Light shines through the darkness in Haiti

For one week now Haiti has been in the grips of the biggest natural disaster in the history of the region. Capital city, Port-au-Prince has been very badly effected but the surrounding slums of Cite Soleil are perhaps even worse. Very little help is getting through to these poorest of people but even amongst the devastation they are working together to bring relief and hope.

All the major news outlets have in the last few days been focusing on riots and looting in Haiti. But while this is certainly a problem, there is another more inspiring story to be told about the faith and strength of ordinary people and of how they are coping with the disaster by helping each other.

While running battles between police and looters feature nightly on the news, denizens of Cite Soleil, one of the world's poorest slums, paint a very different picture. Pastor Astrel Vincent grew up in the slums and is now a well known community leader.

“The earthquake has just been devastating for the whole area but I really think we have been especially hard hit here in Cite Soleil," says Vincent. "Many of the buildings have been very badly constructed so there is little that has been left standing. Sanitation is bad at the best of times but right now the stench is unbearable.”

But while the situation Vincent describes is grim, the response of the people of Cite Soleil has shown that there is light to be found in even the darkest of times.

“We have had no contact at all with the big aid organisations, though I have heard that some goods are now getting through to Port Au Prince," said Vincent. "But we have managed to co-ordinate an effective local response. At the Good Samaritan School [of which Vincent is the founder] we are looking after around 1,000 people who have lost homes, are injured or are separated from their families.

"We don’t have much in the way of medicines but we have been able to give out food and provide some basic treatment. We are also organising tankers of fresh drinking water every day that are helping many more people."

“The mood is grim, yes, but I am happy to report that I have seen no evidence of violence or looting at all here. Everyone seems to recognise that we must help each other if we are to get through this challenging time.”

This week Vincent will be coming together with other church and community leaders from Cite Soleil so that their ongoing response to the crisis can be better co-ordinated. Vincent will also be travelling to the Dominican Republic on Friday to purchase vital goods such as food and medicine.

“I appreciate the difficulties that the aid agencies are having getting through to everybody,” says Vincent. “And I certainly don’t blame them that they have not yet made it to the slums. But we simply cannot wait around for help so the best way forward has been for us to respond as a local community and do the best we can to help each other. “

World Emergency Relief UK (WER) is supporting Pastor Vincent and The Good Samaritan School to help them respond to the crisis. WER is shipping goods and also giving direct cash grants to allow Vincent and other local groups we support to help those most in need.

You can help to support this vital work by donating either by visiting www.wer-uk.org/donate or calling 0844 2492129. You can even give by SMS. Simply send the word “Donate” to 88008. You will be charged £1.50 plus one message at your standard network rate. World Emergency Relief will receive approximately £1 from each message sent. You can increase this amount if you click through to Gift Aid your donation. For help please telephone 08442492129.