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May 2010
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Andy Atkins—EI’s International Director—returned May 5,
2010 from a week in Port-au-Prince, as well as a day in
Marbial. After four months, Haiti has accepted its new
existence post-earthquake. Adjustments have been made to incorporate the immediate fall-out from the catastrophe. People have hunkered down with their new realities, making the best of the situation.

Andy reports, "I noticed a young man in an immaculate,
wrinkle-free three-piece suit, matched with a military-grade shine on his shoes, step out of his tent and head off to church down a muddy path. Another man set up a barber chair under a pole frame and two pieces of metal roofing, conducting his hair cutting business on top of the 2 storey-high pile of ruins of a former grocery store. On one city street, cars politely skirt around a broken water main, now a new community gathering point for scores of women washing their family’s clothes."

Andy continues, "I’d say the immediate response to the earthquake is pretty much over. Survivors have received medical attention, families are getting food and water, and almost everyone needing temporary housing has a tent or tarp over their head. "The big thing you notice is a frenzy of activity related to demolition. Sometimes it’s a lone man hack-sawing bent rebar on his own home. Other buildings have a whole demolition team attacking the destroyed building and throwing the rubble into the streets. A government sponsored program has trucks picking up the rubble and dumping it in empty fields. Of course, it can’t keep up with all the debris in the streets, but progress is being made."

Upon reaching Marbial [in the mountains above Jacmel],
Andy was amazed: "I was stunned to see the progress
on the secondary school. About a month ago the crumbled school was still there. Since then, the church and community cleaned out the mess right down to the floor and foundation! Once the engineers get their drawings done for the new school and complete a materials list, we can begin the new school."

Andy continues, "It was so encouraging visiting a number of schools, seeing them up and running again. Yes, lots of them are meeting under tarps, in tents, or out in the open beneath the shade of a tree. At least the children are able to continue their education!

"Of course, the first day of school was tough on everyone. Many of the schools are under-staffed, having lost teachers to the earthquake. A teacher was telling me how the students arrived, all excited and hyper to get going again. This mood was immediately dampened, as they noticed a number of their classmates missing and understood they weren’t ever coming back."

The EI/OEBB program continues full steam ahead. The initial stage – earthquake response– has been phased into getting the schools functional and the students with at least 3 school meals/week. Now, demolition and reconstruction are underway for schools, churches, and individual homes. Andy Atkins [on the N. American end] and Pastor Martinez Jovin [on the Haiti end] continue to oversee this large endeavour. Your continued thoughts, prayers, and overall involvement with them and the
rest of the Haiti Earthquake Relief team are much valued
and appreciated.

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April 2010
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It’s approximately 3 months after Haiti’s devastating earthquake struck on January 12, 2010. Like a butterfly, the world’s attention has flitted elsewhere. The initial response to the tragedy is over: the country has settled into life post-earthquake. What is Haiti like now?

A panoramic, 360° video would begin by showing life is back to normal in many ways. Traffic in Port-au-Prince is slightly more hectic than usual, with all the additional
relief vehicles careening around. Banks, fuel stations, stores, and even the popular Epi D’or pizza and burger hang-out is up and running. Street vendors are back
out en masse, hawking phone cards, fruit and vegetables, pyramids of pills, used clothes from abroad, plastic bags of water, and plates of street-cooked meals.
But as the video progresses around, suddenly you’re struck with the view of the national palace. It is still in shambles, left untouched since the earthquake. The main cathedral is in the same shape as are many major government buildings. And you realize the foundation of Haiti was cracked and remains in shambles.

Continuing on, the scenes reveal further normalcy. But once again, a stark interruption ensues. Almost every open space is crammed with people housing themselves
in tarps, tents, or sheets. Trying to count the residents of these flimsy neighbourhoods leaves the mind reeling: 20 - 30 families occupying the space that could be taken up by my house. Estimates at 150,000—200,000 living in such conditions are very believable. And now, the rains are beginning to fall.

