In Haiti UMCOR Responds to Jeanne's Lethal Aftermath

Updated: September 23, 2004

NEW YORK-- The besieged island nation of Haiti, where UMCOR feeds 16,000 school children a day and provides operational funds for health programs and clinics, has received another setback from lethal tropical storm Jeanne. UMCOR is the nonprofit relief agency of The United Methodist Church.

More than 1,000 people have died in Haiti from flooding and mudslides since the storm lashed the northern provinces. Thousands more sought high ground on the roofs of their houses as nine-foot floodwaters swept through impoverished urban centers. Rescue workers expect to uncover more dead as waters recede.

In its initial response to the present devastation, UMCOR will partner with Action by Churches Together, the international alliance of humanitarian aid organizations. ACT, currently assessing response options, reports that access to many of the affected areas is possible only by air, since roads are still under water. An assessment team has reached Gonaïves, where urgent needs include fresh water, food, emergency shelter, and medicines.

Three United Methodist volunteers are at work on other projects in Haiti, in the Verrettes region, some 40 miles south of the most stricken parts of the island nation. An unreliable telephone system has stymied UMCOR leaders' efforts to contact officials of the Methodist Church of Haiti or United Methodist missionaries in Port-au-Prince. The relief agency expects to provide additional recovery assistance once the church there defines needs.

R. Randy Day, head of the denomination's mission agency, made an emergency stop in Haiti en route to a church meeting in South America. He planned to meet with Raphael Dessieu, bishop of the Haitian church, and with the U.S. consulate.

Last May floods occurred when a river burst its banks, sending flood waters rushing through several poor neighborhoods and destroying hundreds of fragile homes on the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. News reports at the time indicated that some of the dead were Haitians who had crossed the border to live and work. More than 3,000 people died in mudslides. Haiti is especially vulnerable to mudslides because of extensive deforestation.

After the shooting and violence of turbulent civil disturbances ended earlier in 2004, Haiti-- the most destitute nation in the West-- faced food shortages, disabled sewer systems, and water shortages. These emergencies, now out of the media's scrutiny, have become virtually invisible to all but those whose lives are immediately affected. The Methodist Church of Haiti has prioritized several programs to assist with recovering from civil disruption-- health care, spiritual care, school fees, and hot lunches.

UMCOR urges assistance with current recovery efforts through gifts of money to its Hurricanes 2004 appeal, Advance #982410, marked Haiti-- by mail to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Donors wishing to use credit cards may call toll free 1-800-554-8583. Gifts of money enable specially trained disaster workers to minister in hard-hit areas, direct assistance, and purchase of relief supplies. UMCOR anticipates that long-term recovery from these severe storms will take several years.

See Also

News and Resources

• UMCOR Church Bulletin Insert: Hurricanes 2004.
• Haiti Civil Emergency: UMCOR's Response.
• Programs and Projects in Haiti Supported by UMCOR.
• UMCOR Hurricanes 2004: Response News.
• UMCOR Emergency Kits: Flood Buckets and other needs.