alexiamary

Haiti - 7 months on.

2010-08-28T11:59:00.009+10:00

By Lexie Waters,

Special to ResonateNews.com

PORT-au-PRINCE, Haiti – Pictures of an utterly devastated Haiti have long disappeared from newspapers and TV screens. However, the plight of the Haitian people is still very visible. The newest tent cities in the capital city of Port-au-Prince are becoming more permanent. This is happening not through government or NGO efforts to help people rebuild, but from those who live in the tent cities, desperate to find some sense of normality.

The tent city directly opposite the National Palace is now woven between damaged buildings and national monuments. Roofs are no longer just plastic sheeting, but iron or tin to protect from torrential downpours experienced every year in the wet season. What was initially a temporary solution for many has become long term as the weight of relocating these communities is too heavy for the nation’s leaders to handle.

Peterson and Lucy Georges are directors of the nondenominational Christian ministry Youth With A Mission in Port-au-Prince. They said they believe God wants families who lost everything in the earthquake to have a permanent home. Peterson, a native Haitian is leading a project to build houses for those currently living in makeshift shelters, often in perilous areas.

Their initial goal is to build 120 homes at the cost of $4,000 U.S. dollars each. For the Georges, the best solution is not about handing out ready-made houses; it’s about community development.

Peterson Georges said, “Our plans are not just for the houses themselves, but to build whole communities, with roads, markets, basketball courts and schools.”

Lucy Georges said that to qualify for their help, some conditions must be met first.

“The family must be willing to work to help build their family's house,” she said. “They must be able to pay a minimum of $40 U.S. dollars per month toward paying off the house, so that one day they can own it themselves.”

The spiritual climate in Haiti after the earthquake is changing, the Georges said. One month after the January earthquake, Haitian President Preval decreed that for three days from February 12 – 14 the nation would fast and pray to the “good God.” The annual Kanival (Mardi Gras) was cancelled. Instead, throngs of people marched around the national palace worshiping and praying to God over the three days.

American Rodney Gephardt and his wife and three children live and work in Haiti. Gephardt was based out of Port au Prince with YWAM for the first seven weeks after the devastating earthquake. Gephardt facilitated mostly medical teams, including those from Mercy Works of Tyler, Texas and treated more than 20,000 earthquake victims, he estimated.

When asked about the present spiritual state of Haiti , Gephardt said,

“I believe that because of the earthquake – and therefore the amount of people who turned to God during times of prayer and fasting, that spiritual curses (as a result of Voodoo practices) over Haiti were broken," he said. "But now the people need Christian modeling and teaching. The people need a ‘Moses’ to lead them, whether that is done by many people, local pastors or just one person.”

Without continuing the Christian modeling it is easy for people to return to their superstitious ways, Gephardt said. The Bible is needed in the native language.

“One of the biggest needs is for the people to have Bibles in Creole, the dominant language of the Haitian people,” he said. “The amount of Bibles produced in Haiti total about 40,000 a year.”

That is just a fraction of number the nation’s population of an estimated population of 10 million.

People are asking for Creole Bibles, Gephardt said. He recalled one hot day when handing out the few Creole Bibles he had. He and his partner were resting under a tree when a Haitian man walked up to him and said, “I’m ready.”

Rodney thought, “Ready for what?”

The man persisted, “I’m ready.”

In his hand the man held out a tattered New Testament written in French and Rodney realized he was being asked for a Creole Bible. When he gave the man the last one he had, the Haitian immediately began reading aloud from Genesis. A group of children who had been throwing rocks and yelling loudly, Gephardt said, suddenly became silent as they came and gathered around the man to listen.

“I believe I was witnessing the power of the word of God in action," Gephardt said, "as this man – who said he’d never read the Old Testament before – taught these children. The Bible says, 'For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.'”

Freedom in Thailand...

2010-07-08T10:18:00.001+10:00

Itsera bags from MercyWorks on Vimeo.

