Hope Despite TragedyOne Jan. 12 of this year, Cross International staff members were on the ground in Haiti when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, destroying most of the capital and killing and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Immediately, we began reaching out to our ministry partners to assess the damage and to coordinate emergency relief efforts. The extent of the catastrophe was a shock to us all. Already, we have distributed millions of meals throughout Haiti and containers of medical supplies to partners working with earthquake survivors and refugees outside the capital city. We also have been working diligently to meet the needs of our ministry partners, including Calvary Baptist Church (CBC). Thanks to the generous response of friends at Kanakuk Ministries, Cross has been able to help many desperate earthquake victims.
Status Update: CBC’s SchoolsInitial reports from partners in Haiti had said that 10 of the 18 CBC schools Cross and Kanakuk Ministries support had been destroyed by the earthquake. Thankfully, we have now learned that only four have been confirmed as destroyed. We did receive some sad news that Pastor Guy, the director of CBC’s Butte Boyer School, was killed when the four-story school collapsed. He was preparing for teacher training the next day and was the only one in the building. Had the earthquake hit a little earlier, there would have been several teachers inside the building. Praise God, their lives were spared. Cross International Projects Director Michael Wilson visited Pastor Guy’s widow to offer condolences on behalf of our staff. He assured her that Cross would help the church and the school recover from their loss. Right now, we are working with CBC to assess their current and long-term needs. In the meantime, Cross funding that would normally go for student feeding at the CBC schools is being directed toward immediate earthquake relief. Though all of the CBC schools are closed for the time being, Cross will continue to pay the salaries of the teachers. Many have lost everything in the earthquake and need our help more than ever. It will be several months before schools in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas reopen. However, the Haitian government announced Monday that some schools in Haiti’s outlying provinces, which were not as affected by the quake, have reopened. More are expected to open this week.
Packing Christmas bags for kids in Haiti this year is complete! Over 75 families along with friends, classmates and churches participated in bagging toiletries and treats for 6,000 kids in Haiti. We met and surpassed our goal to get 7,000 and ended up with nearly 10,000 bags!