Haitian Christian News

Facebook Page Leads Search for Loved Ones in Haiti

2010-09-05T05:43:59Z

The desperate quest to find loved ones started just minutes after the earthquake, as cell phones rang unanswered from beneath the rubble of Haiti's best hotel.

]]> A few hours later, the search went online with a Facebook page dedicated to the Hotel Montana. It was created by three siblings on Long Island, New York, looking for their missing uncle. Strangers immediately began to post names and photographs of their relatives. By the next morning, the site had received more than 50 messages from frantic families.

As the days passed and the death toll climbed, the number of members on the page grew until it reached 17,427 people from around the world. They called themselves "the family." They adopted a profile picture of a rock inscribed with the word "Hope." And they vowed to stick together until every last member of their online tribe was brought home, alive or dead.

"Though we're all ready for this night to end and a faint glimpse of sunlight to illuminate the horizon, I'm fairly confident from getting to know you over the past several weeks that you're ready to stand together," wrote the site's Tennessee-based moderator, Bob Allen, nearly two months after the quake. "Till the last one is home."

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SOURCE: AP - Rukmini Callimachi

Alabama Baptist Volunteers Care for Haitian Orphans in Jacmel

2010-09-05T05:36:06Z

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, perhaps no story was more distressing than the plight of thousands of children orphaned by the quake.
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In a country long plagued by extreme poverty, 380,000 Haitian children were already orphans, according to UNICEF. After the earthquake, aid groups estimated that the number of orphaned children would rise by the tens of thousands.

In Alabama, Tanya Birchfield, a member of First Baptist Church, Montgomery, in Montgomery Baptist Association, had been praying for an opportunity to be involved in orphan care. She and her husband, Andy, had recently added a daughter to their family through adoption, and she felt God leading her family to work toward involving her church family in ministering to the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children both at home and abroad.

The Birchfields shared their ideas with Brian Gay, minister of missions at First, Montgomery, and Mel Johnson, disaster relief strategist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM). They learned of the efforts of Alabama Baptists already ministering in Haiti (see story, page 4), and Tanya Birchfield immediately knew the Lord had provided a unique opportunity to work with other Alabama Baptists to help Haitian orphans.

"We shared our heart with Mel about what we wanted to do, and he already knew where we could help," she said.

In May, the SBOM adopted the city of Jacmel in southern Haiti as part of Southern Baptist relief efforts in the Caribbean country. Through his connections with a pastor in Jacmel, Johnson knew of Samuel, a 22-year-old man in the city who was caring for 16 orphaned children. The earthquake destroyed Samuel's home, and though he had found temporary lodging for eight of the children, he and the remaining children were living in a tent.

The Birchfields, Gay and Johnson were part of a team who went to Haiti in early August to introduce the Birchfields to Samuel and the children in his care. They heard their stories -- emotional stories of abandonment and abuse that moved them to action.

With Johnson's help, the Birchfields secured a rental home for Samuel and all the children and found furnishings for it. They left praying for God to send more volunteers to help the children and His guidance as to what would be next for all of them.

On Aug. 15, Dr. Victor Norman, a member of First Baptist Church, Red Bay, in Franklin Baptist Association, visited Samuel and the children for medical evaluations. The needs he and other missions volunteers working with him saw in the children reflected those he saw in patients of all ages during his week in Haiti.

"You name it, they need it," Norman said.

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http://www.thealabamabaptist.org/print-edition-article-detail.php?id_art=16804&pricat_art=1

SOURCE: The Alabama Baptist Online

Haiti News Video Feed

2010-09-01T06:06:45Z

Lessons From Haiti: How Food Aid Can Harm

2010-08-31T15:29:36Z

In reviewing William Easterly's book on the failures of development aid, The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Effort to Aid the Rest Have Done so Much Ill and So Little Good (2006), Nobel laureate Amartya Sen wrote in Foreign Affairs, "The challenge is to respond to the plight of the hopelessly impoverished without neglecting to insist that help come in useful and productive forms." ]]>
If only it were that easy. What if our prospective fisherman is starving? Surely it wouldn't be a problem to give him free fish, at least until he's ready to learn his new trade. What if he doesn't have a fishing pole? Should you give him one? (Maybe you should sell it to him. That way he'd truly value it.) But what if the fish in the pond have already been overfished? What if they are contaminated with toxins? What if fishing requires a prohibitively expensive permit? The potential problems are endless. It isn't surprising that one of the best development blogs out there is titled Good Intentions are Not Enough. Helping distressed people is tough. We've been failing for millennia.

