We wanted to send you a brief note to update you on the situation here in Haiti and to let you know how you can pray.
Just over a week ago on February 7, widespread protests engulfed the country, bringing all activity nationwide to a halt. Protesters erected barricades of rocks and flaming tires, blocking roads here in Port-au-Prince and across the country making travel impossible for over a week.
While the situation is complex, protestors have been calling for the resignation of the President, Jovenel Moise, because of the rising cost of food, the devaluation of the Haitian currency, corruption in the government and a fuel crisis that has left gas and diesel mostly unavailable for a few weeks.
We want you to know that we remain safe here in our home in Port-au-Prince and have adequate supplies to keep us functioning until this crisis is resolved. We’re grateful that we have been in a position to help provide for others who are not as well supplied. Over the past few days, parts of Port-au-Prince have slowly begun resuming activity and our hope is that normalcy will be restored soon.
Here is how you can pray:
- Pray for cool heads and constructive dialogue among the various parties that are in control so that peace can return.
- Pray for provision for those who have been holed up in their homes the past week and are running low on supplies.
- Pray for our team at STEP as we work to prepare the kind of leaders for the country and the Haitian church that will lead with character and integrity and can help bring the kind of true and lasting change Haiti needs.
It doesn’t look like this crisis has received much coverage in the American media yet, but you may start to see some things soon. Some of the images you will see will be disturbing so we want to reiterate that we remain safe. Our home is in a place that has been largely removed from what you will see in the media. Here are a couple links that can give you more information about what has been going on:
Miami Herald: U.S. looks to send food aid to Haiti as violence brews humanitarian crisis
The Newsmakers: Video discussion of the current crisis
Thank you so much for your partnership and your prayers!
