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Hurricane Help Recap

Ministry In Mission just completed a week of  helping plan and co-ordinate Hurricane Relief efforts In Haiti. We met with representatives from a number organizations working in Haiti

We arrived after the airlift of meals by Agape air. The meals  had already been distributed with the help of  Mission Evangélique Baptiste du Sud d’Haiti MEBSH.haitimatthew_143

Rev. Ted Krey, Regional director for the Latin America and the Caribbean region of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), Rev. Ross Johnson, Director of Disaster Response (LCMS) Rev. Paul Toulotte, District President Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti, Tim Hetzner, President of Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) and Jeff Nyquist from St. Peter Lutheran Church, Schaumburg IL, met with Ministry In Mission, in Port Au Prince Haiti to have an initial meeting as to how we would best help the people affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Mission Aviation Fellowship flew us to Les Cayes Haiti, the major city affected by the Hurricane. During the 40 minute flight we flew over many homes that had their roofs torn off by the hurricane. aerial view of typical damageOur next stop was the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Les Cayes Haiti. Meeting with Rev. Eliona Bernard, President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti(ELCH), Rev. Thomas Bernard and Rev. Marky Kessa, Secretary and Advisor to the ELCH. The condition of the church was  alarming, the roof was caved in, trees were down all over the yard.

haitimatthew_068The condition of the church was typical of the type of destruction, we would see throughout the week as we traveled around the hurricane ravaged area. After surveying the destruction and meeting with the LCMS, ELCH and LCC we formulated an initial plan to the best use the funds that were available for disaster relief.

  • Determine the extent of damage to ELCH Pastors
    • Based on LCMS Disaster Response experience, it was agreed that if we took care of the local Pastors, they could minister to their congregations
    • Funds will be provided by the LCMS to repair the roofs of those local Pastors in need
    • All funds will be coordinated between Ministry In Mission and Pastor Paul Toulotte of the ELCH
  • Provide an effective method to distribute food to those in need
    • distributing food is difficult in Haiti, we have seen riots, as people rush trucks that distribute food.
      • It was determined that food would be distributed through a local Haitian store. This would provide secuity in distribution. Local Pastors would have a store credit to help feed their congregations.
    • Funds will be provided by LCMS to to buy the food.
    • All funds will be coordinated by Ministry In Mission and Pastor Paul Toulotte of the ELCH
  • Address and Assess the impact of Cholera and Malaria as a result of the hurricane
    • these diseases are expected to increase
    • Yelline Gellin of the Israel Izidor Foundation, formulated a plan to send out nurses to the local congregations to:
      • provide clean water tablets  and over the counter medicine to help combat Cholera and Malaria
      • educate the congregations on the dangers of cholera and malaria
      • get any people who show signs of cholera or malaria to a doctor or hospital ASAP
    • LCMS will provide funds to do this, coordinated by Ministry In Mission and Pastor Toulotte
  • Lutheran Church Charities Provided Immediate Funds to Start addressing this plan
    • Tim Hetzner (LCC) provided initial cash to help immediately

We took action on this plan immediately

  • Pastor Toulotte called all the local Pastors and confirmed their damage
    • Pastor Pharyl in the mountains surround Les Cayes had constuction experience
      • Along with Jeff Nyquist, Lionel Legute and Jackie Rychel met with Pastor Pharyl at the construction supplier in Les Cayes
        • provided enough construction materials  for two homes and hired transportation
    • Pastor Bertrand, from the island of Ile-a-Vache said  he needed metal and nails for his roof
      • we provided the roofing materials and transportation to Pastor Betrand
  • Pastor Toulotte identified a construction engineer  to visit each local Pastor’s constuction needs
    • the engineer will determine roofing reconstruction material needs
    • work with Pastor Toulotte to get the materials delivered and installed.
  • We identified a store to distribute food
    • Pastor Toulotte will inform his Pastors of the procedure to distribute food.
  • Yelline Gellin is in the process of submitting a written proposal to Ministry In Mission and Pastor Toulotte
    • it outlines the specifics  the Cholera and Malaria initiative
    • After reviewing the document Pastor Toulotte is to authorize the program

 

This was the initial plan. Jackie Rychel of Ministry In Mission headed to the U.S. to write grants and to wire money to our Haitian partners to carry out the plan.

Jeff Nyquist of St. Peter Schaumberg IL and Lionel Legute of the Haiti Mission Project stayed in Haiti for several more days to try and reach extreme outlying areas that need help. They were also to meet with well drillers in Haiti to assess drilling wells  at churches in the mountains around Les Cayes to provide clean water.

mrychel

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