Finally, as the video continues in its circular path, homes and buildings in all kinds of shape are revealed . Many were completely unscathed and have no cracks in them: these are bustling with life as they were in the pre-earthquake days. Others are still standing, but remain void of occupants due to unsafe conditions. What’s encouraging are the numerous teams—whether just a personal endeavour or a commercial one— clearing out the rubble and getting ready to rebuild. The tragedy lies in the numerous piles of debris, to this day exactly how the earthquake left them, and holding bodies
still unrecovered.

The Reality of Haiti's Present

So, a snapshot of Haiti reveals a country pretty much back to normal in so many ways. Yet, it will never really be back to normal. Haiti’s very foundation was shaken, cracked, and damaged. Deep in its heart and psyche is now the reality of the loss suffered on January 12, and the necessity to once again send out a global cry for help. How has Emmanuel International responded to Haiti’s plea?

The overall devastation of Haiti is certainly far beyond Emmanuel International’s capacity. However, our partner church’s needs—the Oeuvre Evangelique Baptiste Bethesda (OEBB)—are well within EI’s grasp. That’s where we are focused.

The Church Shaken, Not Shattered

In the same way as Haiti’s foundation, the OEBB’s has been rocked. Rebuilding that foundation is the Emmanuel International goal. Like the palace, the OEBB’s mother church at Cabaret is down. A few of the
other OEBB churches suffered a similar fate, as did a number of OEBB schools.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, the concern was providing food, supplies, and medicines to those within the OEBB vicinity. Pastor Martinez and Emma Jovin registered needy families and immediately began relief distributions. The Emmanuel International family – EI Australia, MEB, EI Canada, EI UK, and EI
USA – rallied around and raised funds: over $700,000 to date.

Passionate Partnerships

God provided a new partner for Emmanuel International in the Dominican Republic—Pastor Jose and Gloria Lopez. They have hosted Emmanuel International teams coming
& going to Haiti, while the Port-au-Prince airport was closed. Pastor Jose continuesto regularly receive funds and purchase supplies, which are then trucked into Haiti: he has become the Dominican Republic―purchasing agent for the Emmanuel International/OEBB earthquake
relief.

To date, the OEBB has set up nine distribution points, serving 200 or more families in each location. Pastor Martinez estimates about 10,000 heads of families are being served regularly with the food, water, and supplies coming in from the Dominican Republic. These distributions will continue into May, with the OEBB hoping to further the distributions with either WFP or World Vision connections.

Having established the food distributions, the OEBB turned to the race against the rains. As many tents and tarps as possible have been sourced—both in Haiti and from the Dominican Republic. As the rainy season begins, the goal is to provide waterproof shelter to all those within the OEBB vicinity. This phase is presently ongoing,
with a fairly significant shipment of tarps due any day from the Dominican Republic.

Laying New Foundations - The Second Phase

With immediate food aid needs taking shape and tents/tarps getting out, the initial response phase of the OEBB’s earthquake relief plan is being taken care of. Along with the Emmanuel International family, it now turns its attention to the phase which will take much longer—the actual rebuilding of its foundation.

While its churches are able to meet outside, a more immediate concern is to get the schools up and running. The OEBB is committed to avoiding a year’s loss of studies for its students. This is a daunting task, given many lives and livelihoods have been lost, along with the actual schools themselves.

A program has been set up to provide temporary classrooms: even utilizing some of the donated tents. As well, teachers’ salaries need to be supplemented and regular meals provided for students. These programs are initially being addressed with the funding already raised by Emmanuel International: more will need to come in to sustain this program the full school year.

Rebuilding Churches and Schools

Finally, the OEBB has activated some engineers to begin calculating exactly what it will take to take down and then rebuild the various churches and schools which the
earthquake destroyed. After stabilizing the families who need food and shelter, then getting the schools up and running, the longer-term commitment is these structures.

As figures for rebuilding the churches and schools become available, the Emmanuel International family and its partners have already expressed the desire to assist. This final phase—even though it takes years—will certainly go a long way to getting the OEBB’s foundation solid again.

