Call for Help in Haiti by Drew Smith

  • Drew Smith
  • Jan 28, 2010

Many have asked: "How can I help in Haiti beyond sending money?"

In my experience there are 3 stages of major disaster response:

First responders. Trained emergency responders in rescue/medical aid/security/initial direct food & shelter aid.  This is a time of mass confusion where typically foreign governments (with the USA providing 50-90% of the resources typically) amass the resources to respond, set up security, communications and open transportation routes - Haiti is in that mode now evidenced by military level logistics, helicopter transportation, hot spots of scarcity of services.  This is a job for the Army Corp of Engineers, Seabees, medics, Doctors Without Borders, search and rescue dog teams, MP's and volunteers wiling to be awake days at a time, suffer the same food and water deprivation as the population and man activities ranging from digging through rubble, helping doctors, distributing aid, driving tucks, etc.  Lots of press on scene, nightly news coverage, massive outpouring of compassion leads to large monetary contributions to mostly large foreign (to the nation effected) aid agencies.

Aid delivery.  At this point, systems of distribution and communication emerge, the responding governments begin to turn to "NGO's" Non-Government Organizations, to actually deliver the services.  Both church and secular.  This tends to be a combination of foreign organizations coming in for a duration and existing organizations already working there asked to lead the aid delivery effort.  Here leaders and heroes emerge, schools and churches become dormitories, mission groups of all sorts suspend normal operations and help any way called upon, touching news stories of human compassion make the nightly news

Development. Most foreign aid sources leave along with the news cameras.  The people have for the most part access to food and medical care.  The infrastructure is still in ruins, the dead have been buried and the survivors are trying to move on with their lives in devastated surroundings.  It is no longer a news item.  NOW is the time Christians can have the greatest impact as change agents.  Organizations that have a long term view (3-5 years) and the staying power can partner with large portions of the population and the local Church to help people make revolutionary changes in their life they would not have considered when life was "normal," like consider banding together to create new communities, lift up new pastors, community leaders, rethink how they live, no longer drink contaminated water and drill fresh water wells, build as a community new cleaner homes, listen to the suggestion of re-structuring their communities to reflect Christ-like principles.  Michael Miller did this after Hurricane Mitch and helped the local people in the capital of Honduras create Villa Linda Miller. I worked with another mission group on the other side of Honduras helping a large population of subsistence farmers build a new village using a similar model (Michael and I did not know each other then!).

Many have asked me "How can I help on the ground?"

Here is a summary of what I know as of now.  As is to be expected, information is sketchy at best and will clarify as the situation stabilizes.

Needs you can fill now or in the next few weeks: 

  • ANY form of medical training is instantly useful.  In the current crisis the medical need is overwhelming.  Medical teams are crying for Anesthesiologists as amputations are now being performed without anesthesia.  Nurses, doctors of any sort can have a huge impact.
  • Our focus is how we can save people both physically and  spiritually.  Secular aid agencies are only concerned with direct delivery of aid.  We want to partner with the local church to do that and provide spiritual help to those suffering.  We are in contact with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) that has bases in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic that have set up emergency aid stations throughout Haiti and need Christian staff willing to commit to 2-3 months to do a wide variety of duties.  Most likely whatever your skill set it can be put to maximum use there if you are hardy enough to endure pretty tough conditions.
     
  • IN PARTICULAR, YWAM Haiti needs the following leadership skills NOW:

Outreach coordinator. To plan and manage incoming teams.

Relief Camp Administrator. To manage the makeshift "camps" being established to feed and care for survivors.

Movie producer.  To create professional videos of the work in progress to communicate to the rest of the world what is being done and deliver specific messages to the world.    

Media Consultant/Spokesperson. To manage world press interface to effectively "get the word out."

Donor Coordinator. To manage interface between Church, secular and government donors the needs and to encourage them to stay committed beyond stage #1.

HR Managers. To source the myriad of skills needed to carry out the work.

All of the above roles need people who can commit to at least 2-3 months if not a year. 

Technical Manager such as an engineer able to quickly resolve unique technical challenges in construction, logistics, machinery with limited resources short term and/or be a part of reconstruction long term Note: This role was just filled by Kevin O'Brien who left Monday 1/25/10. 

Needs you can fill in a month or so:

Within several weeks they will be ready for teams (medical, construction, pastoral, willing laborers to drive/cook/clean/care for victims/etc.) One of Kevin O'Brien's tasks will be to identify specific needs for teams and specially qualified people that can help and in what time frame - we hope to form future teams based on his input. 

Within 6 months:

They will be ready for teams that can build bridges with local churches and communities to evangelize (often without words), provide intercessory prayer moving city to city, etc. Then begin to move the process to the development stage, to rebuild the nation from it's foundation on a biblical basis. 

Click here for a recording of a satellite link of a YWAM video conference with The Haiti YWAM Director indicating their condition and needs as of 1/20/10, www.linkupamericas.org.

Please email me,  if you have an interest in going to Haiti and I can connect you with the YWAM leadership, help form teams, offer advice, etc.

In Christ.

Drew Smith
Elder at Greentree Community Church