Story update
PDA commits funds for Haiti relief
The Layman, January 21, 2010
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), which is leading Haiti relief efforts for the Presbyterian Church (USA), has committed at least $500,000 to the “short-term and long-term response.” Story update
In the days following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance listed a $1 million goal on its online donation page. That figure has since been removed, and a goal of “at least $500,000” toward the short-term and long-term response has been reported.
The devastating earthquake, which measured approximately 7.0 on the Richter scale, struck just before 5 p.m. on Jan. 12. Death toll estimates have reached 200,000 in the week since the quake struck. The impoverished Caribbean country is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
On Jan. 14, according to Presbyterian News Service (PNS), PDA has sent $209,000 to its partners in Haiti. The funds included an initial $100,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing along with $100,000 contributed by Presbyterians to the relief effort.
“As God’s people, we are called to stand in the ‘GAP’ — GIVE, ACT, PRAY,” the e-mail states. “Your gifts, combined with those of others, provide a visible and tangible demonstration of God’s care in the midst of this tragedy. Recovery will be a difficult and long process, but Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has time and time again modeled a faithful response over the long haul. … Congregations and individuals can put together hygiene kits and baby kits to be distributed through Church World Service. … Join with others in lifting up the people of Haiti and those seeking to provide aid in this critical time.”
Also on PDA’s Web site are status reports for PCUSA missionaries and mission partners. The news has been a mix of good and bad.
PNS reported Jan. 20 that PCUSA-supported Holy Cross Hospital in Leogane, Haiti, was damaged in the quake, but is still standing. All of the hospital staff are believed to be safe. Previous reports out of Haiti stated that the hospital had collapsed.
Also destroyed in the quake were buildings and churches of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, which is PCUSA’s ministry partner in the impoverished country.
According to the PCUSA Web site, Presbyterian World Mission has accounted for all of its mission personnel in Haiti. For more updates on personnel and ongoing relief efforts, visit the PNS Web site.
PCUSA mission co-worker to Haiti Mark Hare, who was in Haiti at the time of the quake along with his wife Jenny, has shared the following:
“Port au Prince has been deeply wounded,” he said. “The whole country will be deeply affected. Jenny and I have no answers for any of these problems. Just the reminder, that I felt, again, this morning while reading the Yearbook of Prayer, that our God is a God of hope, that despair has already been defeated, and now is the time to face what has happened and to act, act out of that hope and not out of despair. I don’t have any idea what that will mean. But our God is up to the task. Pray for us, that we will also be up to the task.”
On its Haiti disaster relief Web site, which allows individuals to donate online, PDA originally listed a $1 million fund-raising goal but that figure has since been removed. An e-mail sent by PDA last week, and reports by PNS, have listed a goal of “at least $500,000.” Donors can give online to an account that supplements the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, and by telephone or mail.
PDA routinely mobilizes in response to major disasters, and Presbyterians have responded generously. Following Hurricane Katrina’s ravaging of the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, PDA raised more than $28.4 million for its relief effort. As of 2008, only $18.1 million, had been dispersed.
LAYMAN ARCHIVES
Special report on Hurricane Katrina relief efforts:
Part 1
Part 2
At the General Assembly Mission Council meeting in September 2009, Sarah Lisherness, director of Compassion, Peace and Justice, reported that the funds were committed for a 5-year period and the rest would be spent by 2011.
PDA isn’t the only way Presbyterians are responding. Some are directing funds to independent charities’ planning relief efforts, while others are organizing their own ways of helping. Other PCUSA-supported agencies are stepping up as well.
The Outreach Foundation of the Presbyterian Church, through a partnership with Haiti Outreach Ministries, also is joining the earthquake relief efforts. Outreach Foundation reported Thursday that the Haiti Outreach Ministries staff is reported safe, but there’s been extensive damage to its churches and schools.
“The needs they and their neighbors face are immediate and profound,” The Outreach Foundation’s Web site states. “100 percent of each gift that we receive will be forwarded promptly to Haiti Outreach Ministries.”
For additional ideas on ways to donate to the Haiti earthquake relief effort, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) offers, through its ServantMatch service, a list of 77 ECFA-member disaster relief organizations.