A resident sits in a destroyed area after a major earthquake hit the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, January 14, 2010. REUTERS/Jorge Silva courtesy of www.alertnet.org

Baptist World Aid Australia’s Haiti Reconstruction Appeal

As the weeks go by, the extent of the damage from the earthquake in Haiti is only just being realised. More than 200,000 people have lost their lives and 1.5 million people are now homeless, making this one of the most destructive disasters in modern times.

Baptist World Aid Australia is entering a partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (a US-based aid organisation with staff on the ground in Haiti before the disaster) as they are working with those affected.

Please help us raise funds for this relief effort, and ease the suffering of families and communities who have lost family members and friends, homes and livelihoods. To make a donation to our Haiti Appeal please click here, or call us on 1300 789 991.

The extent of the destruction means relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts will be needed for at least the next five to ten years. Baptist World Aid Australia is helping fund the water component of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s rehabilitation and reconstruction plans.

Even before the earthquake, around half of Haiti’s population had no reliable access to safe water and now, safe water is in even higher demand. Access to water is essential to all other rehabilitation efforts, so it is crucial that new and restored water sources are built. This three year water project involves developing rainwater harvesting techniques, natural springs and drilling wells. It also teaches communities how to use and maintain these systems and to use filtering techniques, so that more of the available water is useful for household purposes. Please give a donation to help provide fresh water for communities in Haiti.

Please lift up the people of Haiti in prayer, asking that their needs would be met, that reconstruction would be efficient, and that our God, the God of comfort (2 Cor 1:3), would be amongst those who are suffering.

Note: Baptist World Aid Australia does not usually fund the work of organisations in the Caribbean as we have no established partnerships there. However, as the scale of this disaster is made known, we have decided to enter this new partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, who was working in Haiti even before the earthquake struck. Like Baptist World Aid Australia, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a member of the Baptist World Alliance.

Click here to make a donation to the Haiti Reconstruction Appeal.

Please Note: Any funds raised in excess of the requirements for funding this project will be forwarded to Baptist World Aid Australia’s general Emergency Relief Fund, for use in similar emergencies.