After the earthquake in Haiti, February, 2010

2010-03-26T09:58:00.000+11:00

Haiti Report from MercyWorks on Vimeo.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100227/RELIGION/2270316

2010-03-01T13:28:00.000+11:00

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100227/RELIGION/2270316

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100224/RELIGION/2230345

2010-03-01T13:27:00.000+11:00

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100224/RELIGION/2230345

Streets of Rubble

2010-02-24T12:12:00.001+11:00

This afternoon we drove down roads where we saw collapsed buildings in every block. The rubble on the main streets of Port-au-Prince has now been pushed to the sidewalks, though some of the smaller laneways are still impassable. Telephone poles teeter at ninety-degree angles toward the ground, and live wires hang loosely above our heads.

Throughout Port-au-Prince there are many such streets. Our co-worker Rodney shares how just days after the earthquake he visited this particular one. The difference then was that the last time he was there, corpses lay on the sidewalks covered by sheets. Rodney says, “People were everywhere up and down the street, looking under the sheets, trying to find their families.”

As we drive around Port-au-Prince, windows are down to let in the breeze and the air is filled with the smell of diesel. But then, as we pass what used to be a cell phone business, the smell changes. A strong whiff of what I assume to be sewerage fills my nostrils and then leaves as quickly as it came. When we’ve passed the house Rodney asks, “Did you smell that?” I answered, ‘Yes, what was it?” He said, “That smell was everywhere at the beginning, it’s death, there may be bodies still under that building.” I wonder to myself how many will never be recovered.

The medical team today split into different areas. Some went to the University of Miami field hospital at the Port-au-Prince airport and other took mobile clinics out to tent cities. The team members return at night saying how intense it is to work within their roles in this situation. The mentality at a hospital here is different to the US, queuing is not necessarily part of the Haitian persona. The Emergency Room (ER) is situated outside the building in a tent, surrounded by the noise of helicopters and jets. MercyWorks volunteer Dr Luzanne Grundling from South Africa says, “You just tune it out after a while.”

Another group of team members go to a tent city to put tents up for people who haven’t a home anymore. When they return, they say people are desperate for shelter and this causes a chaotic situation.

The rain is becoming an increasing problem, especially as the wet season has officially begun. It rained heavily last night for about three hours and my tent was flooded, I may as well have been floating around a swimming pool on my airbed.

But then I stop and think about all the people in the tent cities. As I said in my previous article, their homes are made from thin wooden poles and plastic sheets. When the rains hit, these homes turned in leaking mud pools. This morning after the rain we heard that the tent crew wouldn’t be going out today because it was impossible to reach the tent city. What sort of conditions must those people be enduring? And it will only get worse as the wet season is just beginning. Torrential rains will come and because of them the risk of disease will increase one hundred fold. The after shocks from the earthquake may have subsided, but the on-going risks of sickness and death could be disastrous.

Today I will go into Port-au-Prince again, to some of the hardest hit areas. People here have noted that the atmosphere in the city is even more aggressive than normal. It is understandable that the accumulation of tension from the past weeks would cause this outcome. Haiti has a population of 10,000,000 and of those people, 70% were unemployed before the earthquake, that percentage will be much higher now.

Though the obstacles could seem insurmountable, the medical situation in Port-au-Prince is progressing. The initial emergency response directly following the earthquake is now transitioning to ongoing care and need. However, now Haiti and her people need our prayers and support for a rebuilding initiative.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100218/RELIGION/2180319

2010-02-21T04:19:00.000+11:00

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100218/RELIGION/2180319

Dusty roads of Haiti - My first dispatch which was printed in the Tyler Morning Telegraph

2010-02-20T02:00:00.003+11:00

The wind made the roads so dusty we found it hard to see. Looking out the window the ocean bordered us on one side and towering white cliffs on the other. The cliffs looked like sandstone and a driver told a team member that after the earthquake these same roads had been covered in rubble and debris. It was then that we realized we were in Haiti. There hadn’t been any signal of a border crossing, at least not to my knowledge. We crossed from the Dominican Republic to Haiti without a customs officer checking a single passport.

The cliffs beside the road gave way to simple stone houses, some extremely unstable. A multitude of other homes are made from wood poles and plastic roofs. Cindy, the lady beside me in the bus says, “Oh that’s a new tent city, that wasn’t there before.” She and her husband have made six monthly visits to Haiti since 2005, where they help run an orphanage called “New Life” in Port-au-Prince. This was her first trip back since the earthquake hit on January 12th and I could tell she was disturbed by the change in scenery.