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March 2010
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More than 50 days have passed since the earthquake in Haiti, and EICanada continues to partner with the churches of the OEBB. Media coverage of Haiti has started to fade, but the need for relief and rebuilding in Haiti is still astronomical. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of all our donors ($579,244.55 at last count, in Canada alone) and we feel blessed by the opportunity this gives us to significantly help those we serve in Haiti.  Right now we are planning our involvement in the rebuilding of Haiti.

Even though plans are starting to be made for rebuilding, the need for immediate relief is still great.  The UN World Food Program is distributing nutrient supplements, and is scaling up a school feeding program, but they have not yet begun widespread food distributions. While we wait for them to provide food for distribution we continue to buy our own food from Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and transport it across the border into Haiti for distribution.

Pastor Jose

Pastor Jose has been doing the organizing and purchasing in Santa Domingo, acting on our behalf in the Dominican Republic, and has been an incredible God-given blessing to our work in Haiti.  We had never even met Pastor Jose before Emmanuel’s International Director, Andy Atkins, traveled to Haiti after the earthquake. Pastor Jose was just a friend of a friend, and yet he has worked tirelessly, purchasing truck-loads of food, water, tents, and tarps; he has helped coordinate our relief teams, all of whom are still traveling to Haiti through the Dominican Republic; and he has helped us look for a new distribution truck to replace the truck damaged in the earthquake.  We are extremely grateful for the help of Pastor Jose, and praise God for providing our connection with him at just the right time!

Current Needs

Right now the greatest concern is shelter, as the torrential downpours of the rainy season have begun and the hurricane season is coming soon. Pastor Martinez reports that people are begging at his gate every day asking for tents.  Andy Atkins will be spending the next 3 weeks in Port au Prince to oversee this next stage of our relief efforts.

Immediate needs and concerns:

• Safety of teams traveling, and staff on the ground.
• God’s favour as we apply to donors and the UN for provisions to help those we serve.
• Shelter materials for those without homes, and favourable weather for as long as possible.

Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers and support for the people of Haiti.

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February 2010
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Latest Update

The situation in Haiti is without precedent, considering the unique history of the country and the absolute devastation of the epic January 12 earthquake. Since that time EICanada has sent 3 teams to assist Pastor Martinez & Emma and the churches of the OEBB. An assessment team (Andy Atkins, Dave Lock, and Andrew Lock) January 17-24 was followed by a relief team (Chris Lewis, Nathan Colquhoun, Bob Lowe, and Daniel Jovin).

This second team arrived in Port au Prince via Dominican Republic January 26, 2010. They were put to work immediately: Bob on vehicle assessment & maintenance, Daniel on medical team coordination and medium/long term planning strategies, while Chris and Nathan took on distribution, reporting and logistics.

A supplementary relief team sent February 6 included returning team member Andrew Lock (paramedic), Perry Marquardt (truck-driver) & Connie Marquardt (RN), and Rachel Colquhoun (RN).

Relief Efforts

Much of the food distributed to date has been sourced by a Dominican church in Santo Domingo and trucked into Haiti and EICanada has applied to the World Food Program in Haiti to extend food distributions past the emergency relief phase. Plus, a number of unexpected shipments of food arrived which were packaged for distribution. A couple from Washington purchased $5,000 worth of food and supplies, and delivered it to CEEH for packaging and distribution. A few days later, a member of a visiting medical team was able to secure a Tap-Tap (local taxi) full of water, biscuits and other supplies from the Brazilian government.

As of February 8, all the food that EI purchased or received in kind has been distributed. In the distributions since January 29 more than 8,700 families have received rations; including rice, beans, cooking oil, pasta and sauce. Another load of food is on its way from the Dominican Republic, thanks to Pastor Jose and his church contacts.

Our Parnterships

In building relationships with other NGO’s in similar circumstances we have established a partnership with ShelterBox (providing heavy duty tents as well as medical and hygiene supplies for families of five).

