Updates straight from Haiti

Food for the Hungry has a number of US based staff down in Haiti helping with the relief efforts. Many of them have been writing their thoughts and experiences down in a blog. The most recent post especially caught my eye and I thought it would be great to pass on the incredible post.

To read this post, click here.

Child Sponsorship in Haiti

Food for the Hungry just opened two centers for child sponsorship in Haiti. This is a great opportunity to help out this country that was in poverty even before the recent earthquake and is now even more in need of help.

See the children available for sponsorship.

Video from Haiti

New photos from Haiti

We have a number of our staff in Haiti and they have begun to send pictures back our way. Here are a few of the images we have received.

Digging through the rubble

Tents for the aid workers

Aid workers meeting to discuss a plan of action

Reviewing a map of the affected area

Waiting in line for the small amount of gas available

Some of our US staff with our Haiti staff

A wounded woman waiting for medical care

Transporting the wounded

Update on Relief work in Haiti

There are a number of FH US based staff that have made their way down to Haiti to assess the damage and what part Food for the Hungry can have. To hear their thoughts and experiences see our Relief Blog.

An easy way to give

Food for the Hungry is accepting donations via text messages for its ongoing Haiti relief efforts. Using mobile phones, text “QUAKE” to 85944 to make a $10 financial support. Be sure to reply with “yes” to confirm your donation. All donations will be charged to you through your monthly wireless bill.

Burdened Hearts for Haiti

Last night as I was watching the 5 o’clock news my eyes were filled with tears. I could not even begin to comprehend what I was seeing. As I was holding my son in my arms, I was watching mothers bury their children. Every story and account that I have heard come out of Haiti in the last 72 or so hours has been absolutely horrific. The loss of life is absolutely inconceivable. As I sit and think about this tragedy all I can feel is absolute hopelessness.

I read an account this morning from one of our FH Haiti staff and she shared of the destruction of her home and everything around her. She found her father dead just a few hours after the earthquake hit and had to bury him in the front yard of her now leveled home. She speaks of how it is every man for himself in a city that is in absolute chaos. What help normally would have come from the UN is impossible as the UN themselves, experienced catastrophic loss of both life and structures. This staff member explains how neighbors are rallying together to pull bodies from the wreckage and just hoping and praying that they can get to them in time.

We are hearing more and more stories of American’s that have also been impacted by this quake. Some have been rescued, some were not so lucky. It seems that nearly everyone has felt this tragedy in a personal way.

Our first two Food for the Hungry Emergency Response Unit members arrived in Haiti this morning. Both via indirect routes as there still seems to be confusion and chaos at the airport as planes overflowing with aid are pouring in. They will now be assessing the situation as they try and find our remaining staff members that have not yet been in contact with us. We will know more in the coming days as to how specifically FH will begin to help this now flattened country.

I do know that even though I feel helpless and hopeless, God does not. He was in no way surprised by this situation, which in itself is difficult to comprehend. But all I can do is trust that He is in control and something good will come out of this wreckage. Food for the Hungry has been planning to begin Child Sponsorship in Haiti this spring. The timing I believe is not a coincidence. We are still on track to open two communities this spring and believe we are called to long term help for this nation that even before this quake lived in incomprehensible poverty.

We are so thankful for everyone who has responded and given to both us and to all of the other organizations that are collecting money for aid to Haiti. It is always amazing to watch so many come together in the midst of tragedy, not only in the US but all over the world. We can all put aside any differences we may have and simply help our fellow man, woman and child.

FH Relief work in Haiti featured in local news

Haiti rocked by powerful quake

Yesterday at approximately 5 pm local time a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast of Haiti. The epicenter was just 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince and just six miles underground which makes this earthquake even more powerful. This quake sparked a tsunami watch in nearby Cuba, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. This watch was cancelled about an hour after the quake.

This earthquake is the most powerful quake in two centuries. Unfortunately, just a short time after the quake darkness began to fall over the area which made rescue efforts and distribution of aid very difficult. Food for the Hungry has staff in both Haiti and nearby Domincan Republic. We have been able to contact all of our staff in the Dominican Republic and are waiting for all of our Haiti staff to check in.

Please be in prayer for officials and aid workers as they work to rescue those trapped in the quake and distribute food, water and other neccessities to those who have lost everything.

Please pray for our FH staff as they begin to walk with families and communities to rebuild their lives  and deal with the inevitable loss life, possessions and livelihood that this quake in no doubt will bring.

If you are interested in giving to the relief efforts as Food for the Hungry’s Emergency Response Unit is assessing the damage and determining how to meet the needs of the Haitians. Give today to help with relief.

Time to stop the injustice

A few years ago my eyes were opened to a horrifying reality; sex slavery. My husband and I watched the movie Trade (2007) which exposes that sex slavery is not just happening in third world countries, instead it is happening here in the US, in our own cities, in our own backyards. This movie is extremely hard to watch, at least it was for me. The women in this movie are either kidnapped or promised a better life and then find themselves being held as prisoners, forced to do unspeakable acts and moved from place to place as they are sold like a commodity. This movie also shows the other side of the story. The families of these victims that are tirelessly searching for their loved one. You see a brother going to extreme measures to find his beloved sister and a father who after many years has not given up hope to find his daughter. These two men join forces in rescuing a young girl whose innocence is lost forever.

This movie was probably the first time I was really struck and horrified by this appalling reality in our world today. It wasn’t that I previously didn’t know about sex slavery, but I had always thought that it was something happening in countries far away. This movie changed my entire outlook and shook me to the core.

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. A day that we can share stories and faces so that these unspeakable acts and the evil people behind them cannot hide in the shadows for much longer. The biggest part of eradicating sex slavery in our country and in our world is exposing the fact that it is happening. Most people would be surprised at the amount of women and children that are victims caught up in this brutal underworld that spans countries and continents. Unfortunately, the United States is one of the fastest growing markets for child sex slaves, and the average age of these girls is 13.

Take a few minutes today to make yourself aware of what is actually happening on the streets of our cities. Remember that each of these women and children are victims, each of them have families that love them and have not given up hope. Part of Child Sponsorship is providing education opportunities and awareness that will hopefully keep millions of women and children from falling prey to the child sex trade.

Check out Branded, a department within Food for the Hungry, that is working in the city of Phoenix as well as expanding to other US cities that are centers for the child sex trade. They partner with government officials, police departments and churches to bring awareness, care for victims by starting a safe house and bringing criminals to justice.