Haiti is dangerous. That hasn’t stopped religious aid groups from working there

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A girl waits with other earthquake victims for the start of a food distribution in Les Cayes, Haiti, in August, a week after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the area.

Matias Delacroix/AP

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Matias Delacroix/AP

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The Christian Aid Ministries headquarters in Berlin, Ohio, was closed on Monday, after the kidnappings in Haiti of 12 adults and five children with the U.S.-based missionary group.

Julie Carr Smyth/AP

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Julie Carr Smyth/AP

Youths play soccer next to businesses that are closed due to a general strike in Port-au-Prince on Monday.

Matias Delacroix/AP

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Matias Delacroix/AP

Relief groups say they are called to do this work

Laura Kalmar is the interim communications director for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), which has no formal connections with Christian Aid Ministries in Haiti.

MCC is a relief, development and peace organization, that works «particularly with vulnerable communities, with the intention of sharing God’s love and compassion for all in the name of Christ,» says Kalmar.

The organization often works in places where the needs last long after the news cycle has moved on, she says: «In places like Haiti, for example, where we’ve been for more than 60 years, Haiti gets in the news because of an assassination of a leader, because of a hurricane, because of an earthquake. But MCC is there working alongside local partners for the long term, recognizing that development takes time.»

And while there may be elements of risk, they are driven to serve the most vulnerable people.

Kalmar says they aim to strike a balance between that commitment to serve with the safety and security of staff and partners — by listening to local guidelines and experts, taking precautions where necessary, and having protocols in place to protect workers.

Kalmar explains that the calling to serve the vulnerable is «to be the hands and feet of Christ.»

She gives the example of bringing someone a handmade comforter, she says: «that warmth is translated on a really practical level, but also on a on a very emotional level. People recognize that that’s a sign of hope because they haven’t been forgotten. That sense and that calling that Jesus asks us to reach out to our neighbors.»

Their eyes are on Haiti

Graham says that on Monday morning, the staff at Samaritan’s Purse gathered in prayer for a peaceful resolution to the situation of those kidnapped.

«I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now and their families back home,» he says. «It’s my prayer for peaceful resolution and that I’m praying for the kidnappers that they realize they’re wrong and they are their ways and their heart softens to what the grave mistake they made.

Kalmar at Mennonite Central Committee echoed that concern.

«It’s clearly a deeply concerning situation. Our prayers are really with the entire team at Christian Aid Ministries and our hope and prayers [are] that everyone can be released without harm.»

And of course Haiti’s ongoing violence is a challenge not just for aid workers, but to the local Haitian communities.

«Insecurities with jobs, insecurities with sending children to school because of because of local strikes or local unrest or local violence, or an earthquake where people are still really reeling from the trauma of that,» Kalmar says. «When communities are facing so many challenges that pile up on each other, we’re just really reminded of the vulnerability of people in these situations. And the challenges that they face on a daily basis.»