Natural Disaster, Social Unrest Plague Compassion's Haiti Ministry
by Allie Martin
October 21, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Christian ministry that helps children in Third World and developing nations has had its operations in Haiti in the past year hit hard by a major hurricane and a political uprising.Recently Hurricane Jeanne passed over the northern portion of Haiti, leaving more than 1,500 people dead and more than a thousand missing. Gonaïves, Haiti's third largest city, experienced extreme flooding and mudslides, which damaged or destroyed virtually all the areas roads and homes.
Edouard Lassegue works out of Port au Prince with Compassion International, a U.S.-based Christian child development organization. He says the ministry has tried to cope with the after-effects of Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti, but the challenges have been tremendous.
"We have some emergency feeding going on," Lassegue notes. "Immediately after the flood, we brought together the children of our projects to share with them -- first to protect them from disease and, also, to be able to feed them."
And in the midst of these challenges is another. The ministry spokesman says last year's political coup in Haiti has made it tougher, not only for Compassion, but also for the Church to do its work there. He believes the nation's Christians must be bold during this time of unrest and says, "as a Church we need to take a stand for what is right and show our commitment for justice in Haiti by continuing to stand and preach for justice in the country."
Lassegue says there is great pressure on the Church to "close their eyes or to not get involved." Nevertheless, he asserts, the time has come "for the Haitian church to really take a stand for what they believe and to promote justice and what is right."
Compassion International has established a special fund to provide assistance to those in Haiti who have been affected by the recent hurricane and by political instability.
