This week marks the one-year anniversary of the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 220,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless in Haiti. The images and stories pouring out of the Caribbean country — which lies a mere 750 miles off the Florida coast — were heartbreaking.
Shelter From the Cold
You know it’s going to be a cold winter when south Floridians kill the A/C and drag their furnaces out of retirement. In the countries where Cross serves, many poor families lack adequate protection from extreme weather conditions. Last night, our Florida office experienced temperatures around 30 degrees – frigid for us, but mild for those of you enduring heavy snow and strong winds up north.
“I Hear the Rain, I Don’t Feel the Rain”
Claudner Pierre, 37, is a man who works with his hands. As a mason, he knows exactly how much hard labor goes into building the foundation, walls, and ceiling of a proper house. But even with that knowledge, he still didn’t have the resources or money to build a house for his own family.
Housing Brings Hope
After more than two years of waiting and praying, Ana Briceño’s dreams came true. Her family was one of 50 to receive a sturdy home through a housing project we support in Nicaragua. “This is such a blessing from God,” Ana said. “Before our family was suffering because we were constantly moving from place to place. We did not have a place to live.”
Helping the Poor Help Themselves
Last year, we met a Zambian woman named Christine who had gone from riches to rags because of AIDS. Once the owner of three houses, she sold all her properties in desperation and used the money to pay a medicine man to cure her. In the end, she was left with no money, no friends or family to support her, and a worsening illness.
Giving with Dignity
It can be humiliating to be treated as a charity case—the object of someone else’s pity and justification for their pride. Not being able to feed your family can be enough of a blow to your self esteem; but having food (or a house, or other basic need) provided in the wrong spirit can be almost as crushing.