HAITI-Feb 8: Situation improving; HOPEww is having an impact; $500,000 given so far

Picture: Church service yesterday.  ICOC churches have given $500,000 so far for Haiti through HOPEworldwide.  HotNews talked to Dr Mark Ottenweller today, who is in Port-au-Prince working for HOPEworldwide this week.  Disciples from Philadelphia, New York, and Houston USA, as well as Jamaica, the Ivory Coast, and the Dominican Republic, are all busy serving in the capital.  HOPEww is working to help the 350 disciples and family members from our church there who were devastated by the recent earthquake.  They have received food and medical attention.  About 5o large tents have been delivered with the help of the Shelter Box Foundation, each sleeping 8 to 10 people, with some basic cooking gear.  Water is now being delivered daily, and soon they should be receiving daily food deliveries.  Mark has been a part of many coordination meetings, and has actually met Bill Clinton twice already.  Mark's day entails anything from basic clinic work and organizing food shipments, to meeting with partners and US government coordinators.  

The disciples are now doing much better, and are in much better spirits.  Besides its staff, the church has two medical doctors and a psychologist in its membership, and they are all busy meeting the very obvious needs of the church. HOPE is now working on a long term plan for the church, including more grief and bereavement counseling for both adults and children.

Mark expressed his thanks for all the churches all around the world who contributed for the Haitian disciples.

Mike Taliaferro