Alerts

12 January 2012

A few weeks ago, a brother asked, “Are we still doing anything in Haiti?”

My answer was an emphatic, "Yes we are!" On this second anniversary of the January 2010 earthquake, I invite you to remember those who perished, to remember those who struggle, to rejoice in our service, and to recommit to helping Haiti rise again.

The world will never be the same again for hundreds of thousands of Haitians.
The devastating earthquake that destroyed lives, livelihoods, and land two years ago today continues to shape the realities of most Haitians.

Those who lived at epicenter of the quake near Leogane, where Lott Carey has a church, lost nearly all of their housing and infrastructure. Those who lived around the overly populated capitol city of Port-au-Prince found themselves living in and around homelessness, unsanitary tent cities, and disarray in every sense of the word. The sights and sounds during my visit to Haiti a few weeks after the quake are still vivid to me. My emotions still stir when I remember the destruction all around.

The Lott Carey family, like many other networks, responded with generosity to the tragedy. We sponsored first-responders, supported displaced families, gave food grants, gave cash grants, bought goods from farmers, paid caterers, fed hospital patients, recruited medical volunteers, funded youth camps for displaced young people, provided counseling and coaching for pastors and their spouses, and continued to support our network of churches of the Strategic Union of Baptist Churches in Haiti.

Additionally, we are participating in integral ways in two unprecedented partnerships. First, we are the administrative partner for the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration in which the four historic National Baptist denominations and Lott Carey are partnering to amplify our impact in Haiti. We understood that we can do more together than any of us can do alone.

During 2010, we pledged and paid a one million dollar ($1,000,000) grant in less than nine months to Habitat for Humanity International to invest in transitional and permanent housing solutions;
During 2011 more than 1800 families received transitional housing solutions, 150 families received permanent housing solutions, scores of individuals received construction training and employment, and more families accessed counseling to strengthen their economic viability.
During 2012, we are expanding our efforts to create more housing units using volunteer teams from the United States and to increase the capacity of hospitals and clinics (through financial support and medical volunteers) to provide quality preventive, reproductive, and restorative health care for Haitians.

Second, we are the administrative coordinator for the Haitian Diaspora/African-American Christian Advocacy Coalition which has brought together Haitians in America, Haitian-Americans, and African-American Christians in traditional African-American denominations and in traditional European-American denominations to influence United States policy that supports a safe, strong, and sustainable Haiti. Our principal areas of work are:

To advocate for fair and humane immigration policies that favor family reunification;
To advocate for investment in agriculture for economic vitality to benefit all levels of the agriculture sector (including the small scale farmers); and
To advocate for transparency and inclusion of Haitians and African-Americans in reconstruction contracts and grants to ensure capacity building and cultural competence in rebuilding the country.

We will be calling on you during the year to help advance this important agenda with policy makers who represent you.

Are we still doing anything in Haiti? Yes we are! And yes we will!

1 September 2011

As we continue to come through the devastation of hurricane Irene, see information about federal assistance before, during, and after a hurricane see Intergovernmental Affairs Advisory.

26 August 2011

Hurricane Irene is battering the east coast of the United States and is the largest storm to do so in 70 years. Having done significant damage in the Caribbean, Irene is poised to hit North Carolina and proceed northward up the coast. The American Red Cross is opening shelters and deploying emergency supplies and personnel. Shelters can be located in your area at the American Red Cross website.

30 April 2011

The late April 2011 storms that hit seven southern states are proving to be among the deadliest in US history. More than 300 people are confirmed dead, many are missing, thousands have been injured, and more than a million people were impacted. The Lott Carey network is responding to this large-scale disaster as in the aftermath of hurricanes that devastated lives and property in the Gulf Coast states. We are building this disaster response strategy on lessons learned from our global responses in places like Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mozambique, and Somalia in addition to our United States Gulf Coast work in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

We will begin our partnership in Alabama – the hardest hit state in the recent spate of storms. We are presently determining which of several devastated communities can support Relief Centers that will supply immediate needs like food, water, personal hygiene products, computer access, assistance in applying for available resources and the like. We will evolve appropriately from Relief Centers to Resurrection Centers that will most likely need minister through pastoral care ministry, social service support, mental health counseling, and child development programs. Further, we have begun securing pastoral counseling coaching and support for impacted communities so that church leaders can be better equipped to serve their congregations and communities as well as ensure self-care for themselves and their families.

Many organizations and people will be providing a variety of needs. Good work will be done by good people with good intentions. Our experience teaches us, however, that some many people are going to have difficulty accessing the resources that should be available to them. We will be working to ensure that support is extended to many who are likely to become invisible, voiceless, and most vulnerable.

We ask the Lott Carey family to respond in the following ways now:

Pray for individuals, families, communities, and churches that have been directly impacted through loss of live, health, property, and livelihood. Ask for strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Ask for the love of God, the grace of Christ, and the communion of the Spirit to embrace and empower. Ask for generous responses of support and strengthen.
Prepare to gather and to give generous offerings that God can multiply to meet a wide array of immediate and intermediate needs. As is our tradition, we will be good stewards and seek to leverage your generosity that puts love into action and demonstrates our commitment that faith without works is dead.
Pray for the Lott Carey disaster response strategy that is rapidly emerging through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We need the Lord to guide our feet, hold our hands, and be our friend while we run this race, because we don’t want to run this race in vain!

Thank you for your partnership in this ministry as we launch this disaster response strategy focused on “helping people rise again.”

19 March 2011

Presidential Runoff Elections in Haiti

The Republic of Haiti has a Presidential run-off election on Sunday, 20 March 2011, between Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly. Much is at stake for the country. Although the next President cannot single-handedly bring about the systemic change and long term efforts needed for the country to rise from the devastation that the January 2010 earthquake added to the fragile country, the next President will play an indispensable role in the country's successes or setbacks.

