Haiti 13

Church Continues to Provide Relief in Haiti

January 26, 2010

Two weeks after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti, the scope of the death and destruction is staggering. The most recent estimates indicate that at least 200,000 deaths and 194,000 injuries have occurred. At least one million people have been left homeless and in need of temporary shelter.

“The capital is transformed into an immense refuge camp,” stated Bishop Duracin in a recent letter posted on the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti’s website. “They call desperately for food, water and medicine.”

With support from Episcopal Relief & Development, Bishop Duracin and his colleagues continue to run a tent camp for as many as 3,000 survivors on the rocky field next to College St. Pierre, one of the diocese’s many structures destroyed by the quake.

In a letter to Episcopal Relief & Development President Rob Radtke, Bishop Duracin said, “We are directing emergency relief to those who need it most, and we already are making plans and moving forward to help our people.”

In addition to supporting those in the tent camp in the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, Episcopal Relief & Development is continuing its work with the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic, IMA World Health and World Village. Activities include making daily shipments of food and medical supplies to affected Haitian communities; organizing air drops to communities not easily accessible by roads; establishing communication between dioceses through the provision of satellite phones and solar chargers; and responding to the needs of those who have crossed the Haitian border into the Dominican Republic in search of aid.

“The Church is a place of refuge for people in the midst of crisis,” said Radtke. “While it is providing critical aid and caring for people in the initial period following this disaster, the Church’s role will become even more significant in the coming months and years as people struggle to recover and rebuild.”