Haiti Georgia Disaster Relief - Update 1/18/10
Per: Stuart Lang, Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Director
· There is little or no fuel and no power in Port Au Prince. People are beginning to run out of food and water. They are sleeping outside because they are afraid to go in their houses.
· Despite what you see on the news, Port Au Prince is basically shut down. There is no traffic. Those who got to the airport to report the news are getting no further than 1/2 mile from the airport. Transportation and logistics inside the country are very scarce.
· The sea port of Port Au Prince is also shut down which means the country has no way of receiving relief items. This means we do NOT need to begin collecting clothes, food, or anything else except monetary donations.
· The US government is asking that all volunteer organizations to NOT SELF-DEPLOY.
· Communication from the country is also scarce and practically nonexistent from the Port Au Prince area. The Florida Baptist Convention is still trying to get hold of pastors and missionaries that have partnered with for the past 15 years. They have not been able to get any word except from outlying areas.
· This is one of those times when hundreds of thousands of people are in desperate need of help, and our hands are tied. All we can do is: 1) pray; 2) respect and support the system that's in place to provide help, and; 3) encourage our churches to give monetarily, and do NOT self-deploy. There will be ways to help as things unfold and we will do our best to communicate as effectively as possible when that time comes.
· Churches are encouraged to support relief efforts in 2 ways at this time:
1) Pray for victims, families who have lost loved ones, governmental agencies who are sorting through the devastation, volunteer agencies (such as SBC DR) who are assessing needs and devising plans for relief efforts
2) Send donations to Dr. White's office at GBC. All designated funds will be forwarded to the relief efforts. By sending donations through Dr. White's office, the church can be assured of receiving proper credit for their missions giving. The Haiti Relief funds will be used to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the people in Haiti. They will be disbursed for ministry by Southern Baptists. The money will be disbursed as the Katrina Funds have been disbursed through Dr. White’s office. Resources will be made available according to the needs substantiated by assessment on the ground in Haiti. Funds will be disbursed also for ministry/disaster relief teams of Georgia Baptists who present a plan for their work, and as accurate a budget as they can present along with their request. Some funds may be used to support the work of the Florida Baptist Convention in the Haiti relief work since they are the only Southern Baptists who have had a long and ongoing ministry in Haiti with six national missionaries on the ground and a mission’s house.
· Send Contributions to: Haiti Relief Fund
Attn: Dr. J. Robert White
Georgia Baptist Convention
6405 Sugarloaf Parkway
Duluth GA 30097