All We Have Left is the Blue Sky

As you probably know, Haiti is by far the most materially impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere and is among the most impoverished worldwide. Haitians have shorter life expectancy, must deal with more health issues, lack schools, often do not have clean water, sanitation, and sufficient food, effective and honest government. Nearly all of the existing roads are extremely dangerous, especially in the mountains which cover most of the country. 97% of the trees and other vegetation has been stripped from the steep mountainsides — making them very vulnerable to flash floods and taking away the topsoil necessary for food crops. I have been there twice and saw some of the problems first-hand. Many organizations on my website are involved in Haiti.

The worst disaster to hit Haiti in modern times was the 2010 earthquake which destroyed much of the capital city, Port-au-Prince and much of the surrounding area. It took approximately 200,000 lives, and many of the bodies were never recovered. At least that many more were left homeless and had to exist in squalid tent cities.

The biggest disaster after that was Hurricane Matthew which hit the southwestern part of Haiti on October 4, 2016. It took the lives of 2,000 or more people and left many communities isolated from other parts of the country. Making matters worse, the part of Haiti where the hurricane did the most damage was where the country produced the most food. Who knows when that will ever come back?

David Diggs is an American who leads a Christian organization called Beyond Borders. It focuses on needs in Haiti. Their website is www.beyondborders.net and his e-mail is ddiggs@beyondborders.net Recently he sent me an e-mail based on a conversation with a Haitian friend whose community had been destroyed by Matthew. “All we have left is the blue sky,” she said. All of the buildings, gardens, farms, and farm animals in the area were destroyed.

Beyond Borders is among the many very reputable organizations seeking to make positive differences in Haiti. If you are not already involved in something to help there, especially in view of the recent hurricane emergency, I suggest that you contact Beyond Borders. To end this blog on a happy note, I can also report that I heard about large numbers of Christians in Haiti going to church and rejoicing on the Sunday following the earthquake — even though their buildings did not have a physical structure. I wish that my faith could somehow approach the strength of theirs.

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