Tag: Haiti

Episcopal Relief & Development is partnering with Food For The Poor to provide humanitarian assistance to communities in Haiti that were impacted by the recent 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

With the support of Episcopal Relief & Development and other partners, Food For The Poor has designed a multi-step response that will support marginalized communities both in the short term and over time.

The August 14, 2021, earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace destroyed nearly 61,000 homes and damaged another 76,000 in the Grand’Anse, Nippes, and Sud departments. In response, Episcopal Relief & Development, through Food For The Poor, is sending tents that will provide shelter. The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti will distribute the tents to vulnerable groups, such as families led by women or those with young children in hard-to-reach communities.

Food For The Poor is also shipping parcels of food for immediate distribution. Over the long term, the organization is planning to build schools and houses.

“For many Haitians, the recent earthquake was a vivid reminder of the trauma of the 2010 earthquake,” said Nagulan Nesiah, Senior Program Officer, Disaster Response and Risk Reduction, Episcopal Relief & Development. “Through this partnership with Food for the Poor, we are leveraging our extensive network of churches and community partners to meet the basic need for shelter, so vulnerable Haitians can begin to recover in dignity.”

Episcopal Relief & Development has a long history of disaster response and community-building in Haiti. Since the recent earthquake, the agency has been working directly with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, Church World Service and other local partners to provide emergency assistance such as medical care, food, clean water and hygiene kits. Donations to Episcopal Relief & Development’s Haiti Fund will support continued response efforts.

Episcopal Relief & Development

Go with the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they have. Build on what they know. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, “We have done this ourselves.”

— Lao Tsu, Chinese Philosopher, 700 B.C.

Episcopal Relief & Development works in collaboration with church partners and other local organizations to facilitate healthier, more fulfilling lives in communities that are struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. We also work around the world and here in the US responding to and rebuilding after disasters.

Our programs impact the lives of over 3 million people annually. We respect the dignity of all people and view them as our neighbors, working alongside participants regardless of religious affiliation or background.

Lord, when was it that

We saw you hungry and gave you food?
We saw you thirsty and gave you something to drink?
We saw you a stranger and welcomed you?
We saw you sick and took care of you?
We saw you in prison and visited you?

‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

—Matthew 25: 37-40 (NRSV)

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and other partners in response to the devastating earthquake that struck on Saturday, August 14, 2021. The organization’s first grant is through the diocese and will support 400 vulnerable households in 21 isolated communities.

The overall need

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti’s southern peninsula and, as of Wednesday, August 18, it had caused nearly 2,000 deaths and injured more than 9,000 people, according to the United Nations. The UN also said the quake impacted more than 1.2 million people. The quake destroyed buildings and infrastructure, including nearly 61,000 homes, and damaged more than 76,000 more.

Thousands of families are in need of humanitarian assistance. The Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate says 137,000 families have been affected in the Sud, Grand’Anse and Nippes departments. About 500,000 people – 40 percent of the total population in the affected departments – are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance. Rescue efforts have been hampered by heavy rains and winds from Tropical Storm Grace and the full extent of the damage has yet to be determined.

Immediate response by Episcopal Relief & Development

The Diocese of Haiti, in collaboration with its congregations on the southern peninsula, quickly assessed the most urgent needs of vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, mothers with young children, the elderly, and people whose homes were damaged or destroyed. The diocese selected 400 families in hard-to-reach areas that have been affected by the earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace. With Episcopal Relief & Development’s support, these families will receive direct assistance so that they can meet basic needs such as food, medicine, and housing.

“For marginalized groups, the combined impact of COVID-19, the earthquake, and Tropical Storm Grace has the potential to be devastating,” said Ernest Cajuste, Senior Program Officer, Episcopal Relief & Development. “Episcopal Relief & Development is working with partners such as the Diocese of Haiti to support these individuals and families as they maintain their livelihoods, assets and dignity.”

Episcopal Relief & Development remains in close contact with the diocese and other partner organizations on the ground in Haiti as leaders assess needs in their communities. Please continue to pray for those who have been affected by the earthquake, tropical storm and COVID-19. Donations to the Haiti Fund will help the organization to continue to respond to this disaster.

[The above information is from a press release from Episcopal Relief & Development on August 18, 2021.]

Pray for Haiti

This prayer comes from the Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Michael Curry. It is translated into Haitian Creole.

Prayer for Haiti from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry—English

Episcopal Relief & Development

For over 80 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has been working together with supporters and partners for lasting change around the world. Each year the organization facilitates healthier, more fulfilling lives for more than 3 million people struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster, and disease. Inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, Episcopal Relief & Development leverages the expertise and resources of Anglican and other partners to deliver measurable and sustainable change in three signature program areas: Women, Children, and Climate.

Church of the Redeemer

Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.