We are just over two weeks from the most traumatic event in Haiti’s history, and things still haven’t quite settled down; in fact, I am pretty sure that it will take a while before things settle down.  I feel, though, that this is something to be expected.  Let’s consider this:

THE TOLL

150,000: Latest estimate of the death toll, from the Haitian Health Ministry. The European Union and the Pan American Health Organization, which are coordinating the health-sector response, have estimated the quake killed 200,000 people.
194,000: Number of injured
134: Estimated number of people rescued by international search teams since the quake …

THE EFFECT

9 million: Population of Haiti
3 million: Estimated number of people affected by the quake
1 million: Estimated number of displaced people
800,000 to 1 million: People who need temporary shelter
235,000: People who have left Port-au-Prince using free transportation provided by the government. The number who left by private means is undetermined.
At least 50: Aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or higher that have hit Haiti since the January 12 quake

THE CHILDREN

300,000: Children younger than 2 who need nutritional support
90: Percentage of schools in Port-au-Prince that have been destroyed
263: Haitian orphans who have been evacuated

THE RESPONSE IN DOLLARS

$1.12 billion: International aid pledges
$783 million: Funds received as of Tuesday
$317 million: U.S. assistance as of Monday

THE RESPONSE IN MANPOWER

17,000: U.S. military personnel in and around Haiti
8 million: Meals the World Food Programme has delivered to nearly 400,000 people
300: Aid distribution sites that are up and running
130 to 150: Flights arriving every day at the single-runway Port-au-Prince airport with aid

EFFECT ON FOREIGNERS

12,000: U.N. workers in the country at the time of the quake
53: U.N. workers still missing
At least 82: U.N. workers dead
27: U.N. workers injured or hospitalized
11,500: Americans and family members who have been evacuated
4,800: Americans unaccounted for

It’s not just that people lives were destroyed in this devastating earthquake, but a way of life was destroyed.  Things will never be as they were for those in Port-au-Prince –for the things they did and saw everyday fail to exist anymore.  Mourning involves more than just loss of human life, but also a way of life.  Churches, whom were peoples community, fellowship, and support were destroyed, hospitals, places of business, local restaurants, and people to spend time are all gone for most people.  The wounds for many are deep and seemingly incurable.

For those of us outside of Port-au-Prince we are deeply impacted by the earthquake, even if it is not directly impacted.  For one thing, mostly all food and produce go through and come from Port-au-Prince, which means not as much of it is coming to us up here.  Also, no planes are coming in or out of our city and so there is no good way to leave except by bus, which the government is restricting the use of.  In addition, we have thousands of people from Port-au-Prince, who are already here in Port-de-Paix.  They are certainly welcome, but they place a very large burden on people whose burden already has them not knowing where or when there next meal will come.  This is where we come in.

We have started our own refugee relief program through Sonlight – helping out as many of the refugees that we know about and can handle.  Unfortunately, to help out all of the refugees would take a lot more money and manpower than we possess, but we are making a impact.  In the last week we have helped close to 400 refugees with food to last them a week, some money, clothes, and shoes.  Four-hundred is nothing compared to the large organizations in Port-au-Prince dealing out millions of meals a day, but it is huge for us.  You can’t always judge change or success by numbers, though, because they can sometimes be misleading.  In our case, we know that we are having success when we can see the people we help wearing the clothes and shoes that we give them, and having them humbly thank us for helping their family have the food they need for a week.  We will be doing this program for about a month with the intentions of getting these refugees a good and healthy start readjusting.  Our goal is to certainly fill their bellies and put clothes on their back like Jesus says in Matthew 25, but it also to share the love of God with them.  Feelings of success mixed with insufficiency come and go, but at least we can know that we are, as best as we can, being obedient to call as Christians.