Haiti (MNN) — The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator says urgent action is needed to
respond to the ¨worst disaster in the last 100 years¨ to strike Haiti.
Aid efforts are severely underfunded,
hampering projects needed to help the country recover from four hurricanes.
At this point, the most-urgent
needs are food, clean water and sanitation, and shelters. Local schools are being pushed back into
session, forcing the people sheltered there to move elsewhere. Their plight highlights the work it will take
to get homes into usable condition.
For Haiti With Love is also making
repairs around their projects damaged by Hurricane Hanna. Among them was the recently-completed Pilgrim
House #18. This project came about as
the result of a partnership with the Pilgrim Lutheran Church of Indianapolis,
Indiana.
The first Pilgrim House was
built, dedicated to the Lord and given free of charge to a homeless family in August 1998. Since then, the church
has been helping For Haiti with the construction of new homes for selected
families.
The most recent, Pilgrim House
#18, was finished just as Hurricane Hanna arrived in Haiti. Unfortunately, the new house suffered damaged
when the mountain on which it was built let loose during the hurricane.
The damage Hanna caused was
significant enough that in 2009, the ministry will use construction funds to repair damaged homes rather than start new construction. In this way, they can help more families and
share God's love with more people.