The Lott Carey network has been working with partners in Haiti for most of the 20th century and throughout the last decade. In addition to providing monthly support for the 22 churches in the Strategic Union of Baptist Churches in Haiti, we have responded to many needs of multiple hurricanes. Additionally, we have responded singularly and collaboratively to the devastation of last year's earthquake. Beyond supporting the work of first responders, we have provided cash and food; counseling coaching for pastors and their families; a camping experience for youth; resources to battle to cholera epidemic; and more. We partnered with the historic African-American Baptist denominations to provide $1 million for housing solutions in 2010. Further, we are part of a newly developing collaboration of African-American Christians and Haitians in the Diaspora to build a movement between these two communities to advocate for transparency and inclusion in reconstruction efforts, smart investment to build a robust agricultural sector, and just immigration policies for Haiti.

I write you today to ask you to pray for God's grace in this critical election. We pray for fair elections. We pray for peaceful elections. We pray for people to be open to the will of the Holy Spirit as Haitians elect their next presidential leadership. We pray for the millions of people who live vulnerably, violated, and victimized. We pray for God's will to be done.

Thank you for your partnership in this ministry and in this season of prayer.

3 March 2011

Advocacy for Haiti

Dear Lott Carey Partner:

Your generosity during the last year has enabled us to respond effectively after the January 2010 earthquake centered at Leogane, the city of one of the churches we support. We supported first responders and rescuers. We connected medical personnel to volunteer opportunities. We gave cash grants and food grants to families. We provided food for hospital patients by purchasing crops from farmers, paying caterers to cook, and delivering fresh and nutritious meals to the St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc. We have provided pastoral care support for pastors and their families. We funded a summer camp for youth impacted by the devastation. We funded water and sanitation solutions in response to the cholera epidemic. We deployed pastoral teams to listen, learn, encourage, and pray. We helped churches invest in housing solutions.

Additionally, we are part of the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration where Lott Carey; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and Progressive National Baptist Convention are linking resources to amplify our impact in Haiti. Among our deliverables are pledging and paying $1 Million to provide temporary and permanent housing solutions in Haiti in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International in less than 10 months from forming the Collaboration. Additionally, we are providing staffing that will plan and manage short-term missions assignments to Haiti beginning the second half of 2011 and forward.

Now, here is the new initiative for which we need your prayers. The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration has enlarged its reach to invite the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and Church of God in Christ to partner with several Haitian-American and Haitian advocacy groups to work on developing a coherent and compelling advocacy agenda for Haiti. This weekend, 10 - 12 March 2011, some 60 African-American, Haitian-American and Haitian leaders will convene in Washington, DC for a Summit on Advocacy for Haiti. This is an unprecedented collaboration among African-American Christians and the Haitian Diaspora.

Please pray that God's Spirit will give us wisdom to discern the agenda that we should advance in the United States and throughout the international community. We have the opportunity to engage in "game changing" work that can help Haiti develop a safe, strong, and secure future for itself and its region.

Thanks for your partnership in this ministry!

12 January 2011

Haiti One Year Later: Grief and Hope

12 January 2011 is the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. We recognize this occasion with grief and with hope.

We grieve the loss that the earthquake brought – loss of life, family, friends, communities, homes, health, livelihoods, and more. We live in a world that likes to deny losses. We like to think that life can bring unending victories, successes, advancements, and prosperity. Living in this way is living in denial. As the refrain of old spiritual songs reminds us, “I’m sometimes up and sometimes down/I’m sometimes level to the ground.” Our Haitian sisters and brothers know loss in immeasurable degree. They cry out in grief. God hears their cries. Lott Carey has sought to hear their cries as well. We grieve with our Haitian siblings as they struggle to survive.

Yet, we also live in hope. We live in hope because we live in the light of the resurrection that comes out of the crucifixion. We live in hope because we live in the power of the risen Christ and the Holy Spirit. We live in hope because we live in expectation that death is not our end. We live in hope because we live in anticipation of God completing what God began in the world and in us. Because we live in hope, we have been working hopefully. We have not accomplished all that we have imagined. But if we had, who would need hope? Our hopeful work has enabled us to see several moments of impact in our ministry response to the earthquake in Haiti one year ago.

• We supported the work of first responders
• We provided food security where we bought crops from Haitian farmers, employed Haitian caterers to cook, and fed patients in a Haitian hospital
• We provided cash grants to thousands of people
• We provided grocery grants to thousands of people
• We deployed doctors and nurses
• We deployed a clinical psychologist/pastor to work with pastors and their spouses
• We sent teams for pastoral visits to listen, learn, encourage, and pray
• We funded training seminars for pastors
• We funded a week-long youth retreat for more than 500 teenagers
• We financed medical responses to combat cholera
• We financed sanitation and water solutions to families to combat cholera
• We partnered to send $1 Million for housing solutions in Cabaret and Leogane
• We provide technical support for churches who are doing large scale responses
• We are planning short-term missions assignments for 2011
• We are working with Haitian and Haitian-American leaders to craft and advance a clear and compelling advocacy agenda for Haiti

Our grief does not prevent our hope. For “we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3 – 5).

As we remember 12 January 2010, let us work in hope for Haiti.

30 December 2010

African American Baptists Give $1 Million for Housing in Haiti

On 30 December 2010, the African American Baptist Mission Collaboration transferred five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to Habitat for Humanity International to provide permanent housing solutions in Leogane, Haiti in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake. The Collaboration is a partnership between Lott Carey; National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and Progressive National Baptist Convention. With this transfer and our one-half million dollar grant in June, we have given one million dollars ($1,000,000) for housing solutions in Haiti in 2010! The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoice.

