Posts Tagged ‘Haiti’
One Year Later: The Church Still Moves In Haiti
“One year later, the need in Haiti is great, but…churches continue to be agents of change in their communities, and men, women and children continue to receive support from their local churches.”
Shaken
Thirty-year-old Jeannette was away from home the day a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti in August 2021.
“I was out and my three children were at home when the earthquake hit,” Jeannette said. “I felt as if the earth was opening up and wanted to swallow me. I begged God to save my children who had not yet gotten out of bed.”
When the shaking stopped, she returned home to discover that one side of her house had collapsed. Miraculously, though, her children survived!
The earthquake killed 2,248 people and injured 12,763, while 344 others are still missing. At the same time, 53,000 houses were destroyed leaving thousands of families homeless, and another 77,006 homes were damaged.
For women like Jeannette, earthquakes pose threats that extend beyond just the initial disaster alone. Ongoing instability in Haiti has left insufficient national infrastructure to conduct disaster responses, and the remote locations in which they live make it difficult for other NGOs to respond.
And yet, thanks in large part to relationships that were built in 2016, a network of local churches was there to respond.
United Through Disaster
In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew barrelled through southern Haiti, causing incalculable damage and devastation for the millions of Haitian citizens living in the area. Amidst the damage and destruction, World Relief invited 50 local church leaders, like Claire Audrique, into a collaborative relief effort.
“We were very siloed as churches. Never before did we pastors gather to eat or rejoice together. I feel our lack of unity did more harm than Hurricane Matthew ever could.” – Pastor Audrique
After several weeks of training with World Relief, the pastors and their congregations embraced a new position of strength and purpose and began working together, providing immediate assistance for 6,000 of the most affected families — removing debris, supplying food and repairing homes for those without shelter.
These 50 congregations would continue to work together, forming the Les Cayes Church Empowerment Zone (CEZ). Over the next five years, these churches would:
- restore the agricultural livelihoods of thousands of families in their community
- start a weekly soup kitchen for elderly widows
- build a cross-denominational ministry for couples and families
- make monthly visits to the local prison
- pool their resources on a monthly basis to fund food and hygiene kits for the sick in the local sanatorium
- start a professional school and launch ministries for women and children
The Church Responds Again
In Les Cayes, where insufficient national infrastructure had been lacking, the church had become the catalyst for rebuilding and renewal. And in 2021, they were there to rebuild and renew again.
In the two weeks following the 2021 earthquake, Pastor Audrigue and the Les Cayes Church Empowerment Zone mobilized 105 churches to respond — that’s more than double the amount of churches equipped to respond in 2016.
Together, they identified and served more than 4,400 families and individuals like Jeannette by providing hygiene, food and shelter supplies.
“After the earthquake, I was left with nothing but my children. We spent many nights sleeping outside in the yard,” Jeannette said. “The assistance from World Relief really helped us a lot. Thanks to this assistance we had provision for many days and we thank God for that.”
A Church for the Future
One year after the earthquake, Haiti still faces significant challenges including a political crisis following the assassination of their president on July 7, 2021. As a result, the security situation continues to deteriorate.
Nevertheless, the churches in our CEZs continue to serve their communities faithfully. In the Les Cayes CEZ, pastors tell stories of the support that people received immediately following the earthquake, and they dream of future support that will be given. Pastors and communities are now more committed than ever to working together and serving the most vulnerable in their communities.
Meanwhile, World Relief continues its earthquake response work, partnering with Habitat for Humanity Haiti to repair 102 homes that were partially damaged, and train local masons to build earthquake-resistant homes.
While 11 homes are currently being built, the lessons learned through the construction of these homes will serve the community for years to come.
World Relief Haiti and our local churches have played a part in this project by identifying the most vulnerable people in the community as recipients of these new and repaired homes.
One year later, the need in Haiti is great, but the lessons in collaboration and solidarity have only strengthened the community’s resolve. Churches continue to be agents of change in their communities, and men, women and children continue to receive support from their local churches.
When headlines fade, World Relief remains, strengthening communities in places like Haiti to better respond the next time disaster strikes. Learn more about our disaster response efforts and join us.
Esther Pyram Louissaint is the Director of Programs for World Relief Haiti. Esther has over 11 years of experience working in church and parachurch organizations. She started with World Relief Haiti as the CEZ Program Manager in 2016, and has developed deep and lasting relationships with many pastors and churches all across Haiti. She is passionate about life, the church and the well-being of others. She is a servant leader who values excellence, discipline, respect, integrity and humility in everything. Esther holds an MBA in Business Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Communication.
Lydia Dawson serves as World Relief’s Humanitarian and Disaster Response Unit Program Officer in Sudan, and in disaster response worldwide. Prior to joining World Relief, Lydia worked in homeless services and community development in Oregon and California. She is passionate about equity and honor for underrepresented groups, both locally and internationally.
Attending to God’s Creation
Today, on World Humanitarian Day, we join organizations from across the globe to bring awareness to the human cost of today’s climate crisis and the immediate consequences this crisis is having on the world’s most vulnerable communities. At World Relief, we believe creation care is one of the core tenets of Christian witness, and is an integral part of caring for the world’s most vulnerable. That’s why we are committed to working toward environmental stewardship and climate-sensitive policies both internally and throughout our programs around the world.
