“UMCOR is in Haiti on behalf of the United Methodist Church, but more importantly, we are there for the people of Haiti,” said The Rev. Cynthia Fierro Harvey at the General Board of Global Ministries’ board meeting in Stamford, CT on October 11. Harvey is the head of The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), which is part of Global Ministries.
She continued, “The question we ask in our work is ‘how do we build the capacity of communities and give the Haitian people ownership?’ It is not about us.”
During these nine months since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, UMCOR provided assistance to survivors and built a foundation for a large-scale, long-term recovery effort. UMCOR is carefully distributing the more than $40 million donated by United Methodists and other faithful supporters in ways that will empower the Haitian people and build a sustainable infrastructure.
During the meeting, Melissa Crutchfield, head of UMCOR’s international disaster response, outlined the work that has been accomplished and laid out a plan for moving forward. She also addressed and explained some unique challenges facing relief organizations that are responding to the Haiti earthquake. For more information and to see how you might be in partnership with these important efforts, please see United Methodists Respond in Haiti.