1 September 2010

Answering the Call

Lott Carey Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Rev. David Emmanuel Goatley, Ph. D., authored the following article for the September 2010 edition of the Habitat World magazine. See the magazine at Habit World Magazine.

In spite of the trends in many fast-paced societies where people are more and more isolated and separated, all of us deeply need community. In the sentiment of an ancient African proverb, “I am because we are.” People are healthy and whole when we are in meaningful relationships with others. We share insights, wisdom, strength, joys and sorrows. We are not independent. We are interdependent.

Habitat’s commitment to partnership with God and people to develop communities with people in need of housing is a valuable contribution to making life better and fuller for people. There are no givers and receivers in this model. There are only sharers, and whether one shares through donating resources or through participating in construction, all share and all receive. Consequently, all are blessed.

The work of Habitat is also involved in providing housing solutions for families who need them. Nearly everyone longs for a place to call home where they can feel out of harm’s way and know that they have space and place to be “at home.” Decent housing should not be reserved for the few or the well-to-do. Decent housing is connected to stable communities and contributes to strong societies.

Building community and providing safe housing are essential to Habitat’s work and connected to the biblical instruction to care for “the least of these.” “The least of these” refers, in part, to those who are vulnerable. Who is more vulnerable than those who live outside of community and absent safe shelter? Isolation and exposure prevent people from being able to thrive. To thrive, to live into one’s fullest possibilities, is surely part of God’s vision for the world.

When we advance the work of Habitat, we help to bring stability and security to vulnerable populations. When people are safe and sound, they can be more of what God’s will is for their lives.

9 August 2010

NEWS RELEASE

Contacts:
Nakia Fowler
Habitat for Humanity International
404-962-3445 nfowler@habitat.org

Deidre Malone/Latrivia Nelson

The Carter Malone Group, LLC

901-278-0881

dmalone@cmgpr.com

Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention members meeting in Columbus, Ohio this week helped contribute $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity for housing in Haiti: Model of Haiti transitional housing on display during the Annual Session

Thousands of members of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention will be in Columbus this week for an annual conference. Many of the conference participants helped contribute a $500,000 gift from The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration (AABMC) to Habitat for Humanity International as a part of their commitment to help Haitians rebuild their lives and communities. This contribution is the largest single donation given to Habitat by a faith community for its Haiti earthquake-recovery efforts. AABMC has committed to raise $50 million for Haiti.

“Creating housing solutions for families in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti is among the highest priorities for all of us,” said Dr. David E. Goatley, secretary and treasurer, Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention. “Shelter is critical for people to build secure lives, and the partnership between the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration and Habitat for Humanity is a unique expression of compassion and empowerment.”

Presidents from Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and the Progressive National Baptist Convention came together in January of this year and formed the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration to create an opportunity to more effectively respond to the devastation in Haiti after the earthquake. The partnership with Habitat is one of the first to fulfill that mission.

“Habitat is currently providing housing solutions for families in Haiti recovering from January’s earthquake,” said Mike Carscaddon, executive vice president, Habitat for Humanity International. “Our overall goal is to serve approximately 50,000 families in Haiti, including approximately 3,000 in the town of Cabaret. This significant gift from the AABMC will be used for our work in Cabaret to help 630 families have shelter from the rain.”

The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration represents more than 10 million Christians in the United States, most of whom are of African-American heritage.

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built, rehabilitated, repaired or improved more than 350,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.75 million people.

Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention is an association of Baptist churches throughout the world committed …. The conference is taking place Aug. 9- 13 in Columbus.

###

8 June 2010

Contacts:
Nakia Fowler
Habitat for Humanity International
404-962-3445 nfowler@habitat.org

Deidre Malone/Latrivia Nelson

The Carter Malone Group, LLC

901-278-0881

dmalone@cmgpr.com

African-American Baptists donate $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity for housing in Haiti

This is the largest gift given to Habitat from a faith community for recovery efforts in Haiti

ATLANTA— The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration (AABMC) presented a check for $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity International in Atlanta, GA on Tuesday, 8 June 2010, as a part of their commitment to help Haitians rebuild their lives and communities. This contribution is the largest single donation given to Habitat by a faith community for its Haiti earthquake-recovery efforts.

Presidents from Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Baptist Convention of America; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; and the Progressive National Baptist Convention were on hand for the presentation. The Baptist communities came together in January of this year and formed the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration to create an opportunity to more effectively respond to the devastation in Haiti after the earthquake. The partnership with Habitat is one of the first to fulfill that mission.

"We are inspired to invest in this ministry for housing solutions, because we are following the teachings of Jesus who said that when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give shelter to those without shelter that we do this for him. We do this for Jesus, and we do this for those who suffer in Haiti," said Dr. Stephen John Thurston, President, National Baptist Convention of America.

"Habitat is currently providing housing solutions for families in Haiti recovering from January's earthquake," said Mike Carscaddon, executive vice president, Habitat for Humanity International. "Our overall goal is to serve approximately 50,000 families in Haiti, including approximately 3,000 in the town of Cabaret. This significant gift from the AABMC will be used for our work in Cabaret to help 630 families have shelter from the rain."

The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration represents more than 10 million Christians in the United States, most of whom are of African-American heritage. For more information on AABMC, contact Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley regarding the group effort at (202) 543-3200 or degoatley@aol.com.

17 April 2010

Today, we loaded the last of more than 50 tons (100,000+) of supplies left our warehouses in Lake Charles, LA to be loaded on a ship and sent to Haiti. This shipment is in addition to several tons of supplies we sent in partnership with Friendships Unlimited that sailed several weeks ago. See a video report here. See additional video updates on Lott Carey TV on YouTube.

