Photo via charismamag.com

Haiti recovery threatened by pace of reconstruction

Haiti's comeback efforts could be at risk if the lives of survivors do not improve. Nearly six months after the quake flattened the heart of the country, roughly 1.5 million people are still living in precarious conditions, reports MNN.

Haiti's storm season is advancing, and the makeshift shelters housing people displaced by the January earthquake aren't likely to withstand the rains.

Permanent structures are not a common sight in the worst-hit areas, although some aid agencies are providing a compromise structure that is safer than the tent cities. Rubble removal is still hampering the process.

Meanwhile, those who are financing the rebuild are slowly defining the reconstruction map. In addition, the World Bank canceled Haiti's $36 million debt. Financiers are ready to front $479 million to support recovery and development through June 2011.

At the "Solidarity Beyond the Crisis" summit, heads of state discussed the best ways to approach not only what the country needs in order to recover from the earthquake, but also what is needed for its long-term economic growth. That translates into help in the future but offers little comfort for the immediacy of survival.

In the short-term, Ron Sparks with Baptist Haiti Mission says the small agencies are the ones making a big difference. "One of the things that we're most thankful for is that our schools have gotten back into operation, and the children are back in classes even though they are in makeshift quarters in some instances."

BHM has been working to meet the physical needs of more than 4500 families. "The good news." explains Sparks, is that "in the face of it all, there have been hundreds of people who have been very open to the Gospel and have made a profession of faith in Christ."

For BHM, sharing Christ with the kids in their schools is an investment in Haiti's future. Sparks notes, "These people who have become believers have become part of a church down there. They're growing into positions of responsibility and leadership in Haiti. These are the kind of people that we need and want to have in positions of leadership so that they can change the heart of the country."

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TAGS: Haiti earthquake storm season aid agencies recovery "Solidarity Beyond the Crisis" summit

[06/09/2010]

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