38,000 pounds of food mobilized for distribution in Haiti

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

As the global media attention on the Haiti relief efforts begins to dwindle, the work on the ground does not. Thousands of Haitian Nazarenes are still without adequate long-term shelter and struggle daily to get food and water. The needs remain great, and the work of the church continues around the clock.

Nazarene Compassionate Ministries' (NCM) relief efforts to provide food, water, and crisis care kits remain a priority three weeks after the quake. On February 4, NCM, through a partnership with Heart to Heart International, received an air shipment of 38,000 pounds (lbs) of food. Heart to Heart International graciously donated the 21,805 lbs of assorted food (such as canned soups, vegetables, fruit, baby formula, and fish), as well as 440 cases (15,840 bags or 14,621 lbs) of fortified vegetable rice-soy casserole.

This shipment also included an initial supply of tents to provide shelter for pastors and local church members whose homes were destroyed in the quake. Many have found supplies to make temporary shelters, but as the rainy season approaches, more permanent shelters will be needed. This is the first of two shipments that will carry in tents.

In one day, Haitian Nazarene Disaster Response team member Emmanuel Jeannit mobilized 10 volunteers and five box trucks to offload the 38 pallets and arranged for pick-up with more than 20 Port-au-Prince based congregations over the next several days. These congregations have been identified as some of the areas most in need as they are located closest to the epicenter of the quake. Each of the congregations mobilized their own truck transportation and volunteers to pick-up food and water.

This massive delivery effort was coordinated by Lucien Jean Baptiste, Central District superintendent and Pastor Walliere Pierre, NCM Haiti coordinator. Baptiste's district includes Port-au-Prince in the metropolitan sense, including the cities of Delmas, Petionville, Carre-Four, Croix-des-Bouquet, and Cite Soleil. In total, the distribution of 38,000 lbs of food involved a church-wide coordination effort of nearly 20 churches and more than 70 church volunteers to reach over 5,000 Nazarenes and their surrounding community populations.

NCM is thankful for the monetary donations that made this shipment possible. And they are grateful for partnership with Heart to Heart International for their generous donation of food. The relief efforts depend on strong church partnerships and generous monetary donations to continue to reach under-served congregations in overcoming the scarcity of food and clean water as well as infrastructure challenges resulting from the earthquake.

In the coming week, NCM relief efforts will focus on mobilizing resources of food, water, and crisis care kits to the affected outer lying church districts in some of the harder to reach areas of the country. Assistance from Nazarenes around the world is greatly appreciated and still very much needed.

To see a video of the food being distributed in Haiti, click here.



Persons and churches wishing to make a donation for Haiti Earthquake Relief online can do so through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries at ncm.org. Checks can be marked "Haiti Earthquake Relief ACM1204" and mailed to Global Treasury Services, PO Box 843116 Kansas City, MO 64184. In Canada, checks should be made payable and sent to the Church of the Nazarene Canada, 20 Regan Road, Unit 9, Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3. 

 

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