Christian Aid Ministries | Ain't Complicated

Haiti: A Severe Mercy

a relief worker reports from #Haiti --

This quote breaks into the story:

“Well, here it goes, boys!”

Stephen Shankster called out some final instructions and bits of advice as we pulled up to a wide field that was now serving as a “tent city” – neighborhoods of sheets draped over crossed poles or sticks, housing thousands of Haitians who have lost their homes and their few possessions.

“This is a moderately sized tent city,” Stephen explained. “There’s probably around 3,000 people living here.” Stephen is a German Baptist who has volunteered with Christian Aid Ministries in Haiti for the past five years and is fluent in Creole. Seth and I, along with four CAM missionaries and two Haitians, were in the back of a covered truck filled with hygiene kits, tarps and other relief materials. The living conditions in these cities are beyond deplorable. The hastily erected tents are stacked almost on top of each other and there is no running water and no sewage. The only food and water they receive is brought in by relief organizations or the U.S. military.

“Back up against that wall, really close,” Stephen called out to the driver. “Closer! It has to be narrow enough that only one person can fit through at a time so they don’t mob us.”

“Looks like we chose the local bathroom to hand our stuff out,” Daniel Horner, another German Baptist working with CAM, observed as he gingerly alighted from the back of the truck. By now a crowd of curious onlookers was quickly closing in on the truck. Their wild eyes emanated desperation. For a moment I could feel their anguish as I looked into their eyes and I saw myself. These were people, just like me, with hopes and dreams for their futures. Now by circumstances completely out of their control they were here in this squalor, existing little better than animals.

At first the distribution went relatively smoothly….

Ah, but now you shall have to visit 3 Guys in Haiti for the before and after portions!

Haiti: CAM Recovery Hospital

Christian Aid Ministries has over 30 patients at their recovery hospital in Haiti. Five nurses, an EMT, and several translators give personal care and attention for each patient.

Some of the patients are in the skin grafting stage. Thankfully a neighboring facility has plastic surgeons who are willing and waiting to help with this. Skin grafting helps speed up the healing process for patients with large, slow healing wounds.

Physical therapy is also a big need with so many amputees and patients with other physical ailments. Lisa Miller returned to the CAM base in Haiti to serve as a physical therapist at the recovery hospital.

The need for cash donations to help the hurting in Haiti continues to be urgent. If you would like to donate by card or check, I have more information here. 100% of your donation will be used for the Haiti Earthquake Relief Project.

World Cheers CAM

World Magazine, that is.

The need for sturdier buildings in Haiti is the next challenge for rebuilding after the quake. As the hurricane season approaches, hundreds of thousands of displaced earthquake survivors will need to find shelter.

One organization has this long-term goal in mind, even as it currently provides for the immediate needs of the earthquake survivors. Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), an Anabaptist organization based in Ohio, has been making sure that survivors get the food, water, temporary shelter, and medical attention they need while also looking ahead to see how it can help the country rebuild and ensure that the destruction of Jan. 12 does not happen again.

[…]

When it does come time to begin building, CAM will supervise and provide materials while the local communities build their own houses. The organization stresses the importance of getting the local people actively engaged in the construction process because it gives the community pride of ownership of the project and creates jobs to many of the unemployed.

There will also be a micro-loan system in place to help earthquake survivors start their own small businesses. Many of the local people have lost their jobs as the factories have been damaged by the quake. With a low interest loan and classes on starting small business, Haitians have a chance to make a living. From there, the organization plans on rebuilding clinics, schools, and churches.

Source: Building blocks

You can help Christian Aid Ministries help Haiti!

Don’t Forget Haiti!

Here is the January 12 updated from Christian Aid Ministries:

This week, CAM sent three air-shipments and two 40′ sea-containers to Haiti. They contained 3,705 tarps, ropes, 652 hygiene kits, 224 comforters, 1,797 blankets, 104 pairs of crutches, 49 pallets of medicines and supplies, 32,000 pounds of rice, 3,780 pounds of beans, 1,200 cans of chicken. We also sent beans, canned chicken, and other items for our regular Haiti school program. Our regular programs must go on, in spite of the tremendous amount of earthquake needs.

Lisa Miller, staff member in Haiti, writes, We are still feeling tremors here occasionally. Tuesday evening we felt one; it lasted just long enough to make me wonder if the tremors are ever going to stop.

An unexpected blessing arrived yesterday. Another aid organization shipped down a pallet of baby formula with no way to distribute it. They contacted us, and we now have a pallet of baby formula to distribute to our clinics – a much needed item.

The need for cash donations to help the hurting in Haiti is urgent.

Please visit my Haiti page for more information and for donation options.

Christian Aid Ministries: Haiti Update

an on-the-ground report from Tuesday --

The tremor that shook Port-au-Prince area Sunday night was strong enough to wake some of us here at the CAM base, but for others in the city the result was much more severe. One of the medical teams treated a man today who sustained head injuries when part of his house finally fell after being weakened by the quake and all the tremors. It is no wonder the streets continue to be filled with people fearful of moving back into their homes.

Three loads of meds (about 1,000 lbs.) went out this morning from the CAM warehouse. After having prayed for the arrival of this air shipment, staying up late sorting the medicines, and loading the trucks this morning, it is good to hear that the medicines are finally getting out to CAM’s clinics and the waiting people. Jeriah Mast, CAM staff member, visited three of the clinics CAM supports and discovered two of them were totally destroyed by the earthquake.