We rejoice in this partnership between National Baptist Convention of America and Lott Carey that is showing that "Faith Works"!

31 March 2010

On Wednesday, 31 March 2010, international leaders are meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York for and International Donors’ Conference for Haiti. Some estimates hold that Haiti will need $4 billion in investments during the next 18 months to rebuild hospitals, schools, roads and ports, as well as to rebuild and re-design Haiti in a way enables growth and strength. Afterward, additional funds will be needed to support reconstruction and renewal agenda. We pray for grace and guidance for those who will engage in this important work for our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

During 29 March – 1 April, the Haiti Baptist Convention, and association of 112 churches, is hosting “Rise Again and Witness: a therapeutic conference for pastors and their families.” Lott Carey sent a pastor/psychologist to share in the conference by leading the Bible studies during the morning devotions and by leading two sessions on pastoral care and counseling in post traumatic situations. The conference is intended to help relieve pastors and their families on their journeys through grief, sorrow, and trauma. As they are healing, they will be instrumental in helping others to heal.

Traumatized communities need healthy leaders, spiritually, morally, and emotionally. Pastors and their families need help to negotiate their grief, trauma, and fear. The conference will minister to these church and community leaders in a safe place for testimony and sharing.

During Holy Week, we remember that -

“Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6, RSV).

As we remember the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God, we pray for help and hope and healing for Haiti. May we all live in the power of the testimony that, "He is risen."

25 March 2010

A small Lott Carey team spent last week in Haiti. The purpose of our visit was to listen and learn, to offer a ministry of encouragement, to review our first phase of response, and to plan our next 90 days strategy. God blessed our four person team with safe and productive work.

Many buildings are crumbled, collapsed, or crippled - leaning at peculiar angles as if they are waiting for one good push to end their misery. Witnessing people living under makeshift shelters of tarpaulin wrapped around sticks or, even worse, cardboard and sheets wrapped around sheets was depressing. The smells of waste and decomposition fill the warm and humid air. Some people seem depressed and discouraged. Others seem to be moving about trying to conduct small scale business and making modest progress. It is a lot to absorb, and it leaves one feeling overwhelmed.

We met with our network of churches, L'Union Strategique des Eglesis Baptistes d'Haiti, who gave us updates on life since the earthquake and how our partners have moved with ministry. Among the encouraging moments of our visit was accompanying our colleagues as they traveled to a caterer's home to pick up 150 meals that are prepared daily for the St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc. One of the exciting aspects of this ministry response is that our investment is employing eight women who work five hours per day six days a week to prepare the meals for the hospital. This approach is addressing the need to empower Haitians in the aftermath of the earthquake. We are not importing food, but empowering people.

We had a goal of providing grocery grants to 1,000 families impacted by the earthquake this month. The efficiency of our partners enabled them to provide 1,280 families with groceries that last about a week. Modest cash grants have also been given to 1,000 families. We will support our partners to extend their ministries of hospitality and nutrition through the next several weeks.

The needs in Haiti are great at this time, but the following are some of the needs that were described to us.

Transitional shelters for families to provide a dry place to sleep at night and some shelter from the sun during the day.
Food
Employment opportunities or small business grants
Psychological care for people living with stress from the quake, aftershocks, and losses
Temporary shelter for schools and instructional supplies for students

We are working to build a response to each of these items, and we are working with our Haitian colleagues to determine scale, scope, and schedule possibilities for volunteer opportunities. As you are aware, Lott Carey seeks to avoid mission tourism. We try to ensure that short-term missions assignments are targeted with meaning and purpose, and that they are born out of needs expressed by our hosting partners. We do all we can to avoid "using" our partners to provide visitation opportunities that primarily make us feel good and result in our doing very little good.

An example of our doing all that we can to be responsible missional partners is related to our approach to nutritional support mentioned above. We are making every effort to purchase foods that are Haitian produced and to provide meals that are Haitian prepared. One of the difficulties being imposed on Haiti's recovery is how outside generosity is undermining the fragile agriculture capacity in country. When foods are shipped from outside the country and distributed freely, locally grown foods are not purchased. This hurts the local growers and workers. We are trying to be sensitive to these dynamics and supportive in ways that enable and not interfere.

We thank God for your generous hearts and ask you for your continuous prayers. Ask for discernment. Ask for resources. Ask for partners. Ask for grace.

2 March 2010

AFRICAN-AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSION COLLABORATION
PLEDGES $50 MILLION TO HELP REBUILD HAITI

Five major African-American Baptist organizations pledge
$50 million in life-sustaining services and facilities to help
Haiti and earthquake survivors

Chicago – (March 2, 2010) The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration (AABMC) today unveiled plans for a massive $50 million project to help rebuild Haiti and provide aid to Haitian earthquake survivors. At a press conference held at New Covenant Baptist Church in Chicago, organization leaders said the money will be raised largely through church donations.

The Collaboration includes five of America’s largest, historic African-American Baptist organizations, representing more than 40,000 church congregations and 10 million Christians nationwide. They are: Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; National Baptist Convention of America, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. This is the first time the organizations have come together for a united effort.

The Collaboration will provide assistance that includes plans for:

• Five health care clinics to provide restorative health services and wellness
• 50 schools with enhanced learning environments
• 500 reconstructed churches to serve as center points for community empowerment
• 5,000 homes to house victims left homeless following the earthquake

“The images coming from Haiti are devastating,” said Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr., president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. “Our vision for Haiti, however, is not limited to the images we’ve seen. We will work with Haitian partners to rebuild strong homes, churches, schools and clinics.”

