Latest News #289 – Haiti
October 14, 2004

Haitian Bible Society in partnership to assist hurricane victims

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The Haitian Bible Society and Christian humanitarian aid agencies are preparing to take supplies of food and Scriptures to families left homeless after Hurricane Jeanne raged across the north of the island last month. Flooding caused by the hurricane, which came only months after severe flooding and mudslides hit southern Haiti, has left an estimated 250,000 homeless. The most badly affected place is the city of Gonaives, where roads became rivers and many people were swept away, resulting in 1,000 deaths.

"The Bible Society has linked up with Christian aid agencies in order to respond to two of the most basic needs of the people," General Secretary Magda Victor explained. "The first is food for the body, the second is biblical materials – food for the soul."

Using stocks available locally, the Bible Society plans to supply 10,000 New Testaments, 10,000 French Bibles, 10,000 Haitian Bibles and 250,000 Selections to victims of Hurricane Jeanne living in Gonaives, at a cost of around US$100,500. The Scriptures will be placed in baskets of food being distributed by the aid agencies to people whose daily lives - in a country where poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy are rife - were a constant struggle even before the hurricane hit.

"The arrival of a Bible or New Testament in the hands of the traumatised brothers in Gonaives will bring courage and hope for the living," continued Mrs Victor. "We want to respond sensitively to the needs and suffering within the context of our work."