We got closer to Port-au-Prince and the number of tilting or collapsed buildings grew, and we weren’t even in the worst hit areas. After another hour, while stuck in some typical city traffic, I noticed yet more piles of rubble and tires by the side of the road. I said to Cindy, “Are these from the earthquake?” She said, “Yes, it’s all since then.” We navigated several Haitian traffic jams and drove up what is called “hi-jack alley,” from a time when men with guns would block cars on the road and rob them, or worse. This nation definitely has its share of problems.

When we reached the place where we would stay, we found it in direct contrast to the chaos we had witnessed outside. The orphanage caters to children with special needs and I could tell they were loved. The green grass and trees appear foreign to the rubble lined streets and tent-cities outside, though our own version of a tent city dots the field.

The facilities are basic, a lack of water means each person is allotted three cups of water to shower with, bucket style. The humidity sticks to you like a glove and keeps you just as warm. Two Haitian ladies make our food. They may have both lost their homes in the earthquake. The language barrier has so far stopped us from communicating too closely. The previous team members still here tell us, “Just hug them everyday.”

Tonight I will go to bed after having over 38 hours with little to no sleep. At the orphanage, which is next to Port-au-Prince airport, we will apparently hear planes take off about five times a night. This is an improvement on the first weeks though, when planes were flying aid in approximately every ten minutes. The team spirits are high with the anticipation of what will happen tomorrow. Some team members will serve at the hospital on the airfield, while others will take a mobile clinic out to those who may not have been reached yet.

What will tomorrow bring? No one can be sure of that, but we know we’re in a place where new and great things can happen. Godly foundations need to be birthed in a nation that has remained at arms length from Him for many years. This is an opportunity to see a new future begun for Haiti.

CBS local news report about MercyWorks in Haiti

2010-02-20T01:52:00.002+11:00

Going to Haiti...

2010-01-18T04:59:00.000+11:00

MercyWorks - the people I work with...

2009-11-25T11:52:00.001+11:00

Untitled from MercyWorks on Vimeo.

Whoever receives a child.

2009-11-13T04:31:00.003+11:00

“My heart was beating fast, I felt confused and lonely,” said Anu. “I felt deep pain in my heart. I was with Silas (my husband) as I prayed out loud. ‘Jesus, you know the best and may you be glorified.' I had all the faith to believe God could heal Silas, yet I wanted to submit my will unto His. I felt Jesus was holding my hand.” After suffering a stroke, Silas Don went to be with the Lord at 8:15pm on May 10, 2001. Silas and Anu had been married for eight years and had two daughters, Ailsha and Sunayana.

Four months earlier, on January 10, 2001, Silas and Anu Don had pioneered the YWAM ministry Vanitashray, based in Pune, India. The name comes from Vanita, meaning woman and Ashray, meaning shelter. This ministry cares for destitute widows and orphans/abandoned children. As they began, Anu did not know that she herself would soon identify with the widows heart and grief. She says, “I was devastated when Silas died, but God told me three things. He will be with us and never leave us nor forsake us. All that matters to Him is my relationship with Him and He will lead me in the calling He placed over my life.” Lastly, God told Anu, “Take one day at a time.”

Having grown up an orphan, Anu knew firsthand the rejection a child experiences. She shares how they welcomed the first of many children into their home when Vanitashray began. “Nikita was three years old, and the first girl brought into our small rented apartment in 2001. It was the neighbors who rescued her from her father, who wanted to sell Nikita for 2000 Indian Rupee ($40). Her father was an alcoholic and sexually abusing Nikita. It scared me as I looked at this little child who was so traumatized. It took her first year with us to learn to walk, talk, smile and sleep as a child. Today, eight years later, Nikita is a bright, fun loving and beautiful young girl. She says, ‘I want to be a teacher when I grow up.’"

Vanitashray has continued ever since then to care for the widows and orphans of Pune. Currently based in two rented apartments, they are generally required to relocate every eleven months. An immediate need is for a permanent location. The long-term vision of Vanitashray is to provide a home for at least 50 destitute women and 100 orphans/abandoned children. Anu has always desired Vanitashray to be a home rather than an institution. Now remarried, she and her husband John Baker consider the people of Vanitashray to be family.

