As Haiti’s crisis unfolds, of top priority for the Christian Alliance for Orphans is to promote immediate response while also encouraging commitments that will last long after the TV cameras have turned to other matters.
The Haiti Orphan Relief Team (HORT) is a collaborative effort of Alliance member organizations to do just this, with focus on partnering U.S. churches with Haitian churches to care for orphans. Lead coordination is being provided by World Orphans, in partnership an array of Alliance members and a team of disaster response experts from the University of North Carolina.
An initial HORT on-the-ground team will deploy for a two week period beginning on February 14, 2010. In addition to more immediate response & recovery efforts, the team will work to identify churches in Haiti that can be paired with U.S. churches for ongoing partnerships in caring for orphaned children. Alliance organizations will also provide ongoing support and guidance to these church-to-church partnerships to ensure healthy, effective long-term partnership.
For individuals and churches interested in being part of this initiative, we invite you to:
- Register for further information – If you have interest in the possibility of partnering your church with a Haitian church, enter your information on the “Awakened by Haiti” page and answer “yes” to question one.
- Pray – Pray for the churches in Haiti the HORT team will be working with, and for the HORT team as they travel, serve and lay foundation for the long term initiative.
- Support Financially – You can donate several ways – send a Valentine eCard or give a gift at www.haitiorphanrelief.org.
- Advocate – Spread the word about HORT via its blog based information center, via HORT’s Facebook page, viaTwitter (@haitiorphan) or via e-mail. If you belong to a church, let your pastor know that HORT is looking for U.S. churches interested in partnering with the churches of Haiti.