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Our partner churches El Camino and Soto are preparing to provide temporary shelter and basic assistance to Haitian earthquake refugees who will be making their way to join family currently residing in the DR many of whom are members of the Soto church. The initial budget of US$4,400 is for essentials such as bedding, kitchen utensils, a small freezer, security fencing and a small electrical inverter system. Water will be provided by the El Camino Church water purification system that we assisted in setting up a few years ago. The Soto Church dormitory can accommodate up to 60 refugees at one time. They will be allowed to stay there for a period of 30 to 60 days, then be asked to move in with their family. The budget during their time in the dormitory is estimated at US$150.00 per person. If financial resources allow, upon leaving they will be given a small one-time stipend to help the family care for them and to pay for their temporary visa in the DR. Partners In Deed has wired $5,000 as an initial grant for this purpose. We had a mission team travel to the DR and the following is their update on the situation:
March 1, 2010
Update on Haitian Refugee Relief in the Dominican Republic
The Haitian church in Soto has move quickly once our funds arrived to renovate the interior of the dormitory building next to the church to accommodate refugees arriving from Haiti. Additional funding has also been received from supporters in the USA. Currently the regular dorm program houses 13 men who are either in construction or students at a nearby college. Interior walls were built and painted to expand the capacity of the building to provide a little more privacy for the occupants. The kitchen facility is adequate so only additional kitchen utensils were needed.
At the time of our visit 6 new refugees are accepted into the refugee program that provides them with shelter, food, medical assistance and financial and logistical support as they seek to obtain immigration visas to work and study in the Dominican Republic. They repeatedly expressed their humble gratitude. Those that are accepted will be allowed to stay for a maximum period of 60 days. At that time they are expected to have either found alternate housing with family or friends or to return to Haiti.
The pastor Rev. Hector Julio shared that many refugees are requesting assistance but they have to be selective on who they accept, for security reasons, and because of limited resources of Soto Church. He describes how heart-retching it is to make such decisions. The program has been limited to 10 refugees for the time being. This limit must necessarily be tailored to financial resources they receive although the need will continue well into the future. Financial donations to this ongoing program are still very essential even though the earthquake event no longer appears on the front pages.
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Please pray for our partner churches and the families that attend there. Haitian relief will require our long-term prayer and resource commitments. Donations to assist in this relief effort can be made to Partners In Deed, you can also donate online at Canada Helps. (Choose Haitian Earthquake Refugee Relief as the designation.)
Below are some photos.
Click the thumbnails for a larger image and description.
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