Residents of Mellier, Haiti, leave an aid distribution sponsored by the United Methodist Committee on Relief carrying food parcels on their heads. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.
From United Methodist News Service:
“Good brothers and sisters, thank you so much for this food.”
Louis and Madame Felix, 74 and 76, were the first to receive a white plastic bag containing 18 pounds of rice, three pounds of beans, a quart of cooking oil and a one-pound bag of salt from the United Methodist Committee on Relief Jan. 29.
“We were married here and baptized here,” said Mr. Felix, standing in the yard of Mellier Methodist Church. The church and school were both destroyed in the Jan. 12 earthquake. So were the homes of the people sitting quietly on pews and benches under the shade of trees waiting to get their allotment of food.
Ten church members organized the food distribution and kept order.
Household representatives waited until their names were called to receive food and Aquatab water purification tablets.
Madame Louis Felix, 74, is first in line to receive a food package from UMCOR.
A few days before UMCOR arrived with the food, church leaders canvassed the community and decided which families would receive the distribution. Families were chosen based on the greatest need; many were members of the church but not all.
Stories of humanitarian aid workers being mobbed by frantic crowds were a far cry from the peaceful, respectful distribution handled by church volunteers and UMCOR.
The rest of the story can be found at: www.umc.org
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