From the Reformed Church In America:
February 8 Prayer Request
Pray for the 1,200 persons with disabilities and their families in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, who have been assisted by the Church World Service disability ministry.
RCWS Continues Earthquake Response
By Christina Tazelaar
In its latest efforts responding to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Reformed Church World Service (RCWS) is coming alongside people with disabilities.
"After the earthquake, people with disabilities were marginalized and had no access to food or services," says Jhonny Alicea-Báez, director of RCA Global Mission. He traveled to Haiti in September. Working with longtime partner Church World Service, RCWS is helping to empower 600 people with disabilities. These people, who have been identified as particularly vulnerable, receive $75 a month to help make ends meet. When some people used the funds to start small businesses, the program recognized the need and began to award $500 grants to restart businesses that had come to a halt because of the earthquake.
When Alicea-Báez was in Haiti, he observed these efforts. "The day we went, they were assessing home needs," he says. "Who has nothing? Whose property can be fixed? Whose needs to be torn down and completely rebuilt? Who has a deed?" Alicea-Báez says Church World Service will help with repairs and rebuilding, but first it must sort out who is responsible for or allowed to make repairs in situations where tenants do not own their homes.
This work is funded through a $500,000 RCWS grant to Church World Service, which also supports efforts to provide basic services and transition support to two encampments of displaced people, to serve vulnerable children, and to strengthen farmer's cooperatives.
RCWS has also made a grant of $250,000 to Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. Those funds will support the long-term redevelopment of Leogane, a community at the epicenter of the earthquake that was also flooded by Hurricane Tomas in November.
In the months following the January 12 earthquake, RCWS disbursed $86,942 to meet immediate needs for food and shelter. RCWS has received a total of $1.08 million in donations for earthquake relief and recovery. The remaining $207,000 has been designated for rebuilding, including possible support for RCA members who want to volunteer in Haiti. But for now, Alicea-Báez says, it's better to hire local workers than to send work teams. "So many factories and stores are down and have not been rebuilt; there's a huge unemployment rate," he says. "We heard from Church World Service, from the Haitian Christian Service, and from the ACT Alliance that they want to hire local men and women who are unemployed. They're asking us not to send work teams, at least not now."
•Make a donation to help the continuing recovery
•Haiti Earthquake: Resources and Responses
Posted 01/12/11
Today's Scripture: Psalm 119:1-8
Psalm 119
The Glories of God’s Law
1 Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
February 8 Prayer Request
Pray for the 1,200 persons with disabilities and their families in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, who have been assisted by the Church World Service disability ministry.
RCWS Continues Earthquake Response
By Christina Tazelaar
In its latest efforts responding to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Reformed Church World Service (RCWS) is coming alongside people with disabilities.
When Alicea-Báez was in Haiti, he observed these efforts. "The day we went, they were assessing home needs," he says. "Who has nothing? Whose property can be fixed? Whose needs to be torn down and completely rebuilt? Who has a deed?" Alicea-Báez says Church World Service will help with repairs and rebuilding, but first it must sort out who is responsible for or allowed to make repairs in situations where tenants do not own their homes.
This work is funded through a $500,000 RCWS grant to Church World Service, which also supports efforts to provide basic services and transition support to two encampments of displaced people, to serve vulnerable children, and to strengthen farmer's cooperatives.
RCWS has also made a grant of $250,000 to Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. Those funds will support the long-term redevelopment of Leogane, a community at the epicenter of the earthquake that was also flooded by Hurricane Tomas in November.
In the months following the January 12 earthquake, RCWS disbursed $86,942 to meet immediate needs for food and shelter. RCWS has received a total of $1.08 million in donations for earthquake relief and recovery. The remaining $207,000 has been designated for rebuilding, including possible support for RCA members who want to volunteer in Haiti. But for now, Alicea-Báez says, it's better to hire local workers than to send work teams. "So many factories and stores are down and have not been rebuilt; there's a huge unemployment rate," he says. "We heard from Church World Service, from the Haitian Christian Service, and from the ACT Alliance that they want to hire local men and women who are unemployed. They're asking us not to send work teams, at least not now."
•Make a donation to help the continuing recovery
•Haiti Earthquake: Resources and Responses
Posted 01/12/11
Today's Scripture: Psalm 119:1-8
Psalm 119
The Glories of God’s Law
1 Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
No comments:
Post a Comment