January 26, 2010

Update on the Aftermath of the Earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti – #1

Louis Metellus

As the world is watching and willing to help Haiti amid this catastrophe, the Seventh-day Adventist Church stands ready to bring relief to surviving church members and the community at large.

The leaders from the Central Haitian Conference based in Port-au-Prince, where the earthquake hit, are searching for pastors and members of the congregations, as well. Israel Leito, president for the Inter-American Division (IAD) reported that the leaders in Haiti and at the IAD fear that many members have died. However, Elie Henry, a vice president for the church in Inter-America stated that the number of the deceased among our church members in destroyed buildings is not yet known.

Casualties among the Seventh-day Adventists
Among the Seventh-day Adventists, one pastor is reported to have been killed. However, I attended two prayer vigils on behalf of Haiti last Sabbath (January16) in two churches. One family lost 14 members in the earthquake; other families lost 7, 6, 5, etc.

Damage to Church Properties
Thus far, two of the largest Adventist churches in Port-au-Prince, the Auditorium of the Bible and Temple #1, which held two or three Sabbath services and housed seven- to eight-thousand members, the Adventist University, and the hospital have sustained structural damages.

The Seventh-day Adventist churches in Haiti have more than 335,000 church members and 470 churches. Also the church operates a hospital, a university, a bakery, and many schools. In Port-au-Prince alone, there are 100,000 church members, 123 churches and dozens of schools. Two delegations, one comprised of five members, the other of three members respectively from the Greater New York Conference and the Northeastern Conference are currently in Haiti to survey the damages and needs.

Needs
The university in Haiti had made its campus available to 15,000 people seeking refuge. They need 1,000 tents, shelter, water, food, and medications such as: IVs, IV fluids, antibiotics, antiseptics, suture kits, gauze, and medical tapes.
           
Aids
According to Juan Prestol, an associate treasurer for the Seventh-day Adventist world church, five of the Adventist Church’s 13 world regions have promised $125,000 toward church rebuilding and assistance. The Adventist world church administration has promised $200,000 for organizational needs. The North American Division (NAD) and its unions have promised more than one million dollars in aid and organizational needs. The information will be conveyed to you as it becomes available. According to Don Schneider, president of the North American Division, $600,000 is ready to be used now from the NAD. Oakwood University promises $10,000 to be used at the university in Haiti. The Atlantic Union has already pledged a minimum of $10,000.

Remember the union-wide offering for Haiti on February 6, 2010. The entire North American Division also will collect a special offering for Haiti on that day.

If you would like to contribute directly to the Atlantic Union Conference, make your check payable to the Atlantic Union Conference, indicate “Haiti Relief Fund” on the memo line, and send it to:

Atlantic Union Conference
PO Box 1189
South Lancaster, MA 01561

Louis B. Metellus
Vice President for Haitian and African ministries
Atlantic Union Conference

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