for your continuing support and trust, and for your impassioned hearts for the suffering.
Phil Schissler
Director
Vineyard USA Mercy Response
Haiti Update 1/28/10
The report from Port Au Prince this morning: There is still a huge need there, but there are less people in the city every day. People are fleeing to outlying areas. The airport is the major bottleneck to getting aid in and available to the Haitians, and it is getting worse. Aid organizations are experiencing problems with getting their workers in and out. Commercial flights are scheduled to start next week which will increase the problem. (family members want to get in and lots of people want to get out). The refugee problem is spreading across the country. There is every need imaginable but the need for water wells wherever the refugees land is the first on most people’s list. In the meantime, there is a huge demand for potable and or bottled water.
Mercy Response Update on Haiti 1/27/10
As we respond to help Haiti, it is helpful to be aware of some of the common myths of humanitarian aid. Below are five myths that World Vision dispelled in a recent national publication.
1. Collecting blankets, shoes and clothing is a cost-effective way to help. The cost of shipping these items from around the country—let alone the time it takes to sort, pack and ship them—is prohibitive and entails much higher cost than the value of the goods themselves. Relief agencies have relief supplies already stocked in disaster-prone countries as well as in strategically located warehouses around the world. Many agencies had supplies pre-positioned in Haiti in preparation for hurricane season, which allowed them to respond immediately to the earthquake. These supplies are designed to meet international standards for humanitarian relief and are packaged up and ready to deploy as soon as a crisis strikes. Cash donations are the best, most cost-efficient way to help aid groups deliver these life-saving supplies quickly, purchase supplies close to the disaster zone when possible and replenish their stocks in preparation for future disasters.
2. If I send cash, my help won’t get there. Reputable agencies send 80 percent or more of cash donations to the disaster site; the rest is invested in monitoring, reporting and other activities that facilitate transparency and efficiency in their operations, as well as in sharing information with those who can help. Donors have a right and a responsibility to ask aid groups how they will be using those donations, and what will be done with donations raised in excess of the need. Transparent and effective organizations will readily provide that information.
3. Volunteers are desperately needed in emergency situations.While hands-on service may feel like a better way to help in a crisis, disaster response is a highly technical and sensitive effort. Professionals with specialized skills and overseas disaster experience should be deployed to disaster sites. Volunteers without those skills can do more harm than good, and siphon off critical logistics and translations services. Qualified disaster professionals ensure that help is delivered effectively, safely and efficiently.
4. Unaccompanied children should be adopted as quickly as possible to get them out of dangerous conditions. International adoption may be the best solution for some children, but it is too early to know for sure in the first weeks of a crisis.
Hearing about the specific needs of children often sparks a desire to adopt children who seem to have lost their families. However, early in a crisis, children need to be protected, but should remain in their home countries until authorities can confirm the locations of their family members and explore adoption possibilities within their own communities and cultures.
5. People are helpless in the face of natural disasters.Even in the poorest countries like Haiti, people often reveal a great deal of inner strength and often show a resourcefulness that can save lives ... While support and aid are necessary, the Haitian people are by no means helpless.
Mercy Response Update on Haiti 1/25/10
As we have mentioned in our earlier updates, our partner Convoy of Hope is on the ground in Port Au Prince. Below is a brief recap of what they have been doing.
· To date Convoy has distributed 359,305 meals at 9 distribution points in Port au Prince.
· 10 container loads are set to ship this week that are filled with food and supplies.
· An additional 1 million pounds of food and supplies are being made ready for shipment.
· They are continuing to distribute and set up water filtration systems.
The distribution is being carried out by trained Convoy of Hope staff personnel. Their current assessment is that the situation is still too unstable to bring in volunteers. Please pray for strength and the continued safety of Convoy’s staff.
Mercy Response Udate on Haiti 1/21/10....
If you are considering going to Haiti to work in the relief effort, there are a couple of things you can do right now to prepare.
- You will need a valid passport. The process of obtaining a passport can take up to 2 months depending on the time of year. If you have a passport, check the expiration date. It is typically required that there is a 6 month difference between your departure date and the expiration date on your passport.
- Consult with a health professional regarding the immunizations recommended for those traveling to Haiti and The Dominican Republic. It is often recommended that some inoculations be given 2 or 3 weeks prior to departure.
