Mennonite Central Committee in action in Haiti

MCC has had a presence in Haiti since 1958.  As I've mentioned previously in this blog, I was deeply grateful for the time I spent with MCC in Haiti...I learned and grew and I came to admire the work of MCC phenomenally.  They are not just there to place a bandage on Haiti...they are invested for the long-term and have been long before January 12th and the earthquake that ravaged Haiti.

I know that there are some of you that have been supporters of MCC for a long time.  There are others who responded to the call for Disaster Relief buckets and blankets. You may have donated the material needed for those, or you volunteered your time to put them together.  There are many who donated financially to the MCC Haiti Disaster Response fund and it is through some of your donations that I was able to go with MCC as part of their Medical response.

While in Haiti, we communed with the Haitian MCC staff, both local and international staff and one of those staff persons is Ben Depp, whose photographs you will see in various parts of the blog postings below.  Ben was kind enough to give us some additional photos that he has taken since the earthquake and I wanted to share those with you, as they tell a pictorial story of MCC's response in Haiti, specific to the earthquake.  MCC has been focusing their aid in some of the smaller communities that have not had as much attention.  They are currently serving 6,000 people in those communities, through the distribution of the disaster relief buckets and through the distribution of food, as well.  Their very first response was water filters, the grave need identified by the Haitian staff.

There are Medical teams that have been sent, as well as, rotating teams of Structural Engineers who have been surveying a number of buildings for their soundness.  One of the Engineers that was at the guesthouse when we were there is a Seismic Engineer from California.  James, is originally from Kenya but has been teaching in the U.S. for over 20 years, I believe.  Most exciting, are the seminars that he is doing with local contractors and builders in Haiti, teaching them about the correct mixing of building materials and the design of building, to ensure stronger and more durable homes.  I find this very exciting! because this is what people need...they need to be enabled and taught. They don't want everything done for them and that serves little purpose in the long run.  It's good stuff!

Enjoy these amazing shots...thanks Ben!