The U.S. government's good intentions--we are the largest source of international food aid in the world by far, spending about $2 billion in taxpayer money each year--are directed not toward the suffering masses but to American farmers and shippers whose voices are heard most clearly in Washington. Under U.S. law, nearly all of our food aid is produced in the United States--predominantly by large agribusinesses like Archer Daniel Midland--and nearly all is delivered to stricken countries by American shippers. The system is shamefully rife with inefficiencies and misplaced priorities. For one, only 35 percent of the U.S. food aid budget is actually spent on food, according to a Government Accountability Office study from 2007 (PDF).

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Source: The Atlantic | Peter Duffy

Peter Duffy has been a freelance journalist since 1999, writing for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, The New Republic, Slate, and many other outlets. His most recent book is The Killing of Major Denis Mahon: A Mystery of Old Ireland.

American Educators And Aid Groups Help Haitian Schools Rebuild

2010-08-31T15:27:05Z

American educators and aid groups are helping Haitian schools rebuild more than six months after January's 7.0 earthquake destroyed nearly 80 percent of the country's schools.

]]> Many believe education is key to getting the country back on track and hope to have some schools ready before the new school year starts.

The Associated Press reports from Haiti.

WATCH:

SOURCE: The Huffington Post

Republic of China First Lady Chow Mei-ching and Daughter Visit Haitian Orphanage

2010-08-31T15:27:01Z

First lady Chow Mei-ching and her daughter Lesley were warmly welcomed Monday at an orphanage in Haiti, their first stop on their humanitarian trip. Chow and her daughter visited the children at the Solidarite and Fraternite, a local school and orphanage in Port-au-Prince.

]]> The children sang the national anthems of Haiti and the Republic of China and unfurled the two countries' flags to welcome them. The Republic of China is Taiwan's official name.

The first lady responded by giving them many hugs and performing a tune on the clay flute she recently learned to play. Chow and her daughter also taught the children how to make a bamboo dragonfly and a fruit gelatin dessert. The children were especially fond of Chow's daughter Lesley. Before they left, they gave the children an oven.

During the trip, the first lady will also meet the four Haitian children who are being sponsored by her and the president. This is Chow's first trip as ambassador for World Vision and honorary Chairwoman of the ROC Red Cross Society.

The first lady and her daughter are expected to end their visit in Haiti on Wednesday and then visit the Dominican Republic. Chow will return to Taiwan on Sunday.

Source: Radio Taiwan International

Haitian Schools: Rebuilding From the Ground Up

2010-08-31T15:25:33Z

Schools in Haiti were some of the hardest hit after January's earthquake. Nearly 80 percent of schools were destroyed. But, now American educators and aid groups are trying to rebuild schools for the start of this year's school year. ]]>

Broken Promises Add to Slow Recovery in Haiti

2010-08-31T15:23:28Z

Patience grows thin as recovery continues to crawl in Haiti--now almost eight months since the earthquake. But the pace may not be due to lack of funds, but rather broken promises.

Cap Haitien is already an over-populated city, with thousands of people seeking refugee from Port-au-Prince.

]]> It seems nothing has changed in Haiti for months. Landlords continue to disassemble tent cities. And former Port-au-Prince residents continue to flee north as a result, often winding up near Cap Haitien. Temporary housing is gradually being erected, but most organizations still in the country agree things are proceeding at a snail's pace.

Eva DeHart of For Haiti with Love has similar sentiments. She says Haitians are beginning to grow impatient as countries who promised funds are failing to live up to their word: "They've heard all the stories about the money coming in, but they're not seeing anything happening. We need to pray that other countries will keep their commitments because they've promised to help and now they're holding onto the funds, and they're not releasing them so that Haiti can actually accomplish anything."

Of the organizations and countries which have not backed out on what they promised, DeHart said many of them have been swept up in only planning and holding meetings and are failing to put their talk into actions.

Disillusioned and homeless, some of these people make their way up to Cap Haitien in search of a better life. There, For Haiti With Love is hard at work, but DeHart said the situation is still devastating.

Even though the necessary paper work has been completed, customs in Port-au-Prince still refuses to release four food containers belonging to For Haiti, each containing 43,000 pounds of food. Now, two more containers are on their way, but DeHart said they have not received food in Cap Haitien since June 1. Because of this hold up, sadly, "You have to pace yourself. You can't hand it all out, or you give everybody a meal today, and then everybody starves," she said.

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SOURCE: Mission Network News

Haitian Law Experts Say 'Wyclef Jean Can't Appeal Electoral Decision'

2010-08-31T15:22:44Z

Haitian musician Wyclef Jean, who is looking towards a political career, has learned he can't appeal a decision that has restricted him from taking part in his native Haiti's presidential race later this year. ]]>
Jean initially accepted the ruling, but later launched an attack on lawmakers branding their decision to stop him from adding his name to the ballot politically motivated.

The 'Gone 'Til November' hitmaker insisted he would appeal the decision, but the ruling is final and cannot be appealed, according to Haitian law experts.