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:20-21
In 2017, I accompanied World Relief Kenya Country Director Elias Kamau to visit Turkana County. The people of Turkana have been living in this area for hundreds of years, relying largely on their livestock for food. What I saw on my trip was devastating. Over 90% of the livestock in the county were dead. Children were suffering from malnutrition. And after two failed rain seasons, the Turkana people were starving.
This is a far cry from the picture of God’s creation we see in Genesis 1 – a picture of life in abundance, a creation overflowing with birds, fish and animals of every kind. A world that God declared very good.
Creation is both a beautiful gift for our pleasure and joy, and an essential part of the very sustainability of our planet. Yet sadly, the incredible biodiversity that is celebrated in Genesis 1 is no longer as visible as it once was.
Though some may still dispute the degree to which climate change is being caused by humans, few would dispute that it is impacting our world. Wherever you may stand on this issue, as Christians, we should be able to agree that scripture is clear. God gave humans dominion over the earth “to work it and take care of it ” (Genesis 2:15).
Indeed, creation care is one of the core tenets of Christian witness. But today, there is mounting evidence that we are failing badly in this responsibility.
In his new Netflix documentary, “A Life On Our Planet,” natural historian David Attenborough, now 93, documents this decline and the reasons for it in vivid and disturbing terms. We, God’s chosen stewards of His Creation, are quite literally destroying the creation that makes our own lives possible, living apart from nature rather than being a part of it, and thus bringing forward what could be the sixth mass extinction event in the history of the world if we continue on current trends.
The Crisis
If that seems exaggerated, consider the following. In 1937 there were 2.3 billion people on the earth and 66% of the world was wilderness. By 1997 there were 5.7 billion people and 46 % of the world was wilderness. Today, in 2020 there are 7.8 billion people and only about 35% of the world remains as wilderness.
This matters because the sustainability of our planet and our lives depends on the delicate balance of rainforests, grasslands, oceans, ice caps and the rich biodiversity contained in them. As the planet warms, as populations grow and as we destroy wilderness to fuel our consumption-oriented lives, the cycle of destruction accelerates. As a result, since the 1950s, wild animal populations have halved. And it’s expected that unless we make dramatic changes, in the next twenty years the Amazon rainforest will become dry savannah and the arctic will be free from ice in the summer.
At World Relief, we see the effects of this directly in our work around the world, as climate change shifts long-term weather patterns, bringing more destructive climatic events such as severe flooding. This especially impacts the poorest of the world’s countries, where food and water insecurity and environmental disasters have forced migration and increased conflicts and violence all across the developing world.
While in Turkana, expected rains have been replaced by months of extreme drought and resulting famine, we’ve seen the contrary in Malawi and parts of Sudan where severe flooding has been far worse than in years past. In places like Haiti and Nicaragua, we’ve seen an increase in both the frequency and intensity of tropical storms and greater suffering as a result. Most recently, we experienced the devastating effects of the worst hurricane season on record across Central America as Hurricane’s Eta and Iota struck the region just weeks after one another, causing extreme vulnerability and devastation. And on our U.S. Southern border, we’re beginning to see an uptick in environmentally-induced migration as families flee environmental pressures in search of a safe place to rebuild their homes.
Now What
Much of our programming aims to combat the consequences of this devastating climate change.
In countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, our Agriculture for Life programming uses conservation techniques that help reverse the man-made consequences of over-farming and deforestation. By working with the land rather than depleting it, we are finding different ways to farm that are better for the environment and give farmers better long-term crop yields.Â
In Turkana, we are also working on range rehabilitation through the development of Conservation Areas. These areas are fenced-off portions of communal land that are protected from livestock and treated with high-quality grass seeds for a period of time. When the dry season arrives or drought hits, the conservation areas often provide the only viable pasture for livestock to feed on, ensuring selected herds are cushioned from the drought shocks and that the Turkana people can continue to rely on their livestock for food and milk through harsh periods of drought and famine.
In Haiti, we have just begun a new waste management project in partnership with Tearfund UK and Arris Desrosiers — a social enterprise company based out of the capital of Port-Au-Prince — which aims to change beliefs and behaviors around waste management and recycling through lessons in creation care and environmental stewardship. The project hopes to connect over 15,000 beneficiaries to proper waste collection and recycling, significantly reducing the waste flowing into the ocean and improving the health and well-being of thousands of families in the Port-au-Prince area of Carrefour.
In the coming years, World Relief is committed to working toward environmental stewardship and climate sensitive policies both internally and throughout more of our programs around the world.
Our Responsibility
In truth, it will take the whole world; governments, scientists, businesses and each one of us to reverse the trends. We all have to do our part.
We must not rest in denial just because the impacts of climate change are not on our own doorstep. That denial fails to honor God and the wonders of his creation.
Change will only happen when our own hearts are moved so that we have eyes to see and ears to hear. It will happen when we cease to allow climate change and care for our environment to be seen purely through the lens of politics or economic self-interest and bow in submission to our duty of care for God’s creation — a creation to which we are all connected; when we reduce economic inequality and education disparities in the developing world so that we can bring population growth under control; and when we recognize what we do “over here” affects people “over there”. Whether in small or big ways, each one of us can make a difference in building a better world today, tomorrow and for generations to come.
