Haiti (MNN) — Four tropical
storms and hurricanes battered Haiti in succession between August and
September. They caused nearly a billion
dollars' damage and left nearly a million people homeless. Survivors are still
crammed in makeshift shelters without enough water or food.
Jonathon Wiles with
Living Water International says, "They do have clean water but not nearly enough for
the people who are there now. We're going into those areas to repair wells that
were either broken down before the hurricane, or were broken down during the
hurricane, and restoring the water supply so that people can have clean
water."
Deadly riots in April over
skyrocketing food prices merely compounded the damage caused by the storms. Recovery efforts will be slow, hampered as
they are by the government crisis.
While the wheels are in motion, too
many people can't wait that long for help. Living Water also launched a response to some
of the more rural areas because "a lot of wells were either contaminated
or buried under feet of mud, or broken down. We're going into those areas and those communities, so we're helping
communities restore their water supplies."
The Living Water Haiti team is doing all
they can to repair wells in the hardest-hit areas, particularly in Gonaives.
Shipments of parts are on their way, and with current resources, they will be
able to repair nearly 50 broken-down wells in the next weeks. As more funds come in, the team is hoping to complete
projects on 150 sites where
water is desperately short.
Along the way, their teams are
laying the groundwork for the Gospel. "What we're doing by going in is
giving the churches and the people of God clean water to share with their
neighbors. We're enabling them to reach out to the people who are
hurting."