- Check out the recommendations on the Center of Disease Control Website for those travelling to and working in Haiti and The Dominican Republic.
Mercy Response is evaluating what our future response to the disaster in Haiti should be. Our hope is to bring teams of workers into Haiti, but at this point in the process it’s still too premature to know the specifics of our future relief effort. Many of you who have worked with us in the past know that disaster relief is a very fluid operation.
Thank you for your patience, prayers and offers of help.
Phil Schissler
Director
Vineyard USA Mercy Response
Mercy Response Update on Haiti 1/20/10.....
In Bert Waggoner’s letter last Friday he mentioned that the Vineyard is working with two large, well-respected organizations in response to the earthquake in Haiti. The two organizations he referenced are Convoy of Hope and Compassion International. We have a strong working relationship with both of these organizations. Both had a presence in Haiti prior to the disaster and currently are engaged in relief efforts in the hardest hit areas. Additionally, Vineyard USA Mercy Response has an assessment team on the ground and they made it to the border of Haiti through the Dominican Republic yesterday. Along the way, they stopped and checked in on the Vineyard Church in Jimani which is about an hour from the border. The church is intact and doing what they can to help in their community. The assessment team plans to head towards Port Au Prince today. Please be assured that we are constantly processing information from a number of sources as we evaluate the situation.
Many of you have asked when you can send teams and how to help; right now the biggest need is financial support and prayer for the victims of this disaster as well as those responding. Our current assessment is that bringing in teams right now could actually hinder the relief effort, but that could change quickly so please continue to check the website for updates.
Mercy Response Update on Haiti 1/16/10 .....
We had a call yesterday from one of our partners that has people in Port au Prince. Their people on the ground who went in with a security team strongly recommended we stay on hold and not try to get in yet. They reported the unrest is escalating to a “free for all” and what we see on the news is only the half of it. It seems that the security and health concerns being expressed earlier in the week have become a reality. When things stabilize a bit, Mercy Response will be going in and this will obviously be a long recovery process. We are also preparing to send an assessment team to the Dominican Republic early next week.
Mercy Response Update on Haiti 1/15/10 .....
This is an excerpt from a letter written today by Bert Waggoner (National Director for Vineyard USA), to the Vineyard movement:
I am writing to let you know how we as a movement are responding to the catastrophic earthquake which has caused so much devastation and loss of life in Haiti. To begin, I wish to express my gratitude to God for the overwhelming response we have already experienced from many of you who are ready to help. This demonstrates that our Lord’s mercy and compassion is alive and at work among us by His Spirit.
Let me assure you that Vineyard USA is already responding in several strategic ways. First, we are working with two large, well-respected organizations which have had a strong presence of compassionate and effective service in Haiti prior to the earthquake. Through our relationship with these organizations, we virtually already have eyes and ears “on the ground” which are assessing the needs and discovering how to best address them. Second, we are also learning about the situation through our mission partnerships with the Vineyard Churches in the Dominican Republic. These churches have many relationships and connections with their neighbors in Haiti and are proving to be a strategic source of information at this early stage. Third, we are in communication with Vineyard USA churches who likewise have been ministering in Haiti prior to this calamity.
There are many ways that we as a community of churches can respond to this tragedy. One way, probably unwise in the stewardship of our resources, is for us to begin showing up on the scene and each attempting our own limited relief efforts. The immediate, on-site response with a natural disaster of this magnitude is likely best handled by government and military personnel, providing security, performing search and rescue, and beginning to clean up the massive carnage. Very soon, we will more fully enter the second phase which is that of recovery. In this phase, there is a need for temporary housing, distribution of food, water, and the assessment of other needs. As I mentioned, through our partnerships with churches and relief organizations, this has already begun. Once we have some measure of orientation, we will be in a better position to coordinate our efforts. Rest assured that such efforts will extend beyond the second phase of recovery and into a phase of re-building. In this third phase, we will concentrate on re-building and supporting churches so that they can be of service to their community. Then, by collaborating with these churches, we can begin to re-build the homes and lives of those within the respective communities.
We will be making every effort to keep the Mercy Response website current with the latest updates on the Vineyard’s response in helping the people of Haiti. Thank you for your prayers and generosity.
Phil Schissler
Director, Mercy Response
You can send all communications regarding our response to this disaster to haiti@vineyardusa.org.
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