ARTICLE - INT'L AID - HELPS HOSPITALS

INTERNATIONAL AID HELPS HOSPITALS RECOVERY IN HAITI
(MNN) -

Haiti's slow recovery since the January 12, 2010 earthquake has been somewhat discouraging. Even rubble clean up is far from over.

During a visit to Port-au-Prince in December, Brian Barker with International Aid says, "There were some clean-ups and construction projects that I noticed underway, but from a general overview of Port-au-Prince, the roads are still damaged and there's still a lot of work to be done."

The hospitals are still recovering, too. Although the hospitals which International Aid has been assisting are well funded, healthcare products and equipment repair are still in high demand.

Most recently, International Aid has been assisting the trauma care facility in Haiti, Bernard Mevs Hospital. The ministry was able to bring in test and repair equipment. They were also able to train hospital personnel to do repairs on equipment so the hospital will be more self sustaining in the future.

The goal for medical equipment is sustainability and appropriateness, says Barker. International Aid will hopefully be able to ease their way out of Haiti by providing the hospitals they work with the tools they need to succeed on their own.

The most precious of those tools is the Gospel. International Aid is able to share the love of Christ with those whose lives they touch. Many of their trainees are also believers and will be able to continue sharing the Good News in the hospitals even in International Aid's absence.

Still, much work is to be done before International Aid, as well as other ministries, can pull out of the nation. But Barker says many Haitians are desperate to be self-sustaining.

"Most of them have said, ‘We really need to do it ourselves. Other countries that are coming in are doing good work, but we need to step up and take care of ourselves because it's just not giving a long-term goal,'" notes Barker.

Overall, they're asking for prayer. "Prayer is certainly the most important part of it," confirms Barker.

Especially on this two-year anniversary, pray for the people of Haiti. Pray for its leaders, its people, and its churches. Pray that Haiti would rebuild and would do so on the foundation of Jesus Christ.