The AABMC has also begun providing:

• Weekly deployment of medical professionals to provide critical medical services and care
• A daily feeding program in Port-au-Prince that feeds hundreds of people per day
• A daily feeding program providing 150 meals every day for earthquake patients at Saint-Marc hospitals

Other significant components include providing water, energy supplies, cash grants and groceries to families and individuals in need. In February, 1,000 families who lost homes in Legoane (near the earthquake’s epicenter) and communities to the west of Port-au-Prince received a total of $30,000 in cash and grocery grants.

“Providing immediate response to immediate needs has been critical,” said Dr. Stephen John Thurston, president of the National Baptist Convention of America and senior pastor of the New Covenant Baptist Church. “Having existing working relationships with established churches in the country enabled us to move swiftly to provide food, water, temporary shelter and pastoral care. This is reminiscent of the immediate support that churches gave to people in our own country in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in 2005.”

AABMC also is developing a volunteer management program to assist the more than 10 million AABMC church members across America who may want to help by donating their personal time. The program will operate via online application, providing volunteer service opportunities that match interests to needs. The volunteer program will include scheduling service assignments in Haiti for the next several months.

“We realize that members of our churches across America are deeply affected by the damage that this earthquake has wreaked on families and individuals in Haiti,” said Dr. Julius R. Scruggs, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, whose convention launched an online volunteer recruitment platform days after the January 12 earthquake. “This is a way that our members can give of their personal time and resources to help our brothers and sisters recover in Haiti,” he said.

It is estimated that more than one million children in Haiti are now orphans because of the earthquake. AABMC is rising to this challenge by establishing an orphanage partnership program. Under this program, AABMC will connect its member churches and social organizations with orphanages in Haiti to ensure that Haitian orphans are properly cared for and nurtured.

“African-American Baptists know what it means to support one another through devastation,” said Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley, executive secretary-treasurer of Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention and the coordinator for the African American Baptist Mission Collaboration. “We know what it means to care for children through extended families. We are committed to work on behalf of those who are most vulnerable in the aftermath of this tragedy and to labor to help children know safety, security, and nurturing care.”

For additional information on the AABMC Haitian development project, or for more information on how to contribute to AABMC on behalf of Haiti, please contact AABMC at 202.543.3200 202.543.3200 , or lottcarey@lottcarey.org.

# # #

The African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration was formed in February 2010 and consists of five historic African-American Baptist communities – Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention; National Baptist Convention, USA; National Missionary Baptist Convention of America; National Baptist Convention of America, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. These five Baptist communities represent more than 40,000 Baptist churches across America, and more than 10 million Christians nationwide. The purpose of the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration is to help rebuild and revitalize Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake that occurred in January, 2010. For more information on the African-American Baptist Mission Collaboration, or to learn how to donate to AABMC to help rebuild Haiti, call 202.543.3200 202.543.3200 or email lottcarey@lottcarey.org.

10 February 2010

A Call to Action!

We are calling you to action to bring the attention to two troubling developments in Haiti to your United States Congressperson and your two Senators.

Concern #1
An excerpt from a recent email plea from one of our colleagues working in Haiti reads: “Tell the people something for me. Tell them that injured people I send to the Dominican Republic for help have mostly come back with limbs missing. That's all they are doing cutting, cutting, cutting and then closing the wound up and releasing the people. The doctors there are cutting off EVERYTHING, arms, legs, toes, feet, fingers. You have a cut or a wound and they just cut off the limbs. The people returning from the DR are always missing a limb. They are doubly traumatized and more depressed. Tell the people that for me. This can't go on like this anymore.”

Medical care performed by surgeons on US ships is saving limbs. Amputations are much more frequent on land. We need our governmental leaders to investigate this practice and to work with Haitian governmental leaders to find a better remedy. We should not passively watch people losing limbs. If mass amputations, are deemed necessary, then we and our international partners must work with the Haitian government to invest in the physical and therapeutic rehabilitation with prosthetic limbs, guided by the Americans with Disabilities standards.

Concern #2
The US government is allowing a “fast-track” approach to adoption of Haitian orphans. There is a reason that adoption processes are slow. There needs to be adequate time to ensure, as best as possible, that adoptive families are safe and stable. When an adopted child is placed in a dangerous home, assistance too often arrives too late. The child is already injured or damaged or dead. If a US child is adopted by a US family and finds herself in trouble, there is a possibility that she can call someone for help. If a Haitian child is adopted by a family in a different country and finds himself in trouble, whom will he call? We cannot allow the most vulnerable people - children without families to protect and to provide for them - to be placed in homes without the appropriately thorough investigations. For those who have already been placed, we must insist on increased resources for post-adoption investigations to ensure their well-being.

Here is what we need to do.

Contact your Congressperson and your Senators now, and insist that they investigate the issues of wide spread amputations in Haiti and of fast-track adoption of Haitian orphans.

The United States must work with the Haitian Government and the international community to improve the lives and livelihoods of some of the most vulnerable people in our hemisphere. We should not damage them.

Locate your Congressperson’s contact information at http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

Locate your Senator’s contact information at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Your voice, our voices, will make a difference. Speak up now, and spread the word!

2 February 2010

Our family in Haiti is continuing to provide immediate relief, and they are hoping for additional support from the international community soon, especially in areas not receiving media interests. While most of the world's attention is on the tragedy of Port-au-Prince, others are suffering as well from the earthquake and from a lack of attention and response.

Our church network in Haiti, L'Union Strategique des Eglesis Baptistes d'Haiti, immediately went into action. Among their responses was to provide meals to internally displaced persons who were coming to St. Marc to stay as well as in transit. They also began providing meals to patients in the St. Marc Hospital. We will ramp up that capacity to provide patients one meal per day for the next month.

We are providing cash grants for families. Most Haitians live on less than $2.00 per day, and this support will be very helpful. We are providing "grocery grants" to families as well. This will help address the growing malnutrion problems that our doctors and others are seeing more of.

