1.3 million are said to be living in the temporary camps in Haiti, nine months after a devastating quake leveled the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Although it is making headway in recovery, the United Nations notes that the country is still struggling with reconstruction and rebuilding a government.
However, Haiti has successfully avoided a second-wave disaster of epidemics and social unrest. The people’s resiliency has been astounding. There are hundreds of reports of a spiritual revival taking place amidst the squalor of the temporary housing sites.
disasters
Good News from Chile Mine
Here’s some great news from a disaster site:
Rescue workers on Monday reinforced a small drill hole to serve as an umbilical cord to 33 miners found alive 17 days after a cave-in in Chile’s far north and say it will take months to dig them out.
In what relatives called a miracle, the miners on Sunday tied a note to a perforation drill that had bored a shaft the circumference of a grapefruit to the refuge where they are sheltered, 2,300 feet (700 meters) vertically underground.
[…]
Rescue workers now plan to use the bore hole to send plastic tubes containing glucose, hydration gels and food down to the miners to keep them alive while they dig a new shaft to extract them — which could take up to four months.
“The wait is very different now,” said Elias Barros, 57, whose brother is among those trapped. “It is a wait free of anguish. This isn’t over but we are much more hopeful it will end happily.”
May they all get out alive.
Haiti: Remember?
Earthquakes all over the place, it seems.
And each seems to blur further the memory of the previous.
So a reminder about Haiti seems in order:
Three months have passed since the earthquake struck Haiti. In that period of time, three other significant earthquakes of greater or similar magnitude struck Chile, Taiwan and, just this week, China.
However, the road to recovery in Haiti seems so overwhelming. “The extent of the damage and the people who have been left homeless, and the many who are still recovering from injuries is of a tremendous magnitude. That need still exists,” said Ron Sparks of Baptist Haiti Mission.
Much of this is due to the poor infrastructure which existed in Haiti prior to the earthquake. According to Mid-Hudson News Network, “It was certain pre-exisiting economic factors that led to the amplified devastation which occurred in that impoverished country.”
Sparks said other countries hit by earthquakes had internal support through resources and jobs. But in Haiti, “They have no jobs. They have no food or medical care beyond what’s brought in and offered to them.”
Building from the ground up will be a slow process.
Thus, Haitians are looking for hope.
Source: Pre-existing problems slow reconstruction and continue to plague Haiti
Putin’s Next Move?
So I suppose you’re thinking I’m going to blame Russia’s Putin for the plane crash that killed Poland’s president and others.
Oh. Please. 🙄
OK, the “I am not a kook” disclaimer aside, I admit to wondering if the above tragedy was an orchestrated event or will lead to orchestrated events or both or neither.
Watch Russia, that’s what I say.
Was Poland’s leader a nationalist?
Was he a so-called right winger?
What influences will Russia exert in the Leader Replacement Process in Poland?
Russia aside, will The Mysterious They use this as another step toward OWG?
Who’s next?
For the record, I learned about this on Twitter when I saw Poland and Polish President as trending topics.
Furthermore, I have read only one very short news article on this disaster.
Whatever happened, is happening, and will happen, nothing is a surprise to God nor beyond His control.
May God be able to comfort the families and friends of the dead.
May God use my former student and his wife and their colleagues serving in Poland.
May God use His other people in Poland.
And may God bless Poland.
Pastor Juan Mauricio Muñoz
In the recent Chilean earthquake…
Muñoz and his family lost their own home and most of their possessions. Upon their return home, Muñoz was overwhelmed by the devastation that had leveled whole blocks and thrown cars three blocks from where they had been parked.
Yet amid the devastation, Muñoz has been working hard for the Lord. His produce business was not destroyed, nor was his house, so he has been handing out free produce to those in need of food and housing various victims in his church building. Muñoz and his church members have been spreading the love of Christ as they put the needs of their hurting neighbors before their own.
Pray that the Lord would bring good from this sorrow. Pray that Pastor Muñoz and his church would be safe and would know how to use this tragedy for God’s glory.
Source: Despite devastation, pastor and church put Christ first
Don’t Forget Haiti!
Here is the January 12 updated from Christian Aid Ministries:
This week, CAM sent three air-shipments and two 40′ sea-containers to Haiti. They contained 3,705 tarps, ropes, 652 hygiene kits, 224 comforters, 1,797 blankets, 104 pairs of crutches, 49 pallets of medicines and supplies, 32,000 pounds of rice, 3,780 pounds of beans, 1,200 cans of chicken. We also sent beans, canned chicken, and other items for our regular Haiti school program. Our regular programs must go on, in spite of the tremendous amount of earthquake needs.
Lisa Miller, staff member in Haiti, writes, We are still feeling tremors here occasionally. Tuesday evening we felt one; it lasted just long enough to make me wonder if the tremors are ever going to stop.
An unexpected blessing arrived yesterday. Another aid organization shipped down a pallet of baby formula with no way to distribute it. They contacted us, and we now have a pallet of baby formula to distribute to our clinics – a much needed item.
The need for cash donations to help the hurting in Haiti is urgent.
Please visit my Haiti page for more information and for donation options.
Christian Aid Ministries: Haiti Update
an on-the-ground report from Tuesday --
The tremor that shook Port-au-Prince area Sunday night was strong enough to wake some of us here at the CAM base, but for others in the city the result was much more severe. One of the medical teams treated a man today who sustained head injuries when part of his house finally fell after being weakened by the quake and all the tremors. It is no wonder the streets continue to be filled with people fearful of moving back into their homes.
Three loads of meds (about 1,000 lbs.) went out this morning from the CAM warehouse. After having prayed for the arrival of this air shipment, staying up late sorting the medicines, and loading the trucks this morning, it is good to hear that the medicines are finally getting out to CAM’s clinics and the waiting people. Jeriah Mast, CAM staff member, visited three of the clinics CAM supports and discovered two of them were totally destroyed by the earthquake.
People continue to be very grateful for the water CAM is providing. […] Today while driving I saw a man scoop water out of a very muddy pothole in the street.
Today a patient wanted to show appreciation for the help she is receiving at the CAM mobile clinic. She brought a nice watermelon to the team as a thank-you gift. It is very humbling to receive gifts from these homeless people. Some patients tell the medical team they are praying for them and their families at home.
For the rest: Earthquake victims grateful for aid