It is time — if not past time — to attend to our Lord’s business.
Tim Breene served on the World Relief Board from 2010 to 2015 before assuming the role of CEO from 2016-2020. Tim’s business career has spanned nearly 40 years with organizations like McKinsey and Accenture where he was the Corporate Development Officer and Founder and Chief Executive of Accenture Interactive. Tim is the co-author of Jumping the S-Curve, published by Harvard Publishing. Tim and his wife, Michele, a longtime supporter of World Relief, have a wealth of experience working with Christian leaders in the United States and around the world.
Creation Care in Haiti
A global problem
While creation care is one of the core tenets of Christian witness, there is mounting evidence that we, as humans, are failing badly in the responsibility of stewarding our global home. Climates are changing, storms are happening more frequently with more intensity, systems that were once reliable for livelihoods are now becoming unpredictable, and the amount of accumulated waste continues to increase:
- Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tons of solid waste is collected worldwide, and the decay of the organic proportion of solid waste is contributing about 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled. About 12% has been incinerated, while the rest — 79% — has accumulated in landfills, dumps or the natural environment.
- Around the world, 1 million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year and generally thrown away after only one use.
Though these statistics are staggering, there is so much we can do individually and collectively to prevent a wasting of the environment. World Relief is committed to working toward environmental stewardship and climate-sensitive policies both internally and throughout our programs around the world.
A Collective Commitment
In October 2020, we began a partnership project called Environment Plus (EN+) with Tearfund UK and Arris Desrosiers, a Haitian waste management company, to provide sustainable solid waste management services in Carrefour, a metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince.
“When we were traveling out to our programs, we would see densely populated areas right outside the city that had become like dumpsites,” recalled Athanase Ndayisaba, World Relief Haiti’s Country Director. “All kinds of domestic waste from homes in the city was just being dumped outside in these communities. It was filthy and it creates huge issues for the general health of the population.
“Children in this area were playing in trash, and waste creates disease — this concerned us.”
Something needed to be done, so World Relief engaged with partners like Arris Desrosiers, who not only seeks to manage waste but uses recyclable waste to make school backpacks and fertilizer that can be sold to farmers in the area, to design the project.”
Together, we are raising awareness about the importance of reducing waste dumped into oceans, improving environmental conditions for those living in poverty and creating income-generating activities for local Haitians.
A key component of this initiative is the community mobilization of local churches and pastors. We are developing a biblically-based training and curriculum that we will use to train church leaders and volunteers of the value and importance of creation care. These leaders are essential in spreading the word about best waste management practices and the importance of creation care in their communities while supporting the waste collection process.
Currently, we have 30 local churches involved, and they are excited to help. “Church leaders recently spent a whole day collecting trash,” Athanase said. While church and community leaders are essential to mobilize their communities, youth are also integral in continuing this project into the future.
A Future for our Youth
By training young people in Carrefour about waste management and how to collect and separate trash, we can ensure these practices will be carried on long after the project ends. This project also brings income earning potential for young people by employing them in the recycling process.
“We want to see the waste in this area cleaned up,” Athanase says. “We want to teach the general population how to handle and separate domestic waste for recycling, creating a network of clean-up and conservation in the area.”
As a result of EN+, we anticipate that 15,000 individuals in Carrefour will have access to solid waste management services and an additional 5,000 individuals will be connected to interventions to help limit waste. Ultimately, the project will reduce waste dumped in oceans by 182.7 tons per month, 148.3 tons of which will be recycled.
While immediate and specific actions are necessary, we recognize that understanding the greater purpose behind waste management and our call to care for creation leads to meaningful solutions and lasting change.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1
Dana North previously served as the Marketing Director at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
Get to Know Our Staff: Haiti
In 2021, we’re giving you the inside scoop on the work World Relief is doing in communities around the world through a new series called, Get to Know Our Staff.
Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Esther Pyram, World Relief Haiti’s Integral Mission and Church Empowerment Zone Manager. Esther is a writer, a wife, a sister and a friend. Her prayerful spirit and joyful work ethic are contagious, and today she’s sharing more about her role at World Relief and the transformation she’s personally experienced while leading alongside others in Haiti.
What is your name?
My name is Esther Phtama Pyram Louissaint, a Christian believer. I am a wife, a sister, a friend and a beloved daughter.
What is your role at World Relief?
I have been with World Relief since February 2016. I joined as a field coordinator. Currently, I work as the Integral Mission and Church Empowerment Zone Manager.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
There is nothing more exciting than doing what you know you were called to do. It is a complete joy to serve, to participate in this holistic transformation we are looking for in our community. Therefore, in the past five years, I have always considered myself a servitor rather than an employee.
Can you share some stories that excite you?
I had the privilege of witnessing churches’ growth and seeing them proudly standing up for the most vulnerable. I saw children going to school for the first time in communities where there was no school before and where State Institutions are absent. I have observed church leaders contributing generously and with inexplicable joy to organize community weddings regardless of religious or denominational backgrounds. I saw widows’ homes restored, gardens planted, and crops at their feet to face the new season. I have seen life blooming, and hope being restored for many brothers and sisters.