Our support of our partner church network for the last ten years through monthly financial assistance to the churches, special project grants (church facility rehabilitation, micro business loan grants to each church, cash for grants to families after previous hurricanes), and annual pastoral leadership training in the summer have been useful to strengthen their capacity to launch into action. We will continue to strengthen their capacity to serve in holistic ways and seek how we can expand support to other networks as well.

Our churches to the west of Port-au-Prince have taken a beating. We have lost four of our 22 church buildings completely, and their families are devastated. People here are in desperate condition.

In Leogane, the mission supported church, Lott Carey Baptist Church, is cracked all over. The front of the church collapsed making it totally unusable. The church members (250) have all lost their homes; they are now living in makeshift tents and are totally destitute. Some of the members are injured and hospitalized. There is a great need for food and basic shelter. In addition, the school is severely cracked and partially destroyed. The students (450) have nowhere to go during the day, are in the streets, with very little nourishments. Our hope is that more help will get to the city, where every family is affected by the tragedy.

Macedonia Baptist Church at Petite-Rivière de Nippes, is completely damaged with cracks in every parts of the building. The 300 members met last Sunday outdoors for the weekly service. Unfortunately, they have not received any help to our knowledge.

Platon Moneron Baptist Church, in the mountains of Petite-Rivière de Nippes, is completely damaged. There is an overwhelming need for food and the basic necessities there as well. (200 members).

Since impassabile roads have prevented personal visitations to Miragoane, we do not know the extent of devastation there or how the people are faring. We are hoping for the best, but if other locations near Miragoane are any indication, we can assume that the people are in dire need as well. We pray that lives were spared, and the number of injuries limited.

We rejoice in the energy of medical professionals who are volunteering for service. We have heard from more than 40 medical professionals offering themselves for service in less than two weeks. Many of them are now in process of preparing for deployment. Others are already scheduled for February deployment.

We continue to pray for our growing collaboration that is emerging in unprecedented ways. We continue to live with hope.

29 January 2010

We heard from our network of churches in Haiti today. Our leaders from St. Marc continue to provide care and relief for the large numbers of people who have fled Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the earthquake. Some have come to stay while others are transient - on their way to other parts of the country.

As you can imagine there is a large need for providing food and shelter and a ministry of presence. In this time of crisis, the church is a place where people are turning for help. Many churches in Haiti are doing there best to "step up". We rejoice in the churches in the US with whom we are working as well. Churches with missional hearts are "stepping up" for Haiti.

An additional challenge that people are facing in Haiti is related to medical care. You have heard news reports about people who have not been able to secure medical care and how infections are likely to increase dramatically. Amputations are expected to rise. The fragile medical infrastructure in Haiti will continue to be challenged and stressed. One challenge in the communities that are receiving internally displaced persons related to what people face when they get emergency care and have to leave the over-burdened hospital. When you get released from emergency care, where do you go when your home is destroyed? How do you get follow-up care? This is a need that our network and others are trying to determine how to address.

Our leaders from St. Marc went to Leogane this week. This city is near the epicenter of the earthquake. It took a full day to make the 60 km trip (that takes two ours or so under normal circumstances). Negotiating the roads, debris, and detours made for a stressful and challenging trip. Streets in Leogane are still filled with rubble. It is still difficult to confirm survivals because many people who were able scattered to the country sides.

Our team could not reach Miragoane which is about 60 km west of the epicenter. The roads were impassible.

We continue to pray for and work for our sisters and brothers, as we help people rise again.

28 January 2010

Collaborations and Volunteers

We rejoice in an unprecedented spirit of collaboration to bring support to our sisters and brothers in Haiti in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and its aftermath. We celebrate a partnership of those with a Heart for Haiti that presently includes:

Kingdom Association of Covenant Pastors (www.kingdomassociation.org)
National Baptist Convention of America (www.nbca-inc.org)
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (www.sdpconference.info)
The African American Pulpit (http://www.theafricanamericanpulpit.com)
Lott Carey (www.lottcarey.org)

Our regular conversations are planting seeds for additional partnerships daily. We thank God for the Spirit of collaboration that we are witnessing! Below are two strategic alliances we have cultivated to help deploy the gifts and abilities of many in these networks. We continue to expand our capacities to deploy and servce.

We are collaborating with Mercy Ships (www.mercyships.org) to facilitate some volunteer opportunities in Haiti. The opportunities for service will be pressing for several months through a few years, and this partnership will enable us to make fuller use of the variety of gifts available through the growing collaboration of Christians with a Heart for Haiti. If you feel inspired to volunteer in Haiti, this is one vehicle that we are making available. To begin the application process does not commit you at this time. It can, however, be part of a journey of discernment as you seek to hear God's call on your life for engaging in the ongoing relief and recovery efforts with our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

Medical personnel are invited to contact us to connect with our partners who are working for deployment of volunteers in February. We are especially looking for doctors, Physicians Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners for the February 14 and 21 trips, but there is much room on the Feb 7 trip as well. These are one week assignments in partnership with American Baptist Churches International Missions. If you hear God calling you to this ministry, email us at lottcarey@lottcarey.org and type "Medical Volunteer" in the subject line. We will share the documents relevant to applying and help you connect swiftly with the volunteer coordinators for medical support.

We will continue to share opportunities for service as we develop them.

