Help for Haiti on Special CRC Website
Christian Reformed Church agencies, and especially the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, have been busy in the last two weeks helping to bring aid and especially medical relief to the people of earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
In the last week, CRWRC has been able to send additional staff to Haiti to help in the relief and reconstruction effort.
In order to organize and provide as much information as possible on the CRC's response to the earthquake, a special website HelpHaiti has been set up.
Among other things, the site contains links to stories in the media chronicling the efforts in North America of the work of individual churches such as Southern Heights CRC in Kalamazoo, MI., and how they are reaching out to help Haitians recover from the earthquake.
Since the earthquake hit on Jan. 12, CRC missionaries and workers have been at work helping to assess the situation, while some missionaries have been evacuated from the country for the time being. One of them, Rev. Sharon Segaar-King spoke at a news conference about her experience and how she heard a "piercing wail" go up on the streets of Haiti right after the quake. A WZZM TV video of the press conference is available on the page.
CRWRC has been assigned to focus its response in Leogane, a community outside Port-au-Prince that was near the epicenter of earthquake that registered 7.0 on the Richter scale.
Back to God Ministries International, the CRC's media ministry, and Christian Reformed World Missions, also have a presence there. BTGMI had been worried about and asked for prayer for the safety of two of its employees.
CRWM also had been concerned after a 6.0 on the Richter scale-earthquake hit Haiti recently, causing worries about the condition of staff.
In addition, the Event Response Team monitoring the situation from North America for the CRC has been disbanded, but it also gives on the website some cautionary advice to people interested in helping Haiti.
For those who want to know more about the geography of Haiti and the response to the disaster, a story about a United Nations map of the country is available for review, detailing what has been done and what yet needs to occur. The map itself can be accessed through the story.
Also available is a history in words and via video of the CRC's 30 years of work in Haiti. This gives a rundown on what each of the agencies involved in Haiti have done. PowerPoint presentations and bulletin inserts for churches are accessible as well.
The HelpHaiti page is constantly being updated, in order to keep members of the CRC informed about its outreach and ministry—both physical and pastoral—during this time of unprecedented tragedy in Haiti.