Yet, the most wonderful part of it all is to witness my own transformation through this process. I have become stronger, more confident, empowered and impacted. I am working with more tact, joy, love and a constant quest for excellence in all areas of my life.
How have you grown in this role?
My relationships with God, with myself, with my family and others have been transformed beyond belief. Areas of my life which I struggled with in the past have been restored, including my finances, my ministries and my dreams.
My increased mental strength allows me to face nasty critics with steadiness and an unwavering attitude. Such critics can no longer put me down. In short, I know who I am: a loved, gifted and blessed girl, and all the assets in the world cannot compensate for such newly built confidence in myself and in Our Loving Father.
What are your hopes for the communities where you live and work?
Like World Relief, I want to see local churches empowered to serve the most vulnerable. I diligently pray, and I long to see women in our communities, and especially those in our local churches, rise to their talents, gifts and abilities so they may answer their divine call and enter their destiny.
I want to see our youth plan their future with more hope, certainty and dignity. I want to see my community rise and move forward on the road to progress, success and development. I want to see families becoming stronger by the days and despite the challenges. I long to see respectable citizens taking the lead in their communities in this new generation. In short, I want to continue witnessing blooming life and daily revival of hope for all.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I work with a wonderful, competent, and dynamic team under the supervision of Athanase Ndayisaba (World Relief Haiti Country Director). In my spare time I read, sing, pray and write beautiful novels that one day may be published. I inspire others to stay motivated and confident.
It was a pleasure to share a little of me with you.
Do you want to create holistic transformation in communities around the globe? World Relief is growing our team to meet the increased needs of our world, and we’re looking for people like you to join us.
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and children’s ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.
A Truth We Cannot Keep for Ourselves
Keeping a Secret
Theo was keeping a secret from Lydia, his faithful wife of four years. He’s a good and decent man, an employee at World Relief Rwanda. He’s a dynamic communicator, a man committed to his church, his work and his wife. So what was Theo hiding?
It wasn’t an infidelity or even an indiscretion. He hadn’t lost money gambling or stayed out too late with his friends. He hadn’t disrespected his wife in any blatant sort of way, so what was this secret he was keeping? What couldn’t he bear to share with his wife? It’s likely not something you ever would have guessed.
You see, Theo’s secret was that he was attending a class — a training at work on gender equity — designed to help our Rwandan staff gain a biblical understanding of how men and women are created equally and can, and should, lead together. The training is one of the many tools we use in our work against violence and oppression across the world to emphasize the truth that all people are created in God’s image.
Gender Equity and Biblical Truth
Even though gender equity is biblical, in the countries where we work, most people, like Theo, believe that women are not created equal to men and that only men are qualified to hold leadership positions. This makes it difficult to talk with local church leaders about the importance of including women in leadership roles, and even harder to encourage women to take on these roles in our programs given many of them hold this same view themselves.
It’s for this very reason that we piloted the training on biblical gender equality with our Rwandan staff this year, and why in 2020 we are rolling out gender equity training to all of our staff. We train our staff first because we know that God’s word can’t be powerful through us until it is powerful within us. And we also know that if we are asking our staff to help people break free from damaging cultural norms and behaviors, we have to arm them with God’s truth — the truth that all people are equally deserving of worth, dignity and respect.
For Theo, this truth led to a difficult realization as he began wrestling with the idea that his long-held cultural beliefs about women didn’t hold up in the light of God’s word, neither at work nor within his home.
Like most men in Rwanda, Theo believed that he was meant to be in charge at home and that his wife was meant to serve him. He controlled all of the money and made unilateral decisions. Lydia often had to beg Theo to give her money to buy propane for cooking, which was humiliating for her. On the few occasions she spoke up with an idea or questioned one of Theo’s decisions, he rebuked her for not being submissive to his leadership.
A Marriage Renewed
But after attending and reflecting upon the training, Theo decided to make some changes in his marriage. At first, he was too embarrassed to tell Lydia why he was making these changes. He felt ashamed of how he had been treating her and wasn’t sure how to bring up these new ideas.
So, Theo started helping Lydia in the kitchen. He began asking her opinion about household matters and inviting her to make decisions with him. Theo even learned how to make tea for visitors and began cooking for their son. And while all of these changes surprised Lydia, nothing shocked her more than when Theo began to wash the dishes. Never in her life had she seen a man do dishes!
That’s when Theo knew he had to tell Lydia the reason for all of these changes. He told her about the training and about how God had opened his eyes to new truths and convicted him that the way he had been treating her wasn’t how God intended a man to behave. Then Theo took a giant leap of faith — he invited Lydia to join him at the next training so she could learn this truth for herself.
“The best thing Theo did was invite me to the training,” Lydia said. “I learned that we are equal and we have been created equally. This truth has liberated me.”
Jesus promised that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. That’s why we use God’s word as the basis for all of our programs at World Relief. We have seen time and time again what happens when the truth of God’s word penetrates people’s hearts. Deep and lasting change occurs within individuals, it overflows into families and changes entire communities, just as it did with Theo and Lydia.
Both Theo and Lydia agree that they can’t keep their newfound knowledge to themselves.
