Support Immediate Assistance for Haiti

May 5, 2010

On March 24, President Obama sent his request to Congress for a supplemental spending bill to support relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti for the remainder of 2010. Given the extent of the devastation and more than 3 million people affected by the January 12 earthquake, it is vital that Congress votes to support this funding.

With more than 230,000 people killed, 300,000 people injured, and at least 1.7 million forced from their homes by the earthquake, Haiti will require ongoing support throughout 2010 to address emergency needs in health, nutrition, shelter, sanitation, rural livelihood and food. The rainy season, which has already started, and hurricane season, anticipated for later this year, will only exacerbate this situation.

Congress must move quickly to pass the supplemental funding request for Haiti.

Click here to send a message to your members of Congress.


Answering to a Higher Law

April 21, 2010

Neighborhood residents line up their buckets at an MCC supported water distribution site in Cité Soliel. Port Au Prince, Haiti. Ben Depp/MCC

Tammy Alexander writes about immigration for PeaceSigns:

The headline was shocking yet predictable: “Rushed From Haiti, Then Jailed for Lacking Visas“.  In a country where immigrants are often scorned and where the government’s focus is on enforcement and detention, it is profoundly sad – but not surprising – that more than 30 Haitian earthquake survivors wound up in an immigration detention facility in Florida.

Due to the diligence of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center and law students from across the country, the survivors were released, after spending more than two months behind bars.

Click here to read more.  Click here to sign up for our Immigration Action Alerts.  Click here to read MCC’s “Guiding Principles for a Just Response in Haiti”.


Militarization of Aid in Haiti

April 5, 2010

MCC partners respond to the militarization of humanitarian aid in Haiti.


Sustainable Rural and Agricultural Development in Haiti

March 29, 2010

Ben Depp/MCC

A group of organizations including MCC have endorsed a document that calls for the inclusion of sustainable rural development in Haiti.

Here’s a excerpt:

The international community has responded with a tremendous outpouring of compassion for the people of Haiti in terms of emergency relief and recovery. As Haitians and the international community move forward toward developing long-term plans, sustainable rural development and local food production should be prioritized.

Rebuilding and restoring rural Haiti is the primary ingredient in its future transformation and development post-earthquake. In the 1980s, Haiti was nearly self-sufficient in food and agricultural production. Most of its farmers could earn a living and the Haitian population could purchase locally produced food. Today, at least 57% of Haiti’s food is imported and Haiti’s agriculture remains in shambles due to economic and trade policies that have debilitated local food production and rural development.

Read the full document (PDF)


Perspective: The place of peace in constructing Haiti

March 23, 2010

by Rebecca Bartel and Alexis Erkert Depp

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – As the world rallies in response to the catastrophic earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010, in Haiti, the global Christian family is invited to consider the place of God’s shalom, God’s peace, in the rebuilding of Haitian lives and infrastructure.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is doing just that, as we provide immediate emergency support, but also plan for medium- and long-term efforts.

MCC’s commitment to working toward the holistic well-being of communities and churches around the world stems from God’s vision of peace and dignity for humanity. The prophet Micah describes this as instruction that goes forth from Zion, “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” that “they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4, NRSV)

This vision holds central basic human rights, such as access to food, health care, meaningful employment, security and education.

It also underscores the necessity of justice for the vision to be fulfilled, and the importance of human empowerment.

Read More>>


House Set to Pass Debt Relief for Haiti

March 10, 2010

Later today the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill that would support the cancellation of Haiti’s remaining debt to international financial institutions. The Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act of 2010 (HR 4573) has passed the House Financial Services committee and it is expected to pass the vote on the House floor. A similar measure (S.2961) was passed by the Senate on March 5th.

These bills directs the secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States executive directors at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and other multilateral development institutions to use the voice, vote and influence of the United States to cancel immediately and completely Haiti’s debts to such institutions.

Click here to send a message to your Representative to support debt relief for Haiti.


Support Local Production in Haiti

March 5, 2010

The following video was produced by Kore Pwodiksyon Lokal (Support Local Production), an MCC partner in Haiti.


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