Are you a structural engineer? Haiti needs you, according to Mel Johnson, disaster relief strategist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
Alabama Baptists have been called upon to provide teams of four — two structural engineers and two chaplains — to inspect buildings in Haiti.
“Folks there are afraid to go back into buildings, so it would be a great help and comfort to them to know if the structure is sound,” Johnson said.
If you have a background in structural engineering and are interested in volunteering in Haiti, then contact Johnson at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 273.
The first two Alabama Baptist disaster relief teams — one doing medical work and another doing water purification — left in early February and at press time, were already seeing great success, Johnson said.
“There were 163 patients treated yesterday (Feb. 11) by our medical team on the ground and 22 professions of faith. That was their first day to work in and around the tent city,” he said.
The water purification team also was hard at work drilling wells for Haitians in need of clean drinking water.
And scores of other Alabama Baptists have gathered for disaster relief certification sessions offered at various locations around the state this month, preparing to be sent to Haiti with future relief teams.
“There has been a tremendous amount of interest from the churches — I can’t say enough about the churches’ support for this Great Commission ministry,” Johnson said.
Churches also are rallying to collect Buckets of Hope, containers filled with specific provisions to meet immediate needs in Haiti. Buckets will be collected at various points around the state March 4–5.
“One change from the original instructions is that it is no longer necessary for the bucket to be white,” Johnson said. “There has been a nationwide run on white buckets, and the supply has just been overrun by the demand.”
As long as the bucket is free of imprints or logos, any color should work.
For more information about how to pack a Bucket of Hope or where buckets are being collected, visit www.alsbom.org/haiti. (TAB)
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