On Tuesday, January 12, the island nation of Haiti was struck by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake. We have had a number of people contact us to find out about OM's response. OM Caribbean has no staff in Haiti but has ministry relationships with local churches and orphanages.  A member of OM’s USA team arrived in Port-au-Prince on Saturday morning (Jan 16) and made his way to one of the orphanages, in Carrefour just outside Port-au-Prince. He reports that the devastation is perhaps worse than in the capital city, yet no help has arrived so far. He obtained enough food for the orphanage for a few days, and their water tank may have enough water to last through the week as well. On Monday we also sent a trained emergency response team from the US, led by a former OMer to join the staff member in Carrefour. In addition to any immediate search and rescue efforts, the team will work on providing water for the orphanage. Beyond the 119 children who live there, the orphanage is also sheltering approximately 300 people from the immediate area.

OM’s Caribbean staff have explored various possibilities for bringing help, but there are many obstacles. It may be days before the situation has settled enough for us to discern what we can do. OM  is planning involvement in relief efforts in the same way they did following a hurricane in 2008:  assisting with medical relief and providing food and supplies to orphanages, working  though local church partners. In addition to difficulties of trying to work in a devastated area, the requirements for getting aid into the country are changing as the international response takes shape. We do not have the manpower or training to be part of the initial emergency response, but will be involved in the ongoing relief and development.

Although our ship Logos Hope is in the Caribbean, none of the ports which are open are deep enough for the ship and the Port-au-Prince port is damaged and not available.  It may be possible for teams to be sent and for the ship to visit at a later stage. Ship teams proved effective in rebuilding efforts following natural disasters in Grenada after Hurricane Ivan and Sri Lanka after the tsunami, and we hope that similarly, OM Ships' people can be part of our response in this situation.

Please pray for the emergency response team, and that this small team will be able to bring help in an area of massive need.

Please pray for the people of Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and for wisdom for OM Caribbean and OM ships and those that seek to bring help.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37913760@N03/ / CC BY 2.0