Many would not have blamed Anu if she had given up when Silas died just a few months after they began Vanitashray. But instead, she chose to pursue the ministry God had entrusted to her. Through her courage and faith in God she has ministered out of her personal experience to those who needed it most.

For more information about Vanitashray, please visit the website at http://www.vanitashray.org

Stolen Innocence

2009-10-04T10:29:00.004+11:00

“Kiri grew up in rural Cambodia. Her parents died when she was a child, and, in an effort to give her a better life, her sister married her off when she was 17. Three months later she and her husband went to visit a fishing village, where her husband rented a room in what Kiri thought was a guesthouse. But when she woke the next morning, her husband was gone. The owner of the house said her husband had sold her for $300 and that she was actually in a brothel.

For five years, Kiri was raped by five to seven men every day. In addition to brutal physical abuse, Kiri was infected with HIV and contracted AIDS. The brothel threw her out when she became sick, and she eventually found her way to a local shelter. She died of HIV/AIDS at the age of 23.” (U.S. Department of State)

Kiri’s story exposes the ugly face of human trafficking. Her story is not an isolated incident; there are millions who endure the suffering of modern slavery everyday. Trafficking appears in many shapes and sizes: prostitution, bonded labor, even people who are attacked and disfigured, then forced to beg in the streets.

More often than not, the reason lurking behind the initial sale of people is the poverty in which their families find themselves trapped.

MercyWorks is partnering with another ministry to begin a business project employing girls escaping the sex trafficking industry. The girls will make purses called Thai Totes, to be marketed and sold around the world. Initial start-up costs are $54,000, and the business will be self-sustaining after the first year. The goal is to see young girls delivered out of prostitution, be discipled and have the kind of life God intended them to have.

However, human trafficking is not just an overseas issue. Trends are also appearing in the US, many of which spotlight child prostitution by the use of technology. People can be manipulated through social networking sites. Criminals use the Internet, including chat rooms to obtain information about victims.

Wherever it occurs, human trafficking targets vulnerable people who are tricked into slavery, usually by someone they trust. Teenage girls who search for love and acceptance are prime targets of traffickers offering a better life. Once the girl believes the lie, her dream turns into a nightmare from which there is little chance to escape.

The girls become hardened in an effort to protect, or deny the abuse that has taken place, and they miss the life God intends for them to live.

Jesus taught, “Love one another as you love yourself.” MercyWorks desires to follow this command and demonstrate the value of life by making a lasting impact on the survivors of trafficking. The goal is to give people a chance to create a sustainable income, thus defeating the poverty and predators who enslave them in the first place. Thai Totes is only the beginning of our work with the victims of human trafficking. We continue to seek God for further ways we can be involved in this very complex issue. Whether through awareness, legislation, rescue or rehabilitation, our primary focus is to see God’s restoration and redemption in the lives of those who have been enslaved.

Missions on a guitar string.

2009-10-04T10:20:00.003+11:00

Since time began music has been a way for people to communicate their thoughts and feelings with one another. Still today, we are moved by lyrics that strike at the core of our struggles.

“His comfort is deep in the night time. He walks with me all through the day. And when I fall in the valley of darkness, He comes to light my way.”

Karen Lafferty is a recording artist whose lyrics bring hope. She grew up in a Christian family and was always grateful for her beginning in God. But it was actually in a New Orleans bar where Karen found intimate relationship with Jesus. She was working as an entertainer, when one day a childhood friend came to visit. Karen saw in her friend’s relationship with Jesus, realness and love that she longed for, but had thought unattainable. Because of that meeting, Karen gave her life to do whatever Jesus asked. That same realness and honesty still reflects in her lyrics today.

As a songwriter you tend to derive your lyrics from life. That’s what happened to Karen when she wrote the song, “Seek Ye First.” After leaving New Orleans she moved to California. It was here that she felt to quit her job and pursue full-time ministry. But when money ran out and Karen couldn’t pay rent, she became very disheartened and felt she couldn’t call her family for help. Then one night she attended a bible study, which focused on Matthew chapter 6. It instructed her to seek first the kingdom of God.

