Many thanks to GMSM supporter David Triana for including us in his article about Haiti.
Here is a copy of the article that was printed in the March edition of their paper:
Even before January 12, 2010, Haiti was a hard place to live for the majority of its citizens. As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, it has had a traumatic history filled with corruption and dictators abusing its populace.
On the evening of 12 January, its capital of Port Au Prince was struck by one of the modern world’s worst natural disasters in the form of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. It is estimated that the earthquake destroyed 70% of the buildings in the capital and 90% of the buildings in towns close to the epicenter!
More than 200,000 people are believed to have been killed with more than 194,000 injured and over 1 million were left homeless.
Some of the first responders to the earthquake were Air Force personnel from Hurlburt Field. Additionally, dozens of Christian organizations that have been operating in Haiti for many years were also critical to the initial response.
“The devastation is incredible and hard to describe, Haiti was a hard place to live before, now it is even worse!” said Kenny Phillips, Founder/Director of Give Me Shelter Ministries (GMSM). GMSM’s mission is to “provide help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ, sharing the Word of God and promise of Eternal Shelter, to those most in need anywhere in the world.”
Kenny had been to Haiti several times before. After the earthquake, he accompanied members of Truth Evangelistic Ministries (TEM), another local organization, to deliver aid and monetary donations to Christian churches.
“GMSM is in need of funds to help with the expenses of our upcoming trip in March. We are proud to say that all monies raised go towards our relief efforts. We totally depend on God’s grace and mercy to meet our needs” added Kenny.
GMSM has also been serving orphanages and the poor of Nuevo Laredo, México for eight years delivering food, medical supplies and building homes.
Some unofficial estimates fear the number of new orphans may be upwards of 700,000 as a direct result of the earthquake! Christian ministries also serve many orphanages in Haiti. Another agency doing great work there is the American Red Cross.
It will be many years before Haiti recovers from the aftermath of this latest tragedy! Long after news of the earthquake has disappeared from the front pages of newspapers, thousands of people will still be living in tents or temporary housing. Even more tragic, the children left homeless and orphaned will still need the support of caring human beings to provide food, education and shelter for them.
Want to help Haiti? Do so by attending the upcoming NAACP4HAITI concert scheduled for 14 March, 12pm – 6pm at Fort Walton Beach’s Landing Park (downtown FWB). La Costa Latina is one of the sponsors of the concert and several Latino performers were invited to participate. For more info, see ad in this edition.
For more information on how to donate towards Haiti relief, please go to:
http://www.givemeshelterministries.org/ (contact #: 850-496-7398)
http://truthem.org/ (contact #: 850-582-1458)
http://www.redcross.org/haiti (1-800-842-2200)