“I think we need to share our testimony and knowledge with other couples,” Lydia says. “It is a truth that we cannot keep for ourselves.”
A Future of Flourishing
As the truth of biblical equity takes root in more people’s hearts and minds, more women are empowered to rise up within their communities and lead within our programs. And when women are able to take on leadership in areas like health and nutrition, savings, agriculture and church empowerment, holistic transformation begins.
Men stop beating their wives. Young girls stay in school and avoid early marriages. Women gain access to capital to start their own businesses and become self-sufficient. And survivors of rape receive help and support rather than being shunned by their communities.
What’s more, a generation of young girls sees a new way of existing, encounters role models and gains a vision for what their lives could mean. The cycle of oppression begins to break and women and girls are ushered into the fullness of life that God intended for them all along.
At World Relief, we know that this fullness of life is available to all people — regardless of their gender, skin color, country of origin, tribe or faith — when they are viewed as image-bearers of God.
Every day, we have the privilege of watching the radical concept of Imago Dei transform broken relationships and end violence & oppression in so many of the communities where we work. Individuals change. Marriages improve. Families stabilize. Peace descends. Communities thrive. Churches flourish. And through it all, God is glorified.
Mary Milano serves as the Director of Fundraising Content at World Relief.
Rebirth and Renewal
In the Path of the Storm
It was late May in 2004 when torrential rains hit Mapou, a small village nestled within the La Selle mountain range in southeastern Haiti. This nameless storm dumped water on Mapou for three consecutive days, killing over 432 people in Mapou and another 800 in other villages throughout Haiti. Mapou, among several other villages, was left under a lake of water, and more than 31,000 people across Haiti were left without homes.
Nicole Eliassaint, a local resident in Mapou, recalled the terror that consumed her village.
“No one could go out to see their relatives or ask for information,” she said. “We faced a situation of helplessness… some of us had to cling to trees or stay on our roofs for days to avoid being swept away by the waves.”
The storm hit outside the regular storm season, the devastation highlighting how vulnerable Haiti is to natural disasters. The country sits in the middle of an aggressive pathway for tropical storms and hurricanes and also straddles a major faultline. Geography, however, isn’t the only factor that has left Haiti vulnerable to natural disasters.
A Complex History
In 1804, Haiti proudly became the first black republic in history after a successful, slave-led revolution. The war for independence, unfortunately, also destroyed many Haitian plantations, leaving the economy in a fragile state. As a result, Haitian leaders were forced to purchase the recognition of Haiti as a legitimate sovereign nation. In exchange for access to trade markets, they took on massive debt, further crippling the nation’s economy and leaving it prone to political hardship throughout the mid-20th century. This storied history of exploitation and corruption has left the country with a feeble infrastructure and weak economy, making it difficult for Haiti to rebuild the foundation needed to defend against disasters.
Consequently, Haiti has remained locked in a cycle of unhealthy dependence on foreign aid each time disaster strikes. Even with these aid efforts, international relief often struggles to reach the remote areas like Mapou, and little to no system has been developed for warning residents of coming storms.
In 2016, many communities, including Mapou, were still recovering from previous storms when Hurricane Matthew hit. The storm killed 546 people and caused $2.8 billion in destruction. Farms and livestock were destroyed, leaving many Haitians without a source for food or an income.
Catalyst for Change
In his book, The Upside of Down, author Thomas Homer Dixon writes that even the worst catastrophes can be a catalyst for change.
“Catastrophe,” he says, “can create space for [the kind of] creativity that helps build a better world for our children [and] our grandchildren…”
“Breakdown,” he adds, “can shatter the forces standing in the way of change.”
Such is the case when disasters strike, leaving gaping holes in the vulnerable communities that endure them. Buildings crumble, lives are lost and a deep chasm is left in the foundation of the affected society. But what if, as Dixon writes, this catastrophe could make way for creativity that leads to change, and what if this change could be generated by the local church?
Dixon’s words truly come to life in the example of the church in Haiti. In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, church leaders in the Sud, Grand Anse and Nippes regions came together with World Relief to bring aid to people in their communities. Initially, each pastor involved thought they were coming to World Relief to receive food and aid only for themselves, their families and their church members. But after attending a World Relief training, they began to see the bigger picture of what God was calling them to — to come together as a whole church in order to serve the most vulnerable people impacted by the storm.
Church leaders were trained on how to identify problems, mobilize volunteers, write proposals and submit requests for aid. After their requests were approved, churches in Haiti came together with more frequency than ever before, and through their collective efforts, more than 6,000 people received immediate aid in the form of food, water and sanitation supplies. Thousands more received seeds, farming equipment and thorough agriculture training to rebuild their farms and restore their livelihoods. While World Relief Haiti provided the resources for this project, church leaders were co-managers of the project, ensuring equitable distribution as well as a number of volunteers who made the scaling of the project possible.
Local Solutions
In Mapou, World Relief worked alongside church leaders from Bell-Anse, which included pastors from more than 75 churches in the Pichon & Mapou villages. The group came together to brainstorm ways to build resilience and better prepare their communities for natural disasters. Historically, people living in the mountains would try to warn people living in the plains of coming storms by blowing into conch shells — a method that was often too little, too late.
