Haiti (MNN) — "They are such survivors. You have to
admire their spirit." That's Eva DeHart with For
Haiti With Love, describing yet another crisis hitting the
beleaguered nation.
She goes on to explain, "The rainy season has started in
Haiti. It started raining Easter morning, and it's still raining. A lot of
people are out of their houses because of water. Some people reported that the
water is up to their waists."
The problem: rainy
season hit early this year. It usually comes in April or May, but the deluge started with daily rains
in mid-March, causing flooding and mudslides. The
United Nations says floods and landslides killed six people in the north and
displaced 700 others. The floods also damaged 125 homes, crops, and
livestock.
Although they don't have work in Port-au-Prince, DeHart says
conditions in the tent cities will be exacerbated by the rains.
In Cap Haitien, "We made a major distribution of the Sawyer
water filters that are supposed to last
25 years, so our people are in good shape." However, says DeHart, the concern now is that there is "ground water coming up, and the
rains keep coming like this. We're talking about open sewage and about disease epidemics again."
For Haiti with Love's medical clinic is also preparing for more action. "They cook on open charcoal fire.
Finding a dry place, finding dry charcoal—just the mere challenge of
preparing a meal is going to become virtually impossible."
Meal preparation in close quarters usually means accidents, she
says. "With the clinic always open,
you're going to have more clinic activity because you're going to have more
accidents as things slide down mountains, as people just naturally get hurt in
precarious settings. So it gives a lot of one-on-one time."
One-on-one time leads to the hope of Christ communicated as the
staff responds to the physical needs. Although many of the people they see already either embrace the Gospel
or have heard it, DeHart says, "They are going to have to rely on their
faith to get through this. It does tend to make it stronger. As they see us
there for them, it does solidify our message."
Finally, there is an upside to the early rains, says DeHart. "There's
also been a lot of political unrest lately, so the only good thing that's going
to come out of the rains is that they don't have manifestations in bad weather. So,
the population is going to settle down and focus again on their own
survival."
The rainy season will be followed by the hurricane season from
June to November. For Haiti With Love
just stocked the warehouse with supplies, so they're ready to meet the challenges
of the season. We have links to get you
connected if you want to help.