Karen went home that night, refreshed in her faith and full of joy. She couldn’t think of another song that used the inspiring words she had heard in the bible study, so she wrote them down and put them to music. Over a period of years this song “Seek Ye First” became hugely popular and God still uses the royalties to provide for Karen today.

People yearn for answers to a multitude of questions in life. As I interview Karen, she shares how God has used her to minister over the past forty years, from the start of the Jesus movement and Maranatha music until now. She says, “I’ve seen music evangelism be very effective. I’ve witnessed many hundreds come to know the Lord.” Karen expresses a deep desire for younger musicians to reach out to their own generation. She says, “Today the christian music worship industry is huge. So that’s what a lot of people tend to do, only be involved with worship. I want to encourage people that the great commission is all about going into the world and sharing the gospel. Pray for creative ways to reach people. Think about evangelism as well as worship.”

When the topic of talent comes up, some people shy away from playing publicly. They think they aren’t sufficiently gifted for God to use them. As Karen and I chat about what it takes to “make it” as a musician, she dispels some of the myths. She says, “Go ahead and do the best with what you’ve got and God promises increase. If you use your talents, you’ll be surprised at what God wants to do with you.”

It’s not simply musical talent that enables someone to follow a calling from God. Karen says, “It takes solid character, attitude, and people skills. The ability to work within a team is essential, while it is also important to have an attitude of serving.”

Ministry can be found in unlikely, or not thought of venues. Many times people wait to be asked, but Karen says, “Look for opportunities to minister, in prisons, or old people’s homes. These places won’t ask you to come and play, you have to seek them out. Humility is a big key. When we began with Maranatha we never knew where we’d be sent. One day we could be playing for 1000’s at Disneyland and the next we could play at a retirement home. I learned to be open for God to use me however and wherever He wanted. I was in my early twenties and this type of ministry wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. But it was important for me to see beyond just playing songs for a bunch of people and then leaving. I needed to learn to see the people and minister to them.”

In the early eighties Karen pioneered “Musicians for Missions” as part of Youth With A Mission in Amsterdam. She says, “I knew that there needed to be a push for musicians to minister in the hard places.” For the next fourteen years Karen led teams, ministering to people including prostitutes and the homeless living on the streets of Europe. She also founded the School of Music in Missions in 1995. Later she returned to the USA, where she has continued to tour and minister through music and evangelism. She is now located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the current headquarters of Musicians for Missions. When I ask her what her most important piece of advice would be for a young musician, she says, “Seek Ye First, the Kingdom of God.”

Zimbabwe

2009-06-06T13:51:00.001+10:00

Over 3000 die in Zimbabwe, thousands more at risk.

2009-02-04T07:36:00.002+11:00

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Deep grief is evident in Nigel Chigudu's eyes. In a tortured voice, he slowly recounts the harrowing tragedy that saw him lose five siblings in five hours to the cholera epidemic that has been sweeping across Zimbabwe.

“They started vomiting and had serious diarrhea,” recalls Nigel, 15. “The youngest, Gamu, was 14 months old, and Lameck was 12 years old. It was in the middle of the night; I could not take them anywhere. I just watched them die.” (UNICEF Zimbabwe/Singizi)

Though Cholera is endemic to Zimbabwe, epidemic proportions now evidence that this disease has claimed at least 3,000 lives since August last year. However, this figure is almost certainly too low, as it only includes cases of people who attempted to seek medical care. Many people in rural areas cannot make it to help in time.

Of course not everything can be blamed on disease or a lack of clean water. Cholera is just one symptom of the greater cause. Sadly, the under-nourishment of many people makes the risk of death a life threatening certainty. This largely preventable and treatable disease has been allowed to run rampant because society in this nation has already crumbled.

One Zimbabwean national said, “The situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated so much. The government is desperate to control a situation they have failed dismally to control.”

“I just got back from Zimbabwe. I was attending my niece's wedding. Just before they cut the cake, a team from the health department had to come in and do a presentation on cholera prevention. It was a sobering moment, reminding everyone how death was so close if we were not careful.”