After some deliberation, leaders came away with a plan to implement an Early Warning System using appropriate technology (a system not reliant on electricity that can work no matter what the weather).
Over the next two years, World Relief worked alongside community leaders to implement a system of warning flags and hand crank sirens. Pastors and local leaders trained their congregations and communities on the system’s procedure so they could be ready to act should disaster strike. Country Director, Joseph Bataille, believes that with a little more coaching, the community will be ready to carry the program on their own.
In addition to the community-wide warning system, World Relief also helped families develop Household Emergency Plans, partnered with the Haitian Red Cross to train 25 community members in First Aid and assisted farmers in reducing erosion and planting cyclone-resistant crops.
Nicole said that the training she and her team received along with the implementation of the early warning system has “completely transformed the way they prepare for natural disasters. Information flows better… [and] everyone knows what to do in advance to protect themselves in the event of a flood.” She added that people feel more confident when cyclones and natural disasters hit because they know how to better protect themselves.
Lasting Change in Haiti
The increased frequency in storms and natural disasters in Haiti and other similar nations makes it clear that immediate relief alone won’t solve the disaster problem. But bolstering local churches and community leaders with the tools they need to cope with disasters can. Investing in warning systems and resiliency training can reduce the impact of natural disasters before they ever occur and make way for the strength and beauty that has historically defined these nations to be restored.
The most beautiful part of this story is that in the wake of disaster, local churches in Haiti have become a catalyst for restoration and renewal. Led by trusted community leaders who have the ability, authority and permanency to do far more than any government institution or non-profit organization ever could, local churches have become the hands and feet of Jesus in their communities. Not only that, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, these churches are restoring hope and igniting spiritual renewal right alongside the physical rebirth happening as their communities rebuild. Several congregations reported growth as a result of the relief and resilience work they have done in their communities.
Restoration and renewal are possible, even in the darkest of circumstances. As Christians, that truth is at the very core of everything we believe, and at World Relief, we believe that it is through the church, and God’s people, that we’re able to bring holistic healing and create lasting change, even in the path of a storm.
Rachel Clair serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. With a background in creative writing and children’s ministry, she is passionate about helping people of all ages think creatively and love God with their hearts, souls and minds.
Changemakers in Haiti — Who is the Hero?
If the last year has taught us one thing, it is the importance of searching for truth and meaning, amidst the over-saturated, 24-hour news cycle. Our attention moves on to the next breaking story, and we do not pause to listen to the deeper stories; the less sensational ones, which are often the most inspiring ones. And yet, those are the stories we want to see, and the ones we need to hear. Stories of lives transformed, stories of hope and radical solidarity, stories that speak deep and meaningful truths to our existence. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be sharing these stories from our work around the world. It is our hope that these stories will inspire, encourage, and enrich your lives.
The following post was written by Joseph Bataille, World Relief’s Country Director in Haiti.
When people think of Haiti, they often think of incredible poverty, disaster, dependence, and despair. But there is another story. It is one of the church stepping into communities as beacons of light and agents of change, offering help and hope to struggling families. For the church in Haiti, there has never been a more vital time for us to share our truth and to stand up as the Body of Christ, shining the light of hope in our corner of the world.
In the past, we in Haiti, have seen the frequent cycle of disaster and relief as if it were the script of a theatrical tragedy. Haitian churches and leaders have often seen others—not themselves—as the protagonists, which means they have often settled into more passive roles, stepping back and making way for others to bring aid from abroad. In doing so, our churches’ leaders have (knowingly or unknowingly) excused themselves from the Great Commission—to share the gospel and to live as Jesus lived, in service to others and with unconditional love for all. World Relief has been actively working for years to transform this mindset, and when Hurricane Matthew hit, we began to see a new level of change take place.
Things have been very different this time. The voice of the narrator has changed; now a Haitian voice is expressing a renewed understanding of the importance of local solidarity. In this context, the church has stepped into its rightful role, fulfilling its calling to care for and shepherd the most vulnerable, in a way that is much different from what I remember witnessing after the 2010 earthquake. From the moment that Hurricane Matthew passed, churches all over the country began taking up collections, and continued to do so for many weeks. I personally took part in a meeting with over 200 Haitian church leaders, who agreed to pool their next Sunday offering together to make a more tangible impact. I am witnessing ordinary people stepping out in faith to do extraordinary things.
World Relief’s ongoing partnerships with churches in Port-au-Prince, helping leaders and churches build capacity to meet the needs of their own communities (core to World Relief’s Church Empowerment Zone model), helped us support a church-centered response to the hurricane, unlike anything we have done in the past. By collaborating with more than 150 Haitian churches, we have been able to mobilize a powerful and collective response.
Dozens of volunteers from our partner churches in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere, sacrificed days and hours to organize locally procured resources, to bring help to the regions where the suffering was greatest. Because of established pastor networks in the lower regions of Pichon and Mapou, we learned about the needs of the people “behind the mountain.” Churches from the capital organized and sent teams to help communities with clean up and rebuilding. Other churches purchased medicine with their own resources and sent doctors and nurses from their own congregations to care for the sick. Even in the hardest hit areas, churches are actually working together to take care of the needs of their entire community, not just their own congregations. Haitian believers are stepping up to bear the greater part of the weight of compassion for their neighbors who are in need. And the truly vulnerable are being sought out. The blind, disabled, elderly, and extremely poor; the least, the last, and the lost among them.
