Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Haiti.
According to official updates, the massive January earthquake that devastated the nation’s capital and elsewhere has claimed more than 222,000 lives, leaving some 1.3 million Haitians homeless, with hundreds of thousands still in makeshift camps threatened by floods and in need of aid.
Earthquake victim / Relief recipient (F): When it rains, we really get drenched, but we are forced to stay put there, under the sheets, because we cannot enter into the [damaged] houses.
VOICE: For many weeks since the disaster, Supreme Master Ching Hai has been constantly seeing to the needs of the Haitian quake-affected. She had initially urged medical specialists of our Association to help treat the injured, donating US$20,000 specially for pain medication and then an additional US$40,000
for tents, as part of her US$134,000 total assistance.
When adding to this the contributions from worldwide Association members, the sum is now US$538,000, an amount that could obtain US$19.2 million in supplies if bought in the United States, based on Haiti’s cost of living.
Since January, the international relief team has been working to deliver shelter and supplies, provide a range of healthcare services along with healthy vegan meals for thousands of victims daily.
Relief recipient (F): We say to Madame Ching Hai, “Thank you very much!” for she has helped us a lot.
VOICE: Per Supreme Master Ching Hai’s request for updates, the following is a report from our Association's relief team in Haiti.
March 16, 2010
Most Beloved Master,
After working with the churches and other organizations to know which families need the tents most, we have distributed more than 2,090 tents.
Waiting families surprised us with their singing and dancing, overjoyed to receive them. Many embraced us and asked to please give all the hugs and kisses to Master when we see her.
Some sent beautiful words to Master, like, “She is the best Angel on this planet,” and, “Thank you.
Now the children, who were cold at night before, can go to sleep.” We were touched to see that some families who had lost everything lovingly took in orphaned children as their own.
Also, one boy, who was the only one of his family to survive and who had been trapped in the rubble of his house for 5 days, was particularly happy with his new tent.
He said that he had more faith in God now, because God had given him a gift.
Our cooking team keeps working hard and provides about 3,000 vegan meals a day, including 1,200 at the hospital, several thousand for orphans and “tent city” children, and up to 250 more for the hungry at various cations.
One volunteer from the US who had seen us wrote in the church’s blog: “I truly appreciate and thank Master Ching Hai… for the … compassion. Thank you for the food, and thank you for continuing to feed the orphanage for as long as you possibly can.”
With Master’s most recent request that we water-proof the tent floors, one team member worked with children at the hospital to wash, flatten, and reuse hundreds of Styrofoam lunch boxes to line the tents.
In the meantime, our second shipment is setting sail with over 3,000 tents and tarps, 5 pallets of rolls of recyclable sheets for tent floors, and 3,000 sets of clothes for children.
We thank Master once again for giving us the opportunity to serve the earthquake victims in Haiti.
With much love and gratitude, Relief team in Haiti
Relief recipients sing hymn in Creole: From the heavens above I shall sing your grace that knows no boundaries…
VOICE: We thank Supreme Master Ching Hai for allowing us to bring this update to our viewers, as well as our Association’s Foreign Group for sharing this report.
Our gratefulness goes to all the governments and people who continue to think of and assist the Haitian people.
We also appreciate Supreme Master Ching Hai’s unconditional support and our Association’s relief team’s caring service. Our prayers for the well-being of the faithful Haitian people, and for the day when our planet is stabilized through humanity’s kinder treatment of all beings.