Haiti crisis has global impact; Anglicans display concern through generosity, prayer
Episcopal News Service. February 4, 2010 [020410-01]
Matthew Davies
Moved by the scenes of devastation and confusion following Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake, Anglicans from all corners of the globe have been responding to the disaster through the generosity of financial contributions and the solidarity of prayer.
Anglican provinces in Brazil, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Korea have already sent donations to Episcopal Relief & Development that the agency will utilize for immediate relief and long-term development as the people of Haiti struggle for survival and work to rebuild their lives.
The dioceses of Puerto Rico and Colombo in Sri Lanka -- despite dealing with their own pressing issues of poverty and instability -- have also made life-saving contributions.
Episcopal Relief & Development President Rob Radtke and other agency staffers have said they've been overwhelmed by how Anglicans and Episcopalians throughout the world are willing to respond. (On one day within the first week after the earthquake, the agency reported more hits on its donation page than in the entire month of January 2009 combined.)
"These sacrificial gifts are a testament to our church in action, reaching out collectively to those in need in Haiti," said Abagail Nelson, the agency's senior vice president for programs. "Many Anglican provinces are facing their own challenges or disasters and yet they are committed to supporting the people of Haiti at this difficult time. It's a sign of great solidarity throughout our church in times of trouble."
In Central America, the dioceses of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are urging donations to assist their Caribbean neighbors to the east. Meanwhile, the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic continues to work with Episcopal Relief & Development to serve as a bridge for urgent relief to reach Haiti by land.
In addition to food and water, the agency is supplying tarps and other items to provide shelter to the 25,000 survivors who are currently residing in 23 camps run by the Diocese of Haiti, numerically the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church. The agency also has secured vehicles and fuel to assist the Haitian diocese in delivering supplies and is "helping the diocese increase its capacity and human resources by enabling them to hire camp liaisons and logistics personnel," according to a Feb. 3 update.
Among other international partners that have contributed to Episcopal Relief & Development's Haiti Fund is the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, which launched a fundraising campaign in the days following the earthquake. The Rev. Francisco de Assis da Silva, provincial secretary, presented the agency with a check during a recent visit to New York.
"ERD has been at the forefront of the Episcopal Church's campaign in solidarity with the people of Haiti," Silva told ENS. "While our donation may be of nominal monetary value, it is representative of the mutuality and interdependence that are foundational elements of the Anglican Communion."
Silva said the campaign is ongoing and he hopes that additional funds will be raised in the weeks and months ahead.
In Canada, the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund reports that in the two weeks following the earthquake it received about CAN$500,000 (US$470,000) in direct donations.
Jill Martin, PWRDF finance and administration team leader, said in a post on the fund's website that she continues to be impressed with the compassion of Canadian Anglicans and how engaged they are. "I think it's absolutely incredible – there's no limit to the generosity," she said.
Martin said she expects the figure to increase substantially in the coming weeks due to fundraising work yet to be accounted for at the parish level.
Because PWRDF has no partners working in Haiti, funds are currently being channeled through ACT (Action by Churches Together) International, a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to support communities during emergencies.
The Africa for Haiti Campaign, launched Jan. 22 to help in coordinating relief efforts for Haiti, is being supported by Anglican Church of Southern Africa archbishops emeritus Desmond Tutu, Njongonkulu Ndungane, and incumbent archbishop Thabo Makgoba.
The campaign aims to mobilize and unite individuals, nongovernmental organizations and corporations across Africa by disseminating information and enlisting support from their extensive networks.
"We were supported wonderfully by the international community when we struggled against the vicious policy of apartheid," said Tutu in a press release announcing the campaign launch. "Today the people of Haiti … are in a worse predicament than we were. As South Africans, we especially ... want to do our bit to alleviate the immense suffering of our sisters and brothers in Haiti."
Ndungane, president of African Monitor, a sponsor of the campaign, said that the people of Africa "identify with and feel for the people of Haiti, particularly because of our own experience of the devastation of poverty. We comprehend that this earthquake has exacerbated an already desperate situation."
Even before the Jan. 12 earthquake, Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere and struggling to rebuild after five storms pummeled the country in 2008.
"When a brother or sister is in need, it is incumbent upon all of us to pool our resources to assist," said Ndungane.
Makgoba, also lending his support to the Africa for Haiti Campaign, said in the release: "One of the great riches of Africa is the spirit of ubuntu - the spirit that says 'a person is a person through other persons.' Now is the time to demonstrate our humanity through selfless generosity and tangible action."
In the Church of Ireland, the Barrel for Haiti Fund launched by Belfast Cathedral has raised more than £125,000 (US$200,000).
On Jan. 14, the Very Rev. Houston McKelvey, cathedral dean, placed a barrel inside the cathedral's main door to facilitate fundraising. A week later, the first installment of £50,000 ($80,000) was presented to Christian Aid, which is working with partners in Haiti to deliver aid and calling for the full cancellation of Haiti's debt of $890 million. The Barrel for Haiti will remain in the cathedral until Feb. 7.
"Once again the people of this community have shown their generous nature, and I thank them most sincerely," said McKelvey. "It is important that relief agencies like Christian Aid receive additional support at times like these."
Fundraising initiatives are being held in dioceses and parishes throughout the Anglican Communion. But even in communities where financial contributions are not possible, prayer is a vital way for Anglicans to show solidarity for the people of Haiti.
Immediately following the earthquake, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams expressed his concern and called for prayer. "We stand alongside all the people in Haiti affected by this terrible disaster in prayer, thought and action," he said. "In this time of catastrophic loss and destruction, I urge the public to hold the people of Haiti in their prayers, and to give generously and urgently to funding appeals set up for relief work."
To donate to Episcopal Relief & Development click here; or call the agency at 1-800-334-7626 ext.5129; or mail a gift to Episcopal Relief & Development, PO Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116-7058. Please write "Haiti fund" in the memo line of all checks.