The former Fugees star is one of 15 candidates disqualified from running to succeed President Rene Preval.

Source: ANI / HaitiNews.net

Retired Christian Teacher Rebuilds Haitian School

2010-08-31T15:18:40Z

When two men barged into Sherrie Fausey's school a few months after the Jan. 12 quake and demanded all the food in the pantry, she calmly said no. The men threatened to kill her.

"That's really sad," the 62-year-old said, matter-of-factly. "Because I'm going to heaven and you're going to prison."

The men ran away.

Pictured: Girls read books in a library that is being reorganized at the Christian Light Ministries school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

]]> That's the kind of attitude -- maybe it's brash American optimism -- that has paid off for Fausey, a retired schoolteacher from Jacksonville, Fla. Her Christian school in Haiti was destroyed in the earthquake in January, and one child was killed. But she has rebuilt and kept the school going.

Like everything else in post-earthquake Haiti -- removing rubble, rebuilding government offices, putting people to work -- the reconstruction of the education system is moving at a snail's pace. So in the meantime, it's up to private school owners like Fausey and other aid groups to improvise.

In 1999, Fausey retired from the Jacksonville school system and came to Haiti on a weeklong mission trip. Her only son was grown, and she sold her house in Florida to return to Haiti the same year. She didn't speak Creole, or French, but she wasn't concerned. God, she said, had told her to open a school.

While most Haitian schools ran from 8 a.m. to noon, Fausey kept her kids in class from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., like in the U.S.

"I don't know what we would do without Miss Sherrie," said Jacqueline Auguste, a single mother whose three kids attend school there. Auguste said her kids probably wouldn't be able to attend school at all without Fausey -- and now, her 14-year-old son speaks English, French, Spanish and Creole.

Donations pay for breakfast, lunch, uniforms and salaries. Fausey's early-retirement check buys books. Parents pay $1.25 a year to send their child to the school.

Classes weren't in session at Fausey's Christian Light Mission school when the earthquake struck Jan. 12. Only Fausey and the orphans were in the building.

She moved the orphans, the staff and the school's four tawny guard dogs to a half-constructed building across the street, and everyone slept in tents. Nobody wanted to return inside.

Fausey started school Jan. 18, five days after the quake. Classes were held in a tent.

Fausey, a Baptist, is driven by her faith. She credits the Lord for helping her through the past seven months -- but also her teachers and the volunteers. And she says she believes God will guide to her the necessary money and manpower to expand the school.

Source: Tamara Lush, The Associated Press

Haitians Rally for Wyclef Jean's Presidential Candidacy

2010-08-23T10:24:44Z

The singer Wyclef Jean yesterday said he was not abandoning his bid to run for the presidency of Haiti and would attempt to get the courts to overturn a decision to disqualify him from the race.

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Wyclef Jean Says He'll Challenge Election Ruling

2010-08-23T10:20:31Z

Wyclef Jean, the hip-hop star who had hoped to become Haiti's next president, said Sunday that his lawyers would challenge the recent ruling from election officials that kept him from the list of eligible candidates.

Supporters of the hip-hop star Wyclef Jean protested Saturday in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti, against his exclusion from the country's presidential election. ]]> He had simply accepted the election council decision when it was announced Friday night, but in a message on Sunday on Twitter, his preferred means of public communication, Mr. Jean said he had decided to appeal because: "We have met all the requirements set by the laws. And the law must be Respected."

Even with such brevity (and a capital "R"), Mr. Jean actually revealed the central conflict of his candidacy: When faced with a choice between charismatic celebrity and strict loyalty to laws that limit outside influence, which would Haiti choose?

Friday's ruling seemed to indicate the latter. An election council spokesman, Richardson Dumel, said Sunday that there was no legal mechanism for contesting an election eligibility decision.

But Mr. Jean said he had been barred prematurely. He told The Associated Press that another Haitian elections entity had not issued a final ruling on whether he met the requirement that presidential candidates live in Haiti for five consecutive years before the election in November.

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Source: New York Times | DAMIEN CAVE

Ivy Tech 5K Benefits Haitian Student

2010-08-23T10:18:43Z

Members of the Ivy Tech community came out Saturday morning to show support for an Ivy Tech international student.

It was the Hands Helping Haiti 5K, organized by the community college's Latino Student Union. Proceeds from the event went toward helping Jean Kedler Abelard. He's a native of Haiti was a student at Ivy Tech when the earthquake hit in January.

]]> According to the group, Abelard was released from his classes to return to his homeland and help his family rebuild.

Abelard said he is very grateful for the group's efforts.

"Thank you to everybody that came," he said. "I really appreciate it and my family is really appreciative and everyone in Haiti. No matter how little it is, whatever you give is really going to help another person or another family."