Zimbabwe is a nation in turmoil and that turmoil has no easy answer. The governmental leaders continue their discussions and we hope and pray that one day agreement will be reached. Meanwhile people suffer needlessly, a disease that in other countries is easily treatable. Humanitarian organizations are present, but their resources are stretched and they cry out for reinforcements. Pray that more medical teams will go to help, and for restoration to begin in this land once called "the breadbasket of Africa".

God is in Haiti..

2008-12-30T15:19:00.004+11:00

Another downpour began at 2:00 a.m., as a group of people including Youth With A Mission (YWAM) staff took refuge on top of a house. Some began to cry out because they feared imminent death. They watched as others down the street were literally washed away. Rain continued to fall, straight and very fast. When the water level changed from twelve to fifteen feet; it damaged homes, brought down trees and carried vehicles away. Everyone was afraid.

Maula Jean-Marie, director of YWAM in Gonaives, Haiti, said to them, “Don’t look at the water. Let’s keep our eyes on God to see what he can do.” Maula had the impression God wanted them to reach their hands across the water. As they stretched out their hands and commanded the water to go down, he said, “God, you want us to live, we ask you to bring peace to us.” Then the water settled.

They started to pray again. But this time instead of crying, the people found strength in God. Maula saw that when people cried like they had been, it showed there is nothing they could do. That gives God an opportunity to come and do what he can do. Maula said, “We saw the grace of God; that He is alive. We saw that the things in the Bible are real. We saw that God has power over death and over nature.”

In September a MercyWorks team visited the affected areas, and they witnessed firsthand the aftermath of the hurricanes. Immediately it became obvious that food was the biggest lack. Many crops were destroyed. Young Mi Kim, MercyWorks field photographer says, “Village after village, we found people with no food.”

Young Mi called and requested that MercyWorks send funds for food. However MercyWorks did not have funds available. A great deal of money had been spent during the summer caring for hurting people in China after the devastating earthquake, building homes in Burma and Bangladesh and helping build up a church in Sri Lanka. We said we would pray for a breakthrough.

Amazingly, only hours later we were informed that some friends in Canada had just sent $10,000!

The next day, there were tears of rejoicing at YWAM Haiti. They started feeding people right away. One man waiting for food decided he wanted to follow Jesus as well. He committed his life to the Lord and immediately started serving others by helping with the feeding program.

God was working on other people’s hearts as well. Within a few days, a total of $25,000 was sent to Haiti to buy food. This purchased food for 25,000 people for five days.

Ever since YWAM was established in Haiti in 1991, God gave them a focus. Through God they were to bring restoration, heal the nation and then touch the nations. That focus has become even more real. The needs of the Haitian people are extensive and many thousands of dollars are required to be able to buy food and continue the process of rebuilding. But in the midst of this, God has reminded us that the nation of Haiti is His. He has a plan and His purposes will be fulfilled.

2008-11-14T04:24:00.006+11:00

Exert from an article I wrote about China...

Piles of rubble line damaged roads. The team van comes to a sudden halt on a bridge and people gasp, as in front of the vehicle they see a gaping hole caused by the recent May earthquake. The van skirts around and continues on, destroyed infrastructure is commonplace in this part of China.

The Sichuan province, where there have been 80,000 deaths, is very different to the Olympic Beijing viewed by the world. Tent cities blot the landscape, a camouflage of green and blue, often situated next to debris that used to be somebody’s home. One team member said, “I’ve spent so much of my time in third world countries. I had to keep reminding myself that this is not where these people normally live.” Five million Chinese are now homeless.

We deployed a team to China in July for two weeks. During that time, the team saw almost 500 patients, though it was not the average medical outreach. Karen, an RN working with us, said, “One thing I noticed was that very few children were attending the clinics.” When a teenage boy visited, he shared that when the earthquake hit, three hundred of his classmates died. This became a familiar story, with many thousands of children killed. It is a situation that has in fact led to China’s infamous one-child policy being “clarified” in the Chengdu region, the capital of Sichuan province. Chinese officials said that the country's one-child policy exempts families with a child killed, severely injured or disabled in the earthquake. Those families can obtain a certificate to have another child.