As we continue to engage the church in each region, our hope is that if (God forbid) another disaster were to occur in the same region in the future, these leaders would immediately look to each other, mobilizing more quickly to respond to the needs of the community.
I believe that the Church is central to God’s plan for changing the future of vulnerable people. But for this to become a reality, we, the global Church, must focus on building the capacity of our churches and their leaders, not just fixing short-term problems. Since Hurricane Matthew, we have joined together to face our growing challenges with courage, strength, and unity in Christ—because when changemakers partner together, we can transform the world.
Diamonds of Haiti: The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew
[The following videos and blog post are detailed updates we’ve received from Joseph Bataille, World Relief’s Country Director in Haiti, about the relief efforts taking place in Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.]
Every year, my wife and I choose a new part of Haiti to explore for our anniversary. Our country is a gem, full of hidden treasures. And every year, we celebrate by uncovering one of these treasures together.
This past July, we explored Grand’Anse. We began with one of the furthest reaches of the region, Anse d’Hainault. The two and a half hour drive from the entrance of the city of Jérémie was scenic, but to tell the truth, it was a bit exhausting. We had already driven 6 or 7 hours that morning to get to Jérémie. We could only hope that this additional 2.5 hour, slow-paced, rocky trek, would be worth it in the end. After all, we would still have to drive back in a couple of days.
We came up on the main stretch of the town of Dame Marie. It was almost evening and the sun was preparing to set. The colors of the sky dancing and glistening as they reflected off of the sea made us forget all about our uncomfortable drive. The people of the town—not accustomed to receiving many outsiders—each watched from the front porch of their homes as we passed by. Life seemed beautiful and simple. Children played in their yards and in the streets. Men tended to boats and nets after a day of fishing. Women conversed and laughed as they finished various late-afternoon tasks or as they braided each other’s hair, while they relaxed on the front porch. All the while, the sun, the sea, and the sky danced in the background. Beautiful and simple indeed. We took in similar scenes for the last half hour of the drive to Anse d’Hainault.
The rest of our visit in Grand’Anse was equally beautiful. From Anse d’Hainault, we traveled to the city of Jérémie. The family of Alexandre Dumas (author of “The Three Musketeers” and “The Count of Monte Cristo”) hails from Jérémie, as do other notable Haitian writers. This historic city is rightfully known as “The City of Poets.” Traveling further to a hidden cove called “Anse du Clerc.” We sat mesmerized by the crashing of waves into the bay as we drank in beauty that few have the pleasure of seeing. All this while enjoying freshly caught fish served over boiled plantains, and of course, fresh coconuts to drink.
Even more beautiful than the scenery, as usual, were the people that we encountered. We met with our friend and my colleague, Esther, when we traveled back to Jeremie. She showed us around over the next couple of days. Each day, Esther’s aunts fought over the “privilege” of getting to feed us. Every home that we visited had a table prepared; they would hear nothing of the meal that we had just eaten two hours earlier. They showed us around proudly, wanting us to love their town and region at least half as much as they do. They would give us everything, if we would ask, but would receive nothing but good company in return. Each evening we stayed with Esther’s godparents, in their home, set proudly in a Garden of Eden by the sea.
Last Saturday, I visited that place again. The house was still there, and so was the sea, but the garden was gone. So was everything else.
The town of Jérémie was full of piles of debris stacked high. All along the ride through other parts of Grand’Anse, I saw homes that I don’t remember seeing before. Each had lost the trees that had once shielded them from view. Nearly all had also lost their rooftops and many had lost walls as well. With Grand’Anse accounting for a major portion of the nation’s remaining forest coverage, it was devastating to see the hills and mountains, literally stripped bare by Matthew’s winds. At the time, with images coming slowly and rarely, I could only imagine what Anse d’Hainault at the tip of the island might look like in the aftermath. I couldn’t bear to imagine what happened to the people of Dame Marie and their simple and beautiful life.
Nothing was the same in the region. That is, nothing except for the people. Esther’s aunt was excited to see us, yet slightly upset that we surprised her, because she didn’t have a chance to prepare a meal for us. She gently scolded her niece for not calling her in advance (although telephone lines were mostly cut off). Esther’s godparents were still the king and queen of hospitality and, despite the devastation, her godfather still wore his usual smile that you can be sure he’s had on his face since childhood. His wife insisted on preparing a goat for us, despite having lost several goats and their garden in the storm and despite the fact that we had brought our own provisions.
When visiting pastors in Pichon last week, the pastors, who had advance notice of our coming, would already have fresh coconuts ready for us to drink or something else for us to “taste” as we walked along the road. We would look to the few trees that were left standing to see if we could figure out where these gifts were coming from, but we found no sign that there was more to come. We were being offered their best. Their last. Their all. And they refused to be denied the opportunity to be hospitable. Wherever we went, there was a sadness in the air, but over and over we were awestruck by the palpable goodness that remained in the hearts of a people who still wanted to hope.
