Hello Arkansas Baptists! Thank you for your continued interest in helping in Haiti.
1) Due to aircraft issues, the Arkansas medical team has been forced to leave Haiti and return today. We look forward to their being back in the state on Saturday. The information they bring back will assist us immensely in forming our future response. They worked at the El Shaddai Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince.
2) Transportation of people and equipment is still a huge problem. Fully established ministries are finding it almost impossible to get medical equipment, etc, into the country. It is estimated that the port will be down for at least another week or more. Many roads are still blocked by felled buildings.
3) The lead Southern Baptist assessment team remains on the ground making needed contacts and preparations for the teams that will follow. Members of the team have a wealth of experience in disaster response as well as working within the Haitian culture.
4) Individuals are encouraged to go to www.absc.org/haiti and download the form located there and then forward it to us. We are building a database of responders and will use this list to draw from when we are ready to go. It is anticipated that many of the needs over the next few months will be medical in nature. But please don’t let this stop you from getting into our database.
5) To give you an idea of the situation on the ground, the following is from the NAMB Disaster Relief January 22 update
The NAMB assessment team is looking at logistical needs. They reported it took three hours to travel seven miles on Thursday. Two million people are roaming the streets with no place to go. People and traffic move together as a slow steady stream.
Communication is also difficult. The NAMB assessment team split into two groups in Port au Prince and could not communicate with one another via cell phone or satellite phone without help from the North American Mission Board team in Georgia. After many hours the two teams connected and were able to get food and shelter at the damaged Florida Baptist Mission House. It is a slow, sometimes dangerous task to accomplish even the basics in Port-au-Prince right now.
6) We continue to pray for and look for ways to help the people of Haiti.
Blessings!
The Missions Ministries Team, ABSC
