RCA Responds to Caribbean HurricanesEven before Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, millions living in the Caribbean were reeling from the damage caused by Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike. The storms have caused extensive damage throughout the Caribbean, including more than 300 deaths in Haiti.  Ike has also affected Cuba, causing tens of thousands of people to evacuate to safer areas. The Cuban Council of Churches, a long-time partner of Reformed Church World Service (RCWS), said that "the situation in the country is very difficult" given the damage sustained last week from Hurricane Gustav. Similarly, Ike's "pelting rains couldn't have come at a worse time for Haiti," said Christian Aid, a Church World Service partner, in a statement. Four storms have hit Haiti in recent weeks, resulting in what Christian Aid said was possibly "lasting damage to Haiti's 'rice bowl,'" a farming area whose revival is needed to assist a country trying to struggle through a new round of food crises. "Damage to agricultural production is critical in the present situation of food insecurity reigning in the country, where 2.3 million people are in a situation of moderate to acute risk," Christian Aid said, adding that perhaps as many as 4 million Haitians will be in "dire need of food with an active hurricane season. The frustration is growing among the affected families who believe not enough is being done to help them cope with the situation."  The storms have also devastated much of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Glen Missick, who is director for African American/Black Ministries for the RCA and who grew up in the Turks and Caicos Islands, flew there immediately following the storm to assess the damage and explore ways of assisting people in recovery. "The bottom line is that they have no electricity or running water, and many people are just plain homeless," said Missick. According to CNN news, "the powerful storm destroyed homes, scattered power lines, uprooted trees, and tossed cars and small trucks around like toys." "I've been living in the Caribbean for 25 years and I've never seen this kind of destruction," said Giora Israel, a local resident. RCA staff who met for their annual staff days last week in Holland, Michigan, spontaneously took an offering to assist with recovery from the devastation and collected more than $1,700 for relief and rebuilding efforts. And members of Park Hills Community Church, an RCA congregation in Los Angeles, took an offering at their midweek Bible study, raising over $1,000 for the cause. RCWS Response: RCWS will work throughout the Caribbean through Church World Service and with other ecumenical church partners. Church World Service has made an initial, rapid response grant to our partner Christian Center for Integrated Development in Haiti for immediate relief efforts. RCWS will also be responding to the needs in the Turks and Caicos Islands as additional funds are received. How You Can Help Please pray for: - The thousands who have lost family members as a result of these hurricanes.
- The hundreds of thousands who are currently displaced and lacking basic life-sustaining resources.
- Glen Missick as he works with church and government leaders in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
 Contributions to provide relief supplies and to assist with rebuilding efforts (designated "Caribbean Storms 2008") can be sent to Reformed Church in America, P.O. Box 19381, Newark, NJ 07195-1938 or, in Canada, to Regional Synod of Canada, 201 Paradise Road N., Hamilton, ON L8S 3T3. To donate by credit card, click on the "Make a Donation" button or call the RCA Michigan Regional Center at (800) 968-3943. Posted 09/12/08
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