People continue to be very grateful for the water CAM is providing. […] Today while driving I saw a man scoop water out of a very muddy pothole in the street.

Today a patient wanted to show appreciation for the help she is receiving at the CAM mobile clinic. She brought a nice watermelon to the team as a thank-you gift. It is very humbling to receive gifts from these homeless people. Some patients tell the medical team they are praying for them and their families at home.

For the rest: Earthquake victims grateful for aid

Haiti: More Updates

Young survivor in Haiti enjoys a meal

First, I want you to know that Christian Aid Ministries has updated their Haiti quake page.

Now, what follow are excerpts from and links to two news stories featuring CAM’s relief efforts in Haiti.

From Assist News, this:

The following accounts are all told from the first-hand experience of Christian Aid Mission (CAM) staff member, Joanna Seibel.

A dazed young survivor enjoys a meal With all of the atrocities that have been reported since the fateful 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Tuesday afternoon, January 12, 2010, so many personal stories have gone unheard. Joanna Seibel’s first-hand dramatic account gives a more detailed picture of the tragedy that has taken place within the last three and a half days.

In Titanyen, Haiti, a village not far from the Haitian capital, Christian Aid Mission staff members found themselves suddenly startled by massive and violent shakings. Joanna Seibel was among them. As she instantly realizes that this was to be a dangerous earthquake, she runs to the next room to grab the baby Kiana, before escaping from the crumbling house.

Source: This Is My Story

And from the News Democrat, this:

A local man is helping coordinate aid efforts in Haiti through the national Mennonite organization, Christian Aid Ministries. Paul Weaver, CAM assistant director, has been organizing response teams and fund raising efforts since the 7.0 earthquake struck the poverty stricken nation in the afternoon of Monday, Jan. 12.

Weaver, who has been to Haiti himself more than 30 times, attends the Mennonite church on West Fork Road outside of Georgetown and has been involved with CAM since it’s founding in 1985. The local church has sent missionaries to Haiti as recently as last year.

CAM has been doing mission work in Titanyen, a village north of the capital Port-Au-Prince, since 1991. When the earthquake struck, Weaver said the mission buildings suffered minor damage in comparison to surrounding structures and no workers were injured. The mission had been providing school children with food and ministering to the largely voodoo worshiping population. They had also been working on several reforestation projects.

Once the shaking stopped Weaver organized a rapid response team of 24 doctors, paramedics, and nurses who were sent in Thursday. The mission workers already on the ground began digging people out of the rubble and organizing shelter. Some were out until 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning trying to free the thousands of trapped people.

The CAM buildings quickly became a triage center the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 12 as hundreds of people began arriving with broken bones and cuts. CAM operates the only health clinic in Titanyen and they have become overwhelmed. Burn victims from a local mill which had caught fire during the quake were some of the first to be treated. Wounds were treated without anesthesia as more and more people lined up for aid.

Source: Chaos in Haiti

In closing, I remind you of the Haiti page I set up for CAM before they got their official page online. 🙂

Haiti: To the Least of These

Excerpts from two news stories I scanned/read this morning:

Haitians flee in fear as big aftershock hits

The most powerful aftershock yet struck Haiti on Wednesday, shaking more rubble from damaged buildings and sending screaming people running into the streets eight days after the country’s capital was devastated by an apocalyptic quake.

The extent of additional damage or injuries caused by the magnitude-6.1 temblor was not immediately clear….

[…]

And near midnight Tuesday, a smiling and singing 26-year-old Lozama Hotteline was carried to safety from a collapsed store in the Petionville neighborhood by the French aid group Rescuers Without Borders.

It’s great to read a little good news amid all the dreary!

Christian Aid Ministries staffing a mobile clinic

A week after a 7.0 earthquake decimated Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a local medical relief program continues to treat the injured and works to stop the spread of infections and diseases.

Since the initial quake, medical personnel from Christian Aid Ministries, a Berlin-based missionary organization, have been treating the wounded, said Gloria Miller, a spokeswoman for CAM.

“It has been an intense week, but also rewarding to be able to help others,” said Holmes County nurse and CAM staff member Joanna Miller.

After the quake, Miller, along with Bethanie Burkholder, a nurse practitioner from New York, loaded medical supplies and traveled from CAM’s permanent clinic located at La Source, to Titanyen outside of Port-au-Prince, where they established a mobile clinic.

“We have staff on the ground, and daily receive e-mail updates and pictures from them,” Gloria Miller said. “The news they share is heart-wrenching.”

A mass grave has been dug across from the mobile clinic. On Thursday, Joanna Seibel, one of CAM’s staff members, watched as six dump trucks filled with bodies come to the grave.

[…]

On Sunday, the clinic had 74 patients, many of them children, some whose parents were killed in the quake, according to Seibel.

“A mother was there with three of her children, all four of them needing attention. The worst was her small daughter with a deep hole in her forehead,” Seibel wrote.

When the disaster struck, CAM had medical supplies stored for the mission’s Haiti clinic, Gloria Miller said. But, in the future, more medical personnel and supplies are needed.

“We’re talking about airlifting meds into Haiti and we have different doctors going in,” Gloria Miller said.

In addition to medical aid, CAM supports 40 Haitian schools and provides food aid.

Donate to CAM?