A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM JONATHAN RECKFORD, CEO for Habitat for Humanity International: The situation in Haiti truly overwhelms the senses. Your eyes have a
difficult time processing the destruction they are seeing. Your ears hear the
clamor of tens of thousands of displaced people living
on the streets or in makeshift tent cities like the one at right. The smell of
decay can't be avoided. You don't want to eat when you know so many people are
begging for any scrap of food. And touch… reaching out to an injured person,
picking up a piece of debris—everything is a reminder of the staggering toll
exacted by the quake on people, structures and institutions.
My visit to Port-au-Prince this week left no doubt that Habitat for Humanity's
expertise will be needed there for many years to come as the nation struggles
to rebuild. We will have a role in the short term and the long. From helping
with cleanup starting now, to establishing training and resource centers, to
core house construction, we will (we must!) have a substantial on-the-ground
presence helping Haitian families help themselves. One of the highlights of my
visit was getting to meet the Habitat Haiti staff at their newly leased office.
Despite many of their own homes being destroyed, despite the fact that many
lost close relatives in the quake, they are ready to roll up their sleeves and
go to work. I know many of you also are working hard to raise funds for the
response. Please know that every bit you can do to help will be put to good
use. I often reflect on a quote from St. Teresa of Avila; the words seem
particularly compelling as I recall my feelings this week on the streets of
Port-au-Prince:
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion
is to look out to the earth,
yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good
and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.
My prayer is that each of us will find conviction in those
words to work ever more diligently in building houses and hope wherever they
are needed—in Haiti, certainly, but in local communities everywhere that have
families desperate for decent, affordable places to live.
—In grateful partnership,
Jonathan
LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION:
Habitat information and resources on activities surrounding its Haiti response
are accumulating quickly. Here are some links we think you will find
interesting or useful:
(Special thanks to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los
Angeles and Hollywood for Habitat for Humanity for coordinating Ricky Martin's
work with Habitat, as well as that of other celebrities involved with Habitat's
Haiti response. The affiliate also is soliciting funds for the work in Haiti.
You can access the affiliate's website at http://www.habitatla.org/habitat.asp)
