Haiti (MNN) — There are reports of Haitian property owners
trying to clear out the tent camps on their property.
It has been 10 months since a quake destroyed Port-au-Prince, and despite promises of aid, the rebuilding process is slow. Property owners say they're tired of waiting for the
government to resettle the people or for the people to resettle themselves.
Aid groups say eviction threats are on a sharp rise and
have grown into a humanitarian concern. Hundreds of thousands have been threatened with eviction, although
shelter experts say about thirty percent have actually followed through.
Officials are now asking the government to issue a
moratorium on evictions and to address the issue urging patience and concern
for those who've lost their homes. Haiti officials are calling on groups to
provide temporary shelters for the 1.4 million homeless Haitians.
Leogane is a coastal city roughly 18 miles
west of Port-au-Prince. The area best
represents the epicenter of the earthquake. Over 80% of the buildings collapsed in the
temblor. In the weeks and months that
followed the disaster, aid teams scrambled to help the capital city, while the
outlying areas saw slow response.
TouchGlobal, the international arm of the Evangelical Free Church, has
been responding. Four churches in this
area identified over 200 of the most affected families and are asking
TouchGlobal to partner with them in providing shelters to these families.
The ministry agrees that shelters are identified as the
most critical need for Haiti right now. They are partnering with Samaritan's
Purse to build temporary shelters in the areas most affected by the
earthquake.
This project, which began in June, now has over 375
shelters standing, which provides housing for over 2,000 people. TouchGlobal
is recruiting teams of 3-8 people to serve each week in Haiti from October
through January to give TouchGlobal staff the resources to act as the hands and
feet of Christ.
Pray for TouchGlobal Crisis Response efforts. The team there has been building bridges of
hope with the despondent people of Haiti. Click here for more.