27 January 2010

Medical Volunteers Needed

We are seeking medical professionals who are interested and available to volunteer in Haiti. Volunteers will fly into the Dominican Republic, be transported to Port-au-Prince by vehicle to serve for five days, then return to the Dominican Republic to fly back to the US. Medical professionals who are interested in applying for these service opportunities should do the following:

Send an email to lottcarey@lottcarey.org with "Medical Volunteer" typed in the Subject Line.
Let us know your area of practice (e.g., general practice, surgery, registered nurse, etc.).
There will be a need for many weeks to come for medical professionals. We invite you to pray for laborers for this field

26 January 2010

Our Lott Carey Churches in and around St. Marc, Haiti are busy feeding and caring for internally displaced persons who have been leaving Port-au-Prince. We understand that people have been arriving in St. Marc by the hundreds daily. Resources are being sent to assist in caring for those who are arriving in need. Thanks for making resources available for this need in addition to the support for medical care and rescue and recovery work in Port-au-Prince.

We have learned that four of our 22 churches have suffered destruction. The churches are in: Leogane, Miragoane, Petit Riviere de Nippes, Petit Goave. We are still awaiting confirmations of life or death. Communication within the country is still very difficult. You can see a map of Haiti and the roster of our churches as you pray for the people of Haiti.

22 January 2010

We rejoice in a growing momentum of concern and generosity around the world since the 12 January 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti. Once again, the Lott Carey Network is demonstrating its capacity to mobilize swiftly and significantly to be a blessing to those who struggle. Thank you for your open hearts and open hands.

Although the needs in Haiti are still emerging, the Lott Carey Network’s experience in responding to disasters in recent years (e.g., Hurricane Ivan that battered Grenada in 2004; the Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated communities on the coast of Somali in 2004; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that ravaged the Gulf Coast of the US in 2005; and Hurricane Ike that destroyed much of Galveston, TX in 2008) has taught us how to prepare to “help people rise again.” That is not just a motto for us. It is a commitment. We want you to know how our response strategy is emerging.

Financial Support
We are receiving financial support from churches, individuals, and foundations who are committed to Lott Carey approach of international engagement – providing financial assistance and technical support to indigenous communities and leaders so that they can do more effectively what God is calling them to do. We are supporting the first responder work of Baptist World Aid that has a Rescue 24 team that is working now from the United States and Europe.

We will use money to provide direct support to families through our network of churches, L’Union Strategique des Eglises Baptistes D’Haiti, as well as additional church and organizational partnerships that we are developing. Families will need money for living expenses in a variety of ways as people relocate from hard hit areas in and around Port-au-Prince to other parts of the nation.

We will also use your financial support and the lessons we have learned from various international partners to ramp up appropriate service responses. In Grenada we repaired and/or rebuilt houses. In Somalia we purchased fishing boats and equipment to launch self-sustaining economic empowerment, funded a hospital, and provided psycho-social counseling. In the Gulf Coast we provided pastoral ministry, social service support, mental health counseling, child development programs, coaching for pastors, grants to churches, scholarships for adult vocational and academic education, and support economic development projects.

It is too early for us to make definitive decisions about multi-month and multi-year programs less than two weeks after the initial earthquake. However, you can see that we have experience that will help us to collaborate with Haitians to determine effective strategies to help people rise again.

Supplies
We are partnering with Friend Ships Unlimited to ship needed supplies to Haiti. We have provided a supply list with specific instructions for preparation and shipment. As we receive specific requests for additional items, we will post those lists with instructions. On the first voyage that leaves the end of January, Friend Ships Unlimited will work with partners in context who are ready to deploy. They have a large complex to set up a base camp and operate from on the ground. They also have 2000 homeless people camped out on their property right now. We have purposely not committed ourselves to a lot of specifics beyond that for this first trip until so that we are able to respond as we see fit while we are in port. An initial team of 30 people will be there to distribute the supplies. Subsequent missions can carry supplies that churches or organizations in the States are sending to a specific group in Haiti, if by that time, logistics are such that the groups will be able to pick up the goods.

Volunteers
We are conferring with a range of partners to determine the skills needed and the opportunities available for service in Haiti. There are many needs and many compassionate people who are willing to go. We manage opportunities and interests with the capacity in the country to receive and deploy your service well. We do not want to burden our partners in country with concern about providing lodging, food, and transportation for more people than they can accommodate. This will be a multi-year opportunity for service, and Lott Carey has good experience in implementing effective international immersion opportunities.

Remember to pray for those who struggle and suffer, and pray for those who serve. You can give online here.

21 January 2010

We received this message from our partners in Haiti today.

“It has been very difficult to get definitive news on the pastors, their churches and congregants in the Lott Carey network. Most people in St Marc (which is north of Port-au-Prince) are not getting news about Port-au-Prince and the other southwest regions impacted by the earthquake. Pastor Marc-Pierre-Louis, President of our network of churches in Haiti, has had reports of a couple of churches destroyed in the Petit Goave region. In Leogane, which is very near the epicenter of the earthquake, one Lott Carey Church is cracked and split completely down the middle! We have, at this point, no confirmed reports of fatalities from the churches. However, there is very little information because the lines of communication are almost totally destroyed.

“Pastor Marc is coordinating the humanitarian aide from St Marc to feed people arriving by the hundreds in St Marc everyday. Whatever supplies they had on hand are almost depleted. He is making a plea over the airwaves for St Marc residents to provide whatever meager assistance possible to the relief effort of feeding and providing shelter to those coming from Port-au-Prince.

"Pastor Pierre-Louis will provide update as he continues the efforts to contact the Lott Carey family in diverse parts of the country.”

We continue to pray for our sisters and brothers in Haiti. Please see a video message from Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley here.

20 January 2010

We are supporting first responder volunteers in Haiti through our partnership with Baptist World Aid. Our support, along with others, has helped experienced first responders, such as some from Hungary, to go to Haiti for faithful and difficult service. The article below represents one story that helps us learn about the depth of tragedy that people are enduring in the aftermath of the earthquake.

