It’s been a rough year for the people of Haiti. Since last January the country experienced one of the worst natural disasters of our generation, a major earthquake, killing hundreds of thousands of people and leaving over 1.5 million homeless. In addition to that, intense heat, a hurricane and other bouts of bad weather, a cholera outbreak and civil unrest have plagued the people of Haiti.
On November 28th a national election was held in Haiti with 19 candidates all running for the office of President. Accusations of fraud and irregularities immediately surfaced regarding the election. On Tuesday Dec. 8th the election results were released, and reports of demonstrations and civil unrest quickly followed. The airport had to be closed and American Airlines made the decision to indefinitely suspend flights in and out of Port au Prince due to the unrest. We feel that when things settle, American Airlines will most likely resume flights.
Since the earthquake struck Haiti, The 410 Bridge has had the opportunity to mobilize hundreds of people and thousands of dollars of resources to go towards providing direct help to the people of Port au Prince. We are continuing to serve the people of Haiti as we identify strong leaders and communities to partner with us in the journey of redevelopment.
We believe that there is much more work that God wants to accomplish in Haiti through The 410 Bridge and our partners as we continue to move forward in ministry there. Please know that we are closely monitoring the situation through news reports as well as through our highly responsible staff and contacts on the ground. Safety is of the utmost importance to us and we take the responsibility of sending people to serve very seriously. We are evaluating the timing of upcoming run-off elections along with our service trip calendar, and will be in communication with team leaders about any adjustments that may be necessary to currently scheduled trips.
Please join us as we pray for a quick and peaceful resolution to this unrest.
