Photojournalistic and fine art photography
Today we walked the streets for a couple hours near where I am staying here in Port au Prince, Haiti. Collapsed buildings were everywhere and a haunting reality of the roughly estimated 300,000 lives lost here in the earthquake. Finding a house that was still standing and in livable condition was the rare exception. It is estimated that at least 1 million people are homeless now and even the majority with homes having no electricity or running water. They cook with coal on the streets in front of their destroyed homes, very lucky if they even have a tent and it’s not uncommon to see people defecating and urinating on the sidewalks right next to where they are living. With the coming rainy season disease is likely to increase and as I write, now, it is raining.
It’s easy for anyone to look at the situation here and be overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness because of the magnitude of the need. In the clinics and food distribution centers there is seemingly endless lines of people waiting, sometimes half a day, to receive some of the aid that is available. Thousands of bodies still lie under the concrete rubble, impossible to clear without the use of heavy machinery. Legal documents and records of all kinds can be found blowing in the streets outside the national courthouse. And even now, tons of food, water and medicine lie in containers at the airport and docks as the government tries to tax the incoming aid to profit from this disaster and suffering of the people.
I don’t assume to be an expert on Haiti, or even that I can adequately assess the gravity of this crisis, but I know that one of the simplest and greatest practical examples of love is to clothe the naked and feed the hungry, and there is ample opportunity here for that. And though the problems the Haitian people are facing are not going to go away anytime soon, many remain hopeful and encouraged that their nation can change.
The problems here are nothing new and they are as complex as they are desperate, but I believe that now, God is calling out those willing to dedicate themselves to the rebuilding of this nation for the long-term. That Haiti would be a nation built on foundations of Christ, an opponent of political and social injustices, and a blessing to the world! These unique and beautiful people are not defeated easily and as you walk the streets you see people surviving. I believe that now there is more need than ever for those that would answer the cry of the oppressed here in Haiti and be a part of the discipling of a this nation for the glory of God.
Isaiah 58:6,12
Terry Snow, national leader of YWAM in Haiti, says “Our vision is to see Haiti becoming a blessing!” – “As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.” (Zechariah 8:13)