07 January 2011
Haitian Methodist President and Secretary to visit UK and Ireland
The President and the Secretary of the Methodist Church in Haiti
are set to visit the UK and Ireland a year following the earthquake
that devastated their country.
President Revd Gesner Paul and Secretary Marco Depestre will travel
to the UK and Ireland where they will update partners on the
progress of the relief effort in Haiti. They will arrive on
February 24th and leave on March 8th during which time they will
meet with many people including Lord Leslie Griffiths, who was
ordained in Haiti, Revd Tom Quenet and Rev Laurence Graham of the
Methodist Church in Britain and Ireland.
The earthquake that rocked the island on 12 January 2010 killed
230,000 people and left one million people homeless. In the
immediate aftermath of the disaster, The Methodist Church in
Britain and the Methodist Relief and Development Fund launched
relief appeals which have raised more than £918,000 to date. So
far, £393,000 of this sum has been spent on Methodist Church in
Haiti projects with further funds channelled through MRDF's
emergency partner in the country.
Revd Tom Quenet, Partnership Coordinator for The Americas and The
Caribbean, said: "We're very much looking forward to Gesner Paul
and Marco Depestre's visit. They will be able to meet with
Methodist Church leadership and other supporters in Britain who
have been active in the relief effort.
"Recovery in Haiti has been painfully slow due to a complex
interplay of factors, not least of which has been the political
instability and insecurity facing Haitians and overseas workers.
But progress has been made. The Methodist Church in Haiti has
worked with many international partners to build schools and
clinics in settlement camps, move people from tents into
semi-permanent homes, rebuild schools and clinics and recover the
church's ability to provide long-term care and relief to Haitians
under these very difficult circumstances. Most Haitian people are
demonstrating their supreme dignity in the face of almost
impossible circumstances."
The relief effort has helped to provide shelter, water and
sanitation, counselling and support an emergency agricultural
project. A cholera epidemic, which has spread through all of
Haiti's ten regions, has affected more than 20,000 people, leaving
more than 2,000 dead. One of MRDF's partners in Haiti has carried
out information campaigns warning people about the disease's
symptoms and has also distributed water treatment tablets, water
cans and buckets.
Nick Burn, MRDF's Programme Manager for Haiti, said: "The situation
in Haiti remains critical. Daily life is extremely hard for the
million Haitians living in tents, but the people I met showed
dignity and resilience in adapting to the challenges they face. Our
partners are working tirelessly to meet both immediate needs and
provide long-term support for those affected by the
disaster."