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Children of pastor who died in quake speak to the BWA

Bienne L’Amerique, 46, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, died in the earthquake that struck the country on January 12. Bela Szilagyi, director of Hungarian Baptist Aid and a member of the Baptist World Aid Rescue24 team currently in Haiti, spoke with the L'Amerique family. The survivors include sons Bethill, 16, Berlau George, 13, and daughter Bioutelle, 11.

The following email was received from Szilagyi in Port-au-Prince.

Pastor Lamerique, now with the Lord due to the tragic earthquake, was one of the leading Baptist pastors in Haiti. He led a church of 600, managed a kindergarten, a primary school and a children’s sports club. His wife and children survived. They shared the happenings of the devastating hour:

“I was reading on the first floor when the earth moved as if a great chasm opened up and our house fell into it,” said Bioutelle, the 11 year old daughter.“My mother and father were talking in the living room; my father was just standing up to leave the house. A piece of the ceiling fell down, hit his head and he fell on the ground. My mother also fell down on the ground and rolled under the table. As for me, I don't know what happened to me.

The children of Bienne L’Amerique, pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, who died in the earhtquake on January 12. From left to right: Berlau George, 13, Bioutelle, 11, and Bethill, 16.

"All I remember is my older brother pulling me out from under the rubble. My leg was hurting very badly but it only had scratches on it.”

The eldest child, Bethill, 16 years old, joins in: “I was watching TV on the second floor and I heard a screeching, exploding noise as the house collapsed. I was not hurt and I was able to pull my little sister out from under the ruins. My younger brother was not at home, he was at [our] grandmother’s place. We heard the screaming of our mother and we found her under the concrete rubble. She could not move. My sister and I tried to rescue her and pull her out. I don't know how we managed it. I'm only 16 and not very strong; Bioutelle’s just a little girl. Our dad was too deep under, we could not move him. He did not speak a word and he did not move. My mother is saying that it is possible that he died immediately when the ceiling fell on his head.”

“It is difficult, our hearts are broken,” said Bethill.

[She] shared how she loves to play and to make music on the flute and the violin. When I asked her to play me her favorite piece she says she cannot. “It has broken to pieces in the earthquake, like our dreams.”

(January 20, 2010)
©Baptist World Alliance

16 January 2010

The news of the earthquake's devastation in the Republic of Haiti continues to be overwhelming. We are encouraged, however, about the compassion that is inspiring the Lott Carey network to move quickly

We launched a Mission Alert urging prayer support and financial contributions for people in Haiti. Lott Carey will work in collaboration with L'Union Strategique des Eglesis Baptistes d'Haiti and other church networks to facilitate cash grants to families impacted by the earthquake through churches. L'Union is our group of 22 churches in Haiti for whom we provide monthly financial support and annual Pastors' Schools for training in theology and ministry in AIDS contexts. While food and water will eventually begin making its way to people, our experience with previous hurricane disasters in Haiti teaches us that people will also need some cash to make things happen.
We entered a partnership with the National Baptist Convention of America and Friend Ships Unlimited to solicit supplies for a ship that will carry workers and supplies to Haiti in the coming days.
We teleconferenced for information gathering with the White House, USAID, and the National Security Council.
We are consulting for collaboration with various communities like the North American Baptist Fellowship Disaster Relief Network, the NAACP, the missions executives from all four National Baptist Conventions, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, the Kingdom Association of Covenant Pastors, the Hampton University Ministers' Conference, and The African American Pulpit Network. We will continue to explore synergies with these communities and more.

We are working on our longer-term strategic options. We need you to pray for discernment.

One approach can replicate our robust multi-year impact in Somalia following the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami where we funded a hospital, psycho-social care for traumatized children, skills training for young adults, and launched an economic development fishing collaborative for self-sustainability. We did this in partnership with the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. and Baptist World Aid.
Another approach can follow the ongoing partnership for substantial engagement in the Gulf Coast of the United States following hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike. We have enabled pastoral care ministries, food and clothing distribution, social service assistance, mental health counseling, child development programs, economic development housing projects, grants to churches, coaching for pastors, free legal advice, skills training for discouraged workers, and the development of a Christian campground that is also a command post for future hurricanes in the region. We have done this work in collaboration with the National Baptist Convention of America, National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, the African American Catholic Congregation, The Fountain Baptist Church/Fountain Project, and with a new partnership with the Ford Foundation and the Stafford Foundation.

The longer term possibilities for helping people rise again will depend on the scale and scope of support. The Lott Carey Network's generosity enabled us to make some of the largest humanitarian investments from church communities in Somalia following the tsunami and in the Gulf Coast following Katrina. The depth of our response will drive the breadth of our work.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and donations. We value on ongoing support for our sisters and brothers in this catastrophe. We intend to walk through it with them. We have learned that, as we are faithful, God provides.

12 January 2010

Responding to the January 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

A massive earthquake struck Haiti the evening of 12 January 2010. It was the worst earthquake in 200 years. Lott Carey is receiving funds to support families impacted by the tragedy in partnership L'Union Strategique des Eglesis Baptistes d'Haiti. Our partners are a network of 22 churches through whom we will reach people in community to help people rise again from this disaster.

See a map of the devastated area at Map of Impacted Area in Haiti.

To provide financial support send a check or money order designated for "Haiti Earthquake Relief" to Lott Carey, 220 I Street, NE, Suite 220, Washington, DC 20002 or give online. Donate

Join us in prayer for the victims of the earthquake.

Join us in prayer for the responders who are arriving to serve.

Join us for a spirit of generosity and compassion to meet the needs ahead.

Additionally, Lott Carey, National Baptist Convention of America and Friend Ships are Loading a Disaster Response Ship for Relief to Haiti. See Supply List for Haiti

Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, 220 I Street NE, Suite 220, Washington DC 20002-4389 202.543.3200

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