The Episcopal Church- Haiti Page
Main resource. Real time reports from Haiti and from across The Episcopal Church on missionaries, church responses, persons in Haiti, blog locations, congregational resources, prayers, hymns, ministries, missions, current needs: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/haiti.php
The Diocese of Haiti
FAQ. The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is a member of Province II of The Episcopal Church. The Diocesan offices are located in Port-au-Prince. Haiti is the largest and fastest-growing diocese in The Episcopal Church with over 83,000 members (2008 parochial reports). There are 97 Episcopal churches in Haiti. TEC is in the process of ascertaining their status; updates will be posted on the Episcopal Church Haiti page. In 2008, the diocese celebrated over 200 child and adult baptisms, and over 700 child and adult confirmations. There are over 200 Episcopal schools with more than 6000 students.
Loss and hope. The Episcopal Church in Haiti has lost a cathedral, convent, Holy Trinity Complex, College St. Pierre, and a Jubilee Center. The Rt. Rev. Zache Duracin is Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti; he is unharmed and his wife suffered an injury to her foot. The Episcopal Church’s three missionaries who were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake are all accounted for – Mallory Holding, Jude Harmon, and Oge Beauvoir, who is the dean of the Theological Seminary, along with his wife Serette. Lauren Stanley, appointed missioner to Haiti, is currently in VA. Stanley has pointed out the cathedral compound and school in post-earthquake images from Google Earth on her blog.
Episcopal Relief & Development Haiti Page
ER&D is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. In Port-au-Prince, the Diocese of Haiti has set up a camp where Haitians are seeking refuge. The Church is doing all it can to provide them with food, water and any other supplies that are available. “It is a camp the size of a football field where Bishop Duracin and the church leadership are serving thousands of survivors,” said Abagail Nelson, Episcopal Relief & Development’s Senior Vice President for Programs. “In the midst of losing their own homes, Diocesan offices and the Cathedral, the people of the Diocese of Haiti are reaching out in extraordinary ways to care for those in need.” ER&D is also supporting the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. As people cross the Haitian border seeking assistance, the church is working to meet their needs.
Rob Radtke, President, outlines ER&D’s work in Haiti: It is important to remember that all disasters have a life cycle: “The Three Rs of Disasters.”
Right now, we are in the “Rescue” phase. All hands are on deck to save lives and property. This phase involves finding and treating the immediate medical needs of survivors and stabilizing ongoing hazards, such as shifting buildings. As such, it is best left to the heavy lifters – government and military search and rescue teams. These groups also have heavy equipment that can clear roads and debris, as well as large specialized operations with mass distribution systems that have pre-positioned warehouses. The “Rescue” phase typically lasts a week, but with the extraordinary logistical hurdles being faced in Haiti, it may take longer.
The next phase is the “Relief” phase, where the focus is on creating temporary safe and sanitary conditions. As I saw in Katrina, the church is often one of the first places people go to seek assistance and shelter. We have already heard that in rural and outlying areas around the earthquake zone, existing clinics are seeing patients who have been able to get out of Port-au-Prince. Some of these clinics are expanding patient care to schools and church buildings. The “Relief” phase typically lasts a few months.
Finally, we get to the third and final phase: “Recovery.” During recovery the emphasis shifts to restoring services, rebuilding houses and buildings, and returning, to self-sufficiency. The Diocese of Haiti has a very large and vibrant social infrastructure and we fully expect that Episcopal Relief & Development will be there for the long haul supporting their important and vibrant ministries.
The challenge of the “Recovery” phase is that most of the television cameras have moved on, but the human suffering has grown. It is a chronic state, not a crisis. However, it is the phase that Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners excel at, because we work with churches that are part of the communities and know the needs best and how to meet them. This phase will last years. The unmet needs in a place like Haiti – which already struggles with immense, chronic poverty – will be monumental.
Right now Episcopal Relief & Development is focused on preparing for the “Relief” phase and securing the resources for the “Recovery” phase.
ER&D is a four star (highest rating) org on Charity Navigator, and achieved that rating in its first year of eligibility.
Tags: Haiti, The Episcopal Church
