Christian groups reportedly provide aid as the death toll from Haiti's Saturday earthquake of 7.2 magnitude has risen to 1,297 on Sunday night.
CBN News cited Samaritan's Purse as one of the Christian groups already at work in the violence-stricken island following the assassination of it's President Jovenel Moïse last month. While The Christian Post highlighted World Vision International, Compassion International, and Adventist Development and Relief Agency as some of the organizations providing humanitarian assistance to those afflicted by the earthquake.
World Vision International, whose thrust is the protection of vulnerable children, is aiming to provide help to 6,000 people with its pre-positioned supplies. It is also mobilizing personnel in Haiti's Les Cayes, which is 125km south of the nation's capital Port au-Prince, meant to estimate the damage in the area and the corresponding needs of the people there.
"We're deeply concerned for vulnerable children and their communities in the aftermath of the #HaitiEarthquake. The disaster could complicate the already precarious situation of millions of vulnerable people in the country," World Vision said in a Twitter post on Sunday.
World Vision's National Director in the Carribean nation Marcelo Viscarra said in a statement that the "earthquake complicates the precarious situation of millions of vulnerable people" in Haiti that still has not been able to recover from the violent earthquake that hit its shores eleven years ago. This is on top of the pandemic and the socio-political issues the country is beset with.
"We are deeply concerned about the devastation that this earthquake causes in a country already hit by extreme poverty, social and political unrest. But now, along with the effects of an earthquake whose damage has not been officially assessed, we have a pandemic and the threat of Tropical Storm Grace, which is expected to hit Haitian territory on Sunday, August 15," Viscarra revealed.
Viscarra stressed that local authorities "have their hands full" due to the needs of the pandemic, which has been aggravated due to the thousands hospitalized for earthquake injuries. World Vision has asked for prayers and support in the face of all these and Haiti being a naturally impoverished country.
Meanwhile, evangelist Franklin Graham announced on Sunday that Samaritan's Purse is sending emergency relief and a medical team to help in the disaster. He urged people to pray for those deployed and for Haiti.
"Samaritan's Purse is deploying disaster response team members and airlifting emergency relief supplies including shelter material and two community water filtration units. We are also sending a medical team to help provide basic medical care. Pray for our teams as they deploy, and pray especially for this country in the wake of another devastating disaster," Graham said in Facebook.
Compassion International, on the other hand, reported on Sunday that Haiti's southern area was mostly affected by the earthquake based on numbers released by civil protection officials who continue to conduct searches for survivors or to claim the bodies of those who have died. Compassion said its local partners of 46 churches were affected by the earthquake along with the death of some of its beneficiaries and the destruction of some of its property.
The organization stressed that despite these they are doing what they can to aid those in need that they estimate will be aggravated by the incoming typhoon named "Grace."
"The facilitators in the field as well as those in charge of the Centers are increasing their efforts for an exhaustive assessment of the situation in order to better support the victims," Compassion International said in Facebook.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is similarly conducting the same efforts of assessing the damage of the earthquake in the face of the "extremely complex" situation in Haiti, based on a statement of its Emergency Management Coordinator for the Caribbean Elian Giaccarini given to The Christian Post.
"From our assessments, the main concern is to care for the injured. At this moment, evaluations of the damages are being carried out. One of the main challenges is the extreme complexity of 'gang' blocks that do not allow easy access to affected areas. We are also concerned about the pending storm Grace and the already delicate situation in Haiti due to violence and the massive displacement of populations. The situation is extremely complex," Giaccarini said.
Please pray for the people of Haiti and for the rescue and relief efforts to succeed.
