Responding to Hurricane Matthew in Haiti 

Baptists and other development agencies have been responding to Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful storm to hit the Caribbean for a decade, in a variety of ways

Last Friday (7 October) BMS World Mission issued a statement to say it was ‘consulting with partners on the ground in Haiti, monitoring the situation and will be making a response very soon to help those in need in the best way possible’.
 
On Thursday 13 October BMS updated supporters with the news it had authorised a grant for £22,150 to help provide cholera treatment in the hard-hit south of Haiti.
 
In its initial release BMS highlighted a number of prayer points for Haiti.
 

• Pray for partners on the ground in extremely challenging situations, that they will be effective, wise and strengthened by God
• Pray for those affected by the disaster and in need of assistance, that they will get the help they need as soon as possible, and that they would know some measure of peace
• Pray for those who mourn. Hundreds of people have lost their lives in the hurricane and will be facing grief as well as challenges most of us will find hard to imagine.

 
Elsewhere Christian Aid launched a Hurricane Matthew appeal, stating that all those affected will need a lot of support to recover. Thousands have lost their homes, corn and banana crops have been flattened, and livestock have been swept away, the charity stated. Hundreds of people have died and cholera is a major fear.
 
For more visit: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/hurricane-matthew-appeal
 
The Baptist World Alliance also appealed for Baptists to aid Haiti. In a statement BWA General Secretary Neville Callam assured Haitian Baptists 'of our deep concern and our fervent prayers on your behalf. We stand in solidarity with you all and we pray that you will find God's grace sufficient for the crisis that you are passing through.'
 
The statement highlighted how BWA regional secretary for the Caribbean, Everton Jackson, was traveling to Haiti to do further assessment on the needs of the country.