ChristChurch Presbyterian, Bellaire and St. John’s Presbyterian, Houston have joined forces to speed relief to Haitian orphanages and a hospital.
In July, 2009, ChristChurch and St. John’s had partnered for the installation of a water system for the St. Thomas Parish School and Church, Arcahaie, Haiti. The team had begun plans for their next project, the construction of a well and water treatment system at the JeLA School and orphanage in Limbé, Haiti when the earthquake struck on January 12th. The Bellaire SW Houston Rotary Club had already contributed money for the well and a contract had been let. A member of our team and that same Rotary Club, Surpris Cherazard, was on an inspection tour in Haiti with six other Rotarians when the earthquake struck. Fortunately, Surpris and the other Rotarians survived and returned safely to Houston.
The CCP/SJP team immediately switched from planning water systems to a Haiti earthquake relief mode. Using funds raised quickly by St. John’s and ChristChurch and using their personal contact at the JeLA orphanage the team has begun wiring funds to the orphanage and hopefully soon a second orphanage at Léogåne that was totally destroyed by the quake. Getting money quickly to the orphanages by direct contact (via Western Union) is vitally important because many refugees have fled the Port-Au-Prince area to escape the chaos and smell of the city. This flood of refugees has swelled the numbers of children and elderly at schools and orphanages in the outlying areas. Reports indicate that international aid has not followed the refugees into the country. However, it is possible, if money is available, to buy food, some of which is crossing the border from the Dominican Republic. Gratitude for the aid we have sent has been seen in heartrending emails from the orphanage. One dream we have is to have churches in the Presbytery adopt one of these Haitian orphanages or schools. The need is great and it will continue for years.
In addition to the money wired into Haiti, the ChristChurch/St. John’s team accelerated work on filling a shipping container with medical and personal hygiene supplies, food, water and clothing; work that had begun before the earthquake. Through Surpris, who is a Director at Restoration Global, that organization had provided us with a box-car sized shipping container fitted out like a mobile clinic with examination tables, basic medical facilities, a generator and even an air conditioner. The container could not be shipped empty and had to be filled before it could be shipped. Shipping of the container is under the direction of Christian Alliance Inc. which prepared the container as a clinic and has years of experience shipping containers to 3rd world countries. Donations of medical supplies and clothes came from ChristChurch, St. John’s, and a variety of other sources such as Faith in Practice, Medical Bridges, the Haitian Multicultural Association, an association of Cameroon tribal members, several doctor’s and dentist’s offices, a number of individuals and the Sheila Jackson Lee campaign. The container will be shipped by Christian Alliance directly to the Diquini- Adventist Hospital in Port-Au-Prince; a hospital the team had visited last summer and where Surpris has a personal connection. The supplies in the container will be shared between the Diquini-Adventist Hospital and St. Thomas Parish in Arcahaie and the JeLA orphanage. As a mobile clinic, the container will be used at various locations. The container has been filled and the team is now working on a second container.
This work by the ChristChurch/St. John’s Living Waters for the World/Haiti Relief team is a labor of love for God. It is our living gift to the people of Haiti. On recent Sundays we have told our story at worship services at ChristChurch, at St. John’s and at the Community of the Servant Savior Presbyterian churches in place of the sermon. We would be happy to make a presentation at any church as part of the service or as a stand-alone presentation. For more information contact John Freeman (713-776-3548, freeman@rice.edu or Rev. Mark Cooper ( 713-667-6574, mcooper@ccpres.org). Individuals interested in participating in Living Waters for the World are invited to contact us. Roughly half of the 18 LWW water treatment installations in Haiti were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and must be repaired soon. There is much work to be done. We invite you to join us!
Finally, the need for funds and medical supplies, personal hygiene products and clothes is ongoing. Material donations can be made by contacting John or Mark. Monetary donations are needed to keep the money flowing to the orphanages. Checks can be made out to ChristChurch Presbyterian (5001 Bellaire Blvd., Bellaire, TX 77401) or to St. John’s Presbyterian (5020 W. Bellfort, Houston, TX 77035) and marked for Haiti Relief or Living Waters for the World.
It is important to remember that Haiti will not experience recovery in a few weeks or months. They will need our support over the long haul.
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