Even as a team of Baptist medical professionals was returning to South Carolina after a week in Haiti, South Carolina Disaster Relief (SCDR) was mobilizing to provide more aid to the disaster-stricken region.
A South Carolina Baptist medical team has fashioned a clinic from a small room on the second floor of a Haitian church, Eglise Bethel Assemblee Chretienne.SCDR will be sending more medical teams, offering volunteer training, and collecting funds through the North American Mission Board’s “Buckets of Hope” initiative.
Cliff Satterwhite, director of the disaster relief group of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, said the first South Carolina medical team, which left the U.S. Feb. 3, saw about 250 patients per day.
Medical Team 1, led by Eddie Pettit, SCDR incident commander, was positioned at the edge of a tent city where 10,000 homeless people are living. Pettit’s team saw patients in a church building that no longer has a roof. About 300 attended a Sunday worship service, and many of them were outside the church’s shell because it could not accommodate all the people. Pettit reported that several professions of faith resulted from the team’s medical ministry.
Satterwhite said a nine-member Medical Team 2 left Feb. 9. The team is led by Randy Shell, a former minister of music from Florence. Shell serves with Southeastern Medical International, a worldwide medical disaster response organization.
Medical Team 3, led by Ronnie Duncan, director of missions, Pickens-Twelve Mile Association, was scheduled to leave Feb. 15. The teams will replace Pettit’s team at the tent city in Haiti. Medical teams 4 and 5 are being assembled for future deployment.
In addition to medical response, Satterwhite said SCDR was to send a four-member crisis intervention and building assessment team on Feb. 15. “We will be sending these teams for months,” he said, “teams of four members who will determine if structures should be demolished or refurbished. Assessment of structural safety is such a critical issue right now in Haiti.”
In addition to the SCDR presence in Haiti, Terry Parish, a retired South Carolina Baptist layman from Pickens-Twelve Mile Association, is serving in Haiti as an incident commander with the North American Mission Board.
Volunteer training
South Carolina Baptists interested in serving in short-term mission work in Haiti through SCDR must attend must attend a special training event March 5-6 at Anderson University. Within the training weekend, there will be an embedded training event on Saturday morning, March 6, for Haiti volunteerism. Participants will receive credentials with picture identification. Online registration is available through the SCBC Web site. Interested volunteers may also call the Disaster Relief Group at 803-765-0030, ext. 3400.
Buckets of Hope
South Carolina Baptists are encouraged to participate in a Buckets of Hope ministry launched recently by NAMB. Visit www.scbaptist.org; in the right-hand frame, click on “Buckets of Hope.”
A Bucket of Hope is a plastic 5-gallon bucket packed with select food items. For approximately $30, anyone can purchase the materials and assemble a Bucket of Hope. The food contained in a single bucket will feed a Haitian family for a week. A $10 cash or check contribution is also requested, placed in an envelope and attached to the lid of the bucket to offset the cost of transporting the relief buckets to Haiti. Checks should be payable to S.C. Baptist Disaster Relief. In the note section of the check, write: “For Haiti.”
Satterwhite said SCDR will begin collecting the buckets March 6.
“Every bucket must be exactly alike with a specific list of items inside,” said Satterwhite. “This will ensure that every bucket quickly passes through customs and into the hands of the Haitian people.”
The appropriate buckets can be purchased at Walmart (UPC #9826250640) or Ace Hardware (Ace #17714). There is a specific packing list for food items at www.namb.net, and NAMB cautions against substitutions or adding additional items.
Other donations may be mailed to South Carolina Baptist Convention, Disaster Relief Fund, 190 Stoneridge Drive, Columbia, S.C., 29210. Donations may be designated for Haiti, and 100 percent of funds will be used in Haiti relief. – SCBC