Update On Haitian Disaster Relief Efforts by Southern Baptists

The following is an update I have received on Haitian Disaster relief efforts by Southern Baptists.

1. Baptist Global Response is hoping to have an 8-member, initial assessment team on the ground today.  They will be working to assess the situation and determine an appropriate plan of response.  That process alone is expected to take 10-14 days due to the enormity and increasing complexity of the situation.
2. The US government is strongly encouraging all untrained / non-credentialed volunteer groups to NOT self-deploy.  There is no infrastructure in place to accommodate volunteer groups.  Transportation and communication is still halted.  The only communication from Port Au Prince of which the North American Mission Board is aware of is via satellite phone.
3. The top priority at this time (per the Haitian government and the US state department) is medical evacuation and establishment of infrastructure.  Therefore, it is going to be a considerable amount of time before trained, Disaster Relief volunteer groups are going to be ready to enter the country; much-less untrained and inexperienced groups.

This disaster has been likened to “911″ and Katrina rolled into one.

• 3 million people living in Port Au Prince
• An estimated 100,000+ dead already
• Food and water are being quickly depleted
• Violence is on the rise
• Bodies are being loaded onto tractors to be buried wherever possible
• 10,000 vehicles at one border crossing trying to get in from Dominican Republic

What our church and other churches should do!

• PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
• Give generously.  Donations can be sent to the GA Baptist State Convention.  Donations can also be made online at www.gbcdisasterrelief.org
• Minister to Haitian’s you know.  The Joseph family in our own congregation.  They are grieving the loss of many loved ones and are anxious for those they have not heard from.

• Go to any of the following sites for updates (the NAMB website has a pdf bulletin insert for churches to use): www.gbcdisasterrelief.org         www.namb.net          www.flbaptistdisaster.org           www.gobgr.org

Register for disaster relief training so that when the time comes you will be able to go.

The cost is $35.00.

The next training is February 5-6, 2010 at Hebron Baptist Church located at 202 Hebron Church Road in Dacula, GA   30019.  The  REGISTRATION DEADLINE: is JANUARY 29.

Or attend the training on March 12-13, 2010 at First Baptist Church of Thomson, located at 253 Jackson Street in Thomson, GA  30824.  The REGISTRATION DEADLINE: is MARCH 5.

Or attend the training on April 10, 2010 at Ingleside Baptist Church, located at 834 Wimbish Road in Macon, GA   31210.  The Registration Deadline is April 2.

6. What churches should not do!

• Please do NOT self-deploy.  If you get there, there won’t be anyone to receive you or help you, and the sights, sounds, and smells are overwhelmingly ghastly.

• Please do not start collecting items to send.  Many times, the cost of shipping items exceeds the worth of the items being shipped, and there’s no one ready to distribute the items if they get there.  More than likely, the collections will end up in a landfill (a lesson we learned from Katrina).