That same charity and goodness has all but become a national phenomenon. Many miles away, on the first Sunday morning after the storm, churches in the capital were gathered as their usual custom. Surely, the faithful came with the usual personal desires that they wanted to ask God to fulfill, but that day, they also shared a common heaviness. Together, they lifted the burden of those suffering after the hurricane in prayer. Many also began collecting funds and items to send to the victims in distress.
In Les Cayes, that same afternoon, our staff met with a group of pastors, all of whom have churches that have sustained damages. As we discussed with them the importance of preaching the gospel by loving acts, together they resolved to see to that the homes of their more vulnerable neighbors are rebuilt, even if it meant that their church buildings were the last to be repaired. We recently met with a group of pastors in Duchity (Pestel, Grand’Anse) who have agreed to do the same.
Late last week, I participated in a meeting with more than 200 Haitian church leaders in the capital. The purpose was to join together collectively to reach out to the affected areas with short, mid, and long term relief efforts. We had similar conversations with our partners in the capital. All of them excitedly agreed that the primary responsibility for relief must go to the local church. In Belle Anse, church leaders are assessing the damages together, while reflecting on ways to help those who were hit the hardest. Immediately after the storm, some even worked overtime to finish a home that they had begun to build months earlier for a single mother of three. After many months of being stalled by various obstacles, they finished the project in only a few days.
I could fill pages and pages with the difficulties and hardships that are still yet to come. But I would rather put a final exclamation point on what I have attempted say so far…
Haiti has a lot of good things. The best of all these things are its people. Haiti is gold. The Haitian people themselves are diamonds—hard-pressed but not hardened, and refined by many years of adversity. When they pull together, nothing is impossible to them.
The local church is full of such gems, and across the country, near to and far from the disaster, they are pulling together. They are helping one another and looking out for the weakest among them. World Relief is privileged to know some of the best of them. They are a light to their communities. World Relief is working closely with these leaders as they help their communities to recover shelters, gardens, livelihoods, and autonomy. But we refuse to let our work to be the basket that covers and hides the goodness and the light of God’s love that is already present. Rather, we are working in such a way to put that light on the lamp-stand, where it belongs, that the world will see their good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:15-16).
The nation is full of people with hearts of servants who are more than ready and more than willing to carry the weight of their vulnerable neighbors. Our job in this time is to help them to find the resources that match the largeness of their hearts and to equip them with skills and knowledge to build back better. Our mission is to help them to accomplish their mission.
That has always been our mission, and it will never change. We empower the church. They seek out the least, the last, and the lost among them, and together we make a world of a difference.
If you have already donated, please consider a second donation to Haiti’s hurricane relief efforts, or a general donation to World Relief’s other work around the world. Also, we invite you to share a link to this page with your friends and family.
UPDATE: Relief for Haiti
Since Monday, when Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti, we’ve been getting reports from our staff and local partners in the country. The situation grows worse by the day. Please consider taking action and donating today.
Haitian officials are reporting that at least 400 people have died, and the death toll is likely to continue rising. The UN Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs is also reporting that 350,000 residents are in need of immediate aid.
Because of our longstanding relationship with churches throughout Haiti, World Relief has a built-in system to deliver that aid, one that empowers local leaders in Haiti to lead their own relief efforts.
As the death toll continues to climb and reports of widespread damage and destruction pour in, now is the time to act.
For the sake of the men, women, and children of Haiti, please donate today.
Agricultural Development – A Story from Haiti
In 2011, a year after Haiti’s most devastating earthquake, Monique Lewis bought 500 baby chicks and launched her own chicken farm. Since then, this mother of three has transformed her small start-up into a booming poultry operation where she raises, processes and sells thousands of chickens each year. But just one year after she bought her first chicks, Monique’s husband became paralyzed. Her family and farm descended into financial distress. Then came a glimmer of hope – Monique was able to borrow a much-needed loan from World Relief. She said, “…It was a breath of fresh air. I believed that a loan could not only help me to scale up my new poultry business, but it would also help me to take care of my family.”
And sure enough, Monique’s loan turned both of those hopes into reality.
World Relief’s economic development programs, including those that focus on agriculture, create access to financial services that are often out of the reach of the most vulnerable. World Relief equips Haitian farmers with agricultural training and improves access to loans, seeds, tools and markets where they can sell their crops. Many Haitians depend on farming for their food and livelihoods, so World Relief empowers farmers to turn existing skills into profitable businesses, increased income and lasting economic sustainability.
“With my profits, I have been able to pay school fees for my older children who are in college. In 2012, I was able to buy a second hand car for my enterprise in order to speed up the marketing and the delivery of birds in the neighborhood area of Port-au-Prince,” said Monique.
In addition to her new car, Monique has expanded her business by processing chickens for a large market in Port au Prince. She also energizes the local market by buying from her peers. “I am flexible to help to other farmers to scale up to build up and we network to collectively enhance our positions in the poultry value chain,” Monique said.
Monique recently took out her eleventh loan – and there’s no stopping her innovation and drive to expand her business. She’s already projected goals for the next 12 months to increase the quality of her chicken. This year, World Relief has worked with more than 300 other farmers in Haiti, empowering them to rise above financial insecurity and strengthen their families and communities for life.
Join us today as we empower the most vulnerable to lead their own communities towards change.
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