People in the area where the team served live mainly in farming communities. Many had never seen a doctor before. One team member said, “The people didn’t push as they have in other countries. I don’t think they knew what was available. Out there, if you get sick, you either survive or die.”

Clinics were facilitated in various locations, sometimes in a house or a corn field. One particular day, the team was situated in a tent by the side of the road when, out of nowhere, a small troupe of marching soldiers appeared. They didn’t seem to notice the team of foreigners standing inside the open tent.

Questions and theories abound as to whether China has opened its doors and relaxed control over its citizens. The Chinese government seemed much more open to foreign aid than their Asian neighbor, Burma, when it came to handling relief efforts. But when asked about relief in the region where the earthquake occurred, Karen said, “Except for the tents, it was hauntingly empty.” The team didn’t see any other aid workers in the regions they visited outside Chengdu. This was an unexpected finding, as this period is normally considered the reconstruction stage.

As the team members looked into the eyes of the Chinese people in the Sichuan province, they discovered a mixture of hope and despair. With only two translators, they could often only give an understanding look or a hug. However, there was a refreshing openness and gratitude in these people. People would invite them in and prepare a meal for them, even though they themselves had little to survive on. Karen said, “In spite of their grief, kids would sing songs for us and thank us for coming to help. It was like they were the ambassadors from their country.”

Care did not forget...

2008-11-14T03:18:00.003+11:00

Walking along deserted streets I observe piles of debris lining the sidewalks. Though the water has long subsided, very few homes remain in this once bustling part of New Orleans called the Lower Ninth Ward. It’s been nearly three years since Hurricane Katrina hit, but as a newly arrived Australian, this is my first visit. I scan the brown water level stains still apparent on homes and wonder how anyone escaped.

I’m beginning to understand why this was termed the most catastrophic engineering disaster ever on American soil. One bathroom still has the CD player plugged into a wall, the bath beside it filled with rubble. When the levy walls broke, the flood engulfed everything in its path. People didn’t have time to think. They just dropped everything and ran.

Many accusations were cast after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans on August 29, 2005. As quickly as Katrina dismantled 80% of the city, pointing fingers began searching for someone to blame. She had traditionally been called the “City that Care Forgot,” and after the hurricane, New Orleanians felt more alone than ever before.

The extensive flooding stranded many residents who had chosen to remain with their homes. Survivors yelled from rooftops desperate for someone to save them. Some were trapped inside attics, unable to escape, while others hacked their way onto roofs with axes.

The Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, described the loss of life as "significant" amidst reports of bloated corpses floating on the water throughout the city. The National Guard even began setting up temporary morgues to handle the nearly 2000 bodies. Clean water was scarce and electricity unreliable, a situation that would continue for weeks.

Eight out of ten houses were flooded and many wondered if the city and her people would recover. But in late 2005, while the community at large festered over the amount of government action, concerned citizens began to stand. In their thousands they traveled to New Orleans and offered their services to help restore the community.

Steve and Bronwen Niles are the directors of Youth With A Mission, New Orleans. They were one of the organizations facilitating teams throughout the city. Bronwyn says, “One church was feeding five thousand people daily and needed seventy volunteers every day. We were able to work together.”

Initially, many groups facilitated the distribution of food in large quantities. This continued for months after Katrina, past Christmas of 2005 and into 2006.

It was then that a much larger task became evident. The flood accompanying the hurricane had left many homes unsafe to live in. Some were beyond repair, but others could be rebuilt, enabling families to begin life again. “That’s when we realized this (rebuilding of houses) changes people’s lives, it gives them hope. It’s the first step in restoration,” says Bronwen.

As teams continued to flow into the city, restoring houses became the obvious priority. The citizens of New Orleans began to hope again as volunteers rebuilt their homes. Bronwen says, “People would break down weeping, as we told them we could do their home. They saw that they weren’t alone in their suffering, they weren’t abandoned. So many people were coming to help.”

People of different races have come together, who otherwise wouldn’t have met if it hadn’t been for the Hurricane. Teams came from all over the country. Bronwen says, “Even in the recent months, you could go out to a neighborhood where the houses haven’t been rebuilt much and see seven or more different vans from church groups working there.”

