ACTS World Relief shifts focus in Haiti
As one of the first responding organizations to the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, ACTS World Relief volunteers have treated 68,000 patients and fed 265,000 hot meals in Haiti. The organization secured its registered Haitian NGO* status at the end of April, indicating its intent to provide relief, support and education to Haiti on a long-term basis.
Since January, ACTS has shifted its focus from earthquake disaster response to long-term education and medical support. Its local volunteer interpreters receive training in disaster response, community health, and emotional care. They are also trained "as ministers of the Word" to provide spiritual support to their fellow Haitians. ACTS plans to transition many of the volunteer translators into salaried community provider positions, which will empower them to sustain the mission and relief efforts of ACTS in Haiti.
Other local programs include a dental clinic in the Carrefour area, which is staffed by a Haitian dentist on Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings. A community nutrition program in Carrefour operates out of the Hopitale Adventiste. Local cooks prepare 5,000 meals a day at a cost of only 50 cents per meal to hungry children in local orphanages.
ACTS has also actively responded to other disasters in recent months, including the Mississippi tornadoes and the Tennessee floods. Most recently, ACTS conducted an Emergency Response Training–CERT course for the student body at the Universidad Adventista Del Plata in Argentina. The week-long course ended in a disaster simulation event that required trainees to respond to explosions, fire, pseudo mass casualties, drowning and other rescue scenarios.
The ACTS World Relief motto is "Providing leadership to empower youth volunteers to active community service as a way of sharing the love of God, especially during times of disaster."
Visit the ACTS World Relief website.
*A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legal organization created by individauls who do not participate in or represent any government. Generally, they are non-profit, voluntary groups that are service oriented or humanitarian in nature.