It’s been nearly three weeks since Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti’s southern peninsula. In the days since then, much has been accomplished, though much more remains to be done. World Renew Senior Project Manager Ken Little arrived in Haiti on October 8 and traveled from Port-au-Prince to the hardest areas in south-western Haiti to assess the damage.
John and Hilda Van Gyssel had the song “Here I am, Lord,” on their minds as they set out for Malawi on October 16 to serve as International Relief Managers (IRMs) with World Renew.
Paul is a Sudanese refugee who currently lives with his family in the Ugandan Refugee Camp of Bidibidi.
Most of the families in Srae Chrov village want to see their community develop.
Charles Wani, a South Sudanese father, spoke with urgency about the lack of water in the Bidibidi Refugee Camp where he and his extended family of twelve members had been resettled a few days ago.
In North Carolina, World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS) and our partners are waiting for flood water, caused by heavy rain and storm surge on the coast, to recede before volunteers start to clean up residents’ homes and property.
I was in the midst of writing this reflection to share stories of significant changes made in the lives of farmers we support in Kenya, when Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti.
It has been just over a week since the fierce winds of Hurricane Matthew hit Moulin Cheri’s home in the community of Duchity, Haiti. The seven-room house this mother shared with her two children was swept away in the Category 4 storm, which killed over 1,000 people in Haiti. Only three out of a thousand houses in her community were left standing.
When we visited the farm of Jane Manjiku in Kambiti village in Murang’a County, Kenya, she welcomed us warmly with the words “feel at home because we are together.” As a group of faith leaders traveling on a Learning Tour with Canadian Foodgrains Bank from July 10-24, 2016, we came representing different denominations and partner agencies, from different parts of Canada, but Jane’s inviting smile made it easy for us to feel at home together as she narrated inspiring stories about the changes on her farm.
The smells of charcoal fires, the welcoming taste of African tea, and the feel of red dust coating her feet are memories, Rebecca Warren says, that she brings back from this summer’s Kenya Learning Tour.Warren also recalls development workers riding on motorcycles across rutted roads from one remote farm to the next, sharing agricultural techniques and training to help make the lives of the community better, one farmer at a time.