Since the earthquake, Abelard has returned to Ivy Tech to continue his studies.

Source: WLFI.com 18

Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Haitian Boys at School He Founded

2010-08-23T10:15:45Z

A Colorado man who founded a school for street children in Haiti acknowledged Wednesday that he sexually abused several, wrapping up a case in which prosecutors said he manipulated the boys with promises of food and shelter and threatened to expel them if they refused.

Douglas Perlitz, 40, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn., to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a charge that carries up to 30 years in prison. As part of a plea deal, he admitted to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with eight children.

]]> Perlitz is a former Connecticut resident who now lives in Eagle, Colo. He was charged last year with enticing boys at the Project Pierre Toussaint School in Cap-Haitien into sex acts. Prosecutors say Perlitz, 40, withheld benefits and threatened to expel the boys if they spurned him.

"This defendant preyed on impoverished and powerless street children in Haiti, enticing them with significant benefits such as food, shelter, clothing and education, only to exploit his position of trust and sexually abuse the boys under his care," said U.S. Attorney David Fein.

"I commend the extraordinary strength and courage of the minor victims in this case who came forward and spoke out about the abuse that they suffered in order to protect others from harm and so that justice would prevail," Fein said.

Perlitz's lawyer, William Dow III, said after the hearing that his client looked forward to presenting his side of the story at his sentencing.

Perlitz founded the school in 1997 when he lived in Connecticut, and authorities say the abuse went on for nearly a decade.

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton last month dismissed the charges on a technical issue, saying he couldn't be prosecuted in Connecticut because the crimes weren't committed there.

The judge noted that Perlitz flew to Haiti from airports in New York and Florida but took no flights from Connecticut. She did leave the door open for prosecutors to refile the charges elsewhere, and authorities did just that in New York City shortly after Arterton's ruling.

Perlitz, though, waived his right to a trial elsewhere and agreed to a plea deal. Dismissal of the refiled charges will be sought at his sentencing.

The original indictment said Perlitz received funding from a religious organization to found Project Pierre Toussaint. The program initially served mostly street children as young as 6 and expanded to include a residential program for high school-age children. Children were offered meals, sports, classroom instruction and access to running water for baths.

Volunteers and staff members were scared to come forward with the allegations, the indictment said, because Perlitz controlled the school's operations and "utilized the fear of unemployment and the difficult economic situation in Haiti."

Prosecutors said they plan to mention additional victims at the sentencing hearing Dec. 21. Federal guidelines call for a prison term of about eight years to 20 years, and he must register as a sex offender when he leaves prison. He remains detained on bail.

He wore a beige prison jumpsuit during the hearing and smiled at his lawyers when he entered the courtroom. Most of his comments repeated the wording in the charge against him.

Source: AP

Have We Forgotten Haiti?

2010-08-23T10:14:27Z

Counteracting our fleeting attention spans.

The hubbub has died down. Other tragedies have struck; our attentions have been averted. A little over eight months ago, Haiti experienced one of the worst natural disasters in history. Since then, Chile, Turkey, and now Pakistan have faced their fair share of environmental turmoil. We watch helplessly as nature devastates the homes and lives of thousands, and then we turn our attention to the latest earthquake, then back to the wars, celebrities, Apple products, and the ordinary everyday.

]]> The reports on Haiti are slower now that the country has entered reconstruction. No longer are we bombarded with television ads to "donate now," nor are we hit with the gruesome photographs that once streamed onto televisions, websites, and magazines as the events unfolded (though we have heard plenty about singer Wyclef Jean's bid for the Haitian presidency). To stay up-to-date with the aftermath now requires more intentionality on our parts.

Yet Haiti still needs help -- direly. This week, a special recovery commission announced that more than $1.6 billion is needed to rebuild the country's economy and agriculture sector, a primary source of jobs. A Monday New York Times editorial predicted that overhauling the country's educational system, making it universal and nearly free, will take about 20 years. Meanwhile, about 1.5 million Haitians are still living in makeshift tent camps; only 4 percent of the rubble has been cleared; bodies are still being dug up; hunger continues; and grief will be present for a long time.

In mid-May, the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University estimated that American donors had contributed $1.3 billion to relief efforts, but that it expected donations to drop off soon. "We're a nation with a short attention span; three to six months after a disaster, donations approach zero," said center executive director Patrick Rooney.

Will we dare to stretch our attention spans? By "we," I am not referring to the wealthy West coming in to save the day. I am referring to we the church, those who read about "pure, undefiled religion" (James 1) and are so deeply moved by it. This is a question I am challenging myself with: Will I continue to purposefully, intentionally stay aware of Haiti's plight? Will I choose to be intentional with prayer and to whom I give money?

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SOURCE: Christianity Today | her.meneutics

Kate Roberts is a recent college graduate who blogs at Between the Lines.