Many hundreds of thousands have come to help in the three years since the hurricane. They have restored hope to many. Teams are still coming and continue to help rebuild lives. When asked what she would say to the people who have come to help, Bronwen’s voice cracks as she says, “I would thank them. We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for those people. They were total strangers, but they came to help us. I don’t know if there’s ever been anything like this in history, where people of a nation, came to help another part of that nation to the degree that has happened here.”

One man in another area of New Orleans discovered that his house had been rebuilt. He called Bronwen and asked, “Did your group do my house?”

She answered, “No I don’t think so, but I’ll check.”

Going by the house Bronwen and Steve saw that the house had indeed been completed. They asked a neighbor if he knew who had finished the work and the neighbor said, “Oh, it was the Christians, of course, some Christians from out of state.”

However, three years on and many parts of the Lower Ninth Ward remain desolate and mostly uninhabited. Where once there were hundreds of houses, now only a smattering remains.

We pull up outside one of the familiar FEMA trailers where residents lived after the disaster. The man who lives in this trailer is Bob Green. He lost his wife and daughter in Katrina. A crude tombstone shaped sign sits outside the van with a scrawled handwritten message. “We want our country to love us, as much as we love our country.”

Some local businesses have reopened and residents have returned, but even now ruined possessions remain inside many damaged homes. On the floor amongst the rubble I see abandoned toys and CD cases. In another, furniture is still upturned where it was thrown in the flood.

Much still needs to be restored in this city, but people have begun to stand and take responsibility for their fellow man. Volunteers working alongside residents have nurtured a new environment of trust and working together. The motto of New Orleans used to be, the city that care forgot. But it is a fact that people have cared and they continue to come.

2008-11-13T14:54:00.009+11:00

Writing is a passion. In Southern Sudan this past March, we spent four weeks running medical clinics and helping with the construction of an orphanage. It was my first trip to Africa and it's true to say this continent gets under your skin... in a good way. Here is something I wrote while there...

Darfur is a topic of conversation for reasons other than the internally displaced persons, or IDP's, we have seen in our medical clinics. There are nations vying for oil rights, who turn a blind eye to the corruption and treatment of the nation’s people by their own government. The Sudanese I spoke to have little hope or trust in the government. Their expectation is that aid monies sent to Southern Sudan will not reach them. The true extent of this comment remains to be seen, however one thing is for sure. While both are important, visiting these people in person brings more results than simply sending funds.

Whilst it is not Darfur, the region of Terekeka is similar for many reasons. Their primary needs are for increased medical assistance and education. The name Terekeka means, "The people who have been forgotten." The people of Terekeka chose that name for themselves. At the beginning of our time in this area, a local chief told us this fact. But he also said, "Now we feel we have been remembered."

The same chief also said, "It is good that you are here. Our people live like animals, at least now you can help them medically." The people live a primitive existence in a harsh and hot land. Where the most common illness in Australian children might be bronchitis, the most common illness in the children of Terekeka is malaria.

It is difficult to reach by road. The distance from nearby Juba is only 50 miles, but takes four hours to drive. As it is with a large number of people in Southern Sudan, the community of Terekeka are primarily IDP's. The war of twenty-one years has left a trail of destruction evident to all. Even the wildlife deserted as the war took its toll on the landscape.

Of the people I spoke to, their main cry is for education and medical assistance. Sardia Dahut, a social welfare worker says, "As an orphan, I was forced to work from a very early age and not allowed to finish my education." Her spirit pushed her to try and bring change, but in a land where the women are widows and the men have either died or left, that is a difficult task.

The group I was with in Southern Sudan is called EPC/Harvesters. Over the past seven years, they have built an orphanage, clinic, school and church in the town of Yei. They now plan to do the same in Terekeka. Pastor Dennis, co-founder of Harvesters says, "Change doesn't seem possible, but every time someone comes to help they plant a seed of hope, because they have remembered the people. As more people come, more hope rises and eventually change will begin to occur." People who have been rejected and forgotten grow stronger when others reach out and remember them. Terekeka is a community that needs to be remembered. Southern Sudan is a country that needs to be remembered.

2008-11-13T13:52:00.002+11:00