Shelter-Box agreed to an initial contribution of 30 tents, with more to follow. One of the first tents was given to a mom who had just given birth to her baby the day before – they were delighted to have shelter!

EICanada has connected with WaterMission to provide water filtration units at Marbial and Fond Blanc, Humedica to provide a temporary school in Marbial and to rebuild the boys’ home in Jacmel, and World Vision to secure more food for our distribution sites.

A Outpouring of Love

The response of EI donors worldwide has been overwhelming: over $3,000 USD at MEB Brazil, about £1,300 at EIUK, $50,000 USD at EIM USA, and EICanada has received over $270,00 CAD! — which includes a generous offering from FAIR (the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches relief arm) of over $100,000. (Thanks! Keep it coming—rebuilding Haiti will take years.)

OEBB has expanded its distribution centres to 13, providing food and water to 15,000 people and their families; 150 people will benefit from the tents from ShelterBox. The groundwork has been laid to partner with a number of different organizations, for the long term benefit of a countless number of Haitians.

The following is a personal message from a young Haitian named Schneider, a 21 year-old team translator who is living with his mother and siblings under a tarp.

Greetings Christian Friends, Dominicans, Canadians and Americans, on behalf of the Haitian people, I thank you so much for your love, care, and attention to this nation. I want to thank you more than words can express and keep your loving help and donation in my memory. You have done a super great work—come down to see the people, the tragedy we're facing, to bring love, money, food, and water. Frankly, I don't have a way I can ever express my gratitude to anyone of you, but I am praying and requesting God to reward you greatly. We will continue to grow in this loving friendship and dwell in the spirit of unity.

Love, Schneider

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January 2010
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Initial Reports

A massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the worst to hit Haiti in 200 years, rocked the central part of the country just kilometres from the capital of Port-au-Prince on January 12. While few details were initially available due to severe damage to the country's communication systems, major news stations began reporting extensive damage immediately. They were right. Most recently it has been estimated that over 200,000 Haitians have died in the earthquake! Another 250,000 were injured and 1.5 million have been left homeless. And on top of all this, Haiti has experienced severe aftershocks, the largest (a magnitude 6.1) as recent as the early morning on Wednesday, January 20.

Just a year after 4 major hurricanes devastated the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, killing thousands and burying the country in suffocating mud, destroying roads and buildings, Haiti has been hit again. Buildings have been reduced to rubble, countless Haitians were trapped alive under the wreckage, tens of thousands more are feared dead, hundreds of thousands more are vulnerable and in danger of becoming the next casualties.

EICanada in Haiti

EICanada has been working in Haiti for over 30 years and has partnered with the churches of the Bethesda Baptist Gospel Work Association (OEBB) since 1990. EICanada and our ministry partners – individuals, churches, agencies, and governments – have enabled the OEBB to carry out a variety of ministries, including training for church leaders, schooling, health, water, agro-forestry, providing emergency aid in times of disaster, and proclaiming the good news of Jesus, bringing hope to hundreds of thousands of people.

EICanada's long-time in-country representatives are busy caring for the wounded and displaced and participating in the relief efforts. They have thousands of people literally lined up at their door begging for their help. Thankfully a first response team from EICanada and its partners was able to be on the ground in Haiti almost immediately and began to provide the necessary aid.

Please Help!

The OEBB and EICanada are committed to providing whatever immediate (water, food, shelter) and longer-term (household items, rebuilding homes, etc.) assistance is necessary. But the truth remains that we need your help! Hundreds of Thousands of Haitians need your help! Your gift – however large or small – will make a significant impact on this tragic situation. Please join us and become part of the solution!

Please, give a gift today to supply children and their families with the essentials: water, food, medicine, and shelter. Your gift to EICanada for the Haiti relief and rebuilding efforts will begin to save lives today!

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UpdatesApril 2010March 2010February 2010January 2010

Related NewsStrong aftershock rocks Haiti!Desparate Haitians clamour for aid days after quakeThousands Dead as Major Quake Strikes Haiti!

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