Displaying items by tag: Caribbean

Haiti, the western hemisphere’s poorest nation, is often devastated by floods, hurricanes and earthquakes, with poverty making these disasters harsher than in richer countries. Money sent home by Haitians overseas saves lives but does not fill Haiti’s biggest needs: roads, bridges, clinics, schools and electricity. 70% of Haitians are Catholics, but many mingle their Catholicism with voodoo, which is rooted in West African animism. Evangelicals have grown in numbers, through love in action and openly standing against voodoo. Pray for good leaders at every level of society and church who will build the nation rather than loot or exploit it. Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Haiti that will transform lives and communities. A truly renewed Catholic Church would be a great force for good. Pray that Catholics re-centre on simple, personal trust in Christ so that God can build their lives.

St Vincent appealed for international help as the nation tackles the daunting cleanup from a series of volcanic eruptions which are ongoing. The island has a population of 110,000, and 20,000 were evacuated from the dire situation where ash is a metre deep and gives the island an apocalyptic appearance. The ash has been carried as far as India, and there has been extensive damage to agriculture, homes and the island's tourism industry. Long-term humanitarian relief will be huge; on 20 April the UN launched an appeal for $29.2 million for basic needs, clean water, food and shelter, and help to initiate recovery. Pray for the team of experts assessing clean up needs and safe disposal of ash to have wisdom from heaven. There is still uncertainty as eruptions continue. Pray for the safety of those cleaning up the ash. Hurricane season starts soon and is forecast to be very active. Pray for the islanders’ fear to be replaced with peace and hope for the future.

Volcanic eruptions on St Vincent have displaced about 20% of the Caribbean island’s population, as a UN official warned of a growing humanitarian crisis. Between 16,000 to 20,000 people were evacuated under government orders when La Soufrière volcano first erupted on 9 April, covering the island with ash that continues to blanket St Vincent, Barbados, and other islands. 6,000 of those evacuees are vulnerable. 20,000 risk food insecurity from loss of livelihoods in fisheries & agriculture. 4,000 are living in 87 government shelters, schools, churches and others are in hotels. Most of the water systems are shut down. Cots, sanitation, hygiene and emergency latrines are urgently needed. Ongoing explosions are causing new pyroclastic flows that could continue for weeks.

Kidnappings for ransom have surged as gangs gain influence amid a political crisis. Seven Catholic clergy, five Haitian and two French, have been kidnapped. The five priests and two nuns were abducted in a commune northeast of Port-au-Prince, while they were on their way to the installation of a new parish priest. The kidnappers demanded $1m ransom for them. The Haitian Conference of Believers said three other people had been kidnapped at the same time. Authorities suspect an armed gang called ‘400 Mawozo’ which kidnaps for ransom. Armed gangs have increased as the nation is rocked by political unrest. Gang violence and political instability has drawn protesters onto the streets at the subhuman situation where the political leaders cling to power, but are increasingly powerless.

Praise God that the International Justice Mission (IJM) has signed its first collaborative agreement with the business sector in the Dominican Republic. IJM and Aerodom, the largest network of airports in the country, are joining forces to bring an end to sex trafficking. They are launching awareness campaigns in the air terminals, equipping their staff to recognise the signs of trafficking, and establish additional protocols to report these crimes to local authorities.

Unity among believers is a key issue for the diverse churches in Aruba. Division can undermine any numerical growth of believers. The greatest threat to this unity is the importation of alien theology, church culture and preaching style common among the televangelists and prosperity preachers seen on foreign Christian TV. Praise God for increased fellowship and cooperation among pastors, enabling evangelicals to present a united front and impact society on issues such as homosexual marriage legislation, teen drug addiction, and the high rate of illegitimate births (about 50%). There are three Christian radio stations: Radio Victoria (originally TEAM) and two others broadcast to Aruba and the Venezuelan coast. TWR broadcasts to Bonaire on its FM station and internationally through shortwave and the Internet. The gospel is also proclaimed on programmes that appear on secular radio and TV.

Teachers in Haiti have refused to return to classrooms, even taking to the streets to protest a lack of pay and safe working conditions. This was already a problem and the pandemic made it worse. Haiti runs in cycles. Their government gets money. Sometimes it doles it out and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, police work for months without payment. Teachers can work for the entire school year without payment. Theft has become an expected part of the culture. Haiti with Love has been sharing the Gospel with parents who bring in their children for burn treatment. People are very open to listening when they realise that the reason people are helping their babies is the love of Christ. They ask, ‘Who is this Christ who provides all of this help? Tell me about him.’ Pray for the Burn Clinic, and also for Pilgrim House which provides homes for homeless people.

In Central America, people will struggle to eat in today’s lockdown; unable to provide for themselves and their families with food banks closed due to pandemic lockdowns. Pray for God to support those who are providing aid to families in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and other vulnerable countries. India has a social stigma around the ‘unclean’ disease, so individuals returning from isolation are treated as outcasts. To avoid being labelled and discriminated against people hide the illness, avoid tests and delay hospitalisation, with fatal consequences. Pray for this ‘unclean pandemic caste’ to be helped and healed not shunned. Africa’s virus is spreading rapidly. Rural areas in Tanzania have no food, and people like the cattle people in Kajiado (who depend on livestock markets) suffer because all markets are closed. Meanwhile, some Caribbean islands are now reopening for tourism with strict public health protocols. Pray for safe ‘sun, sea, sand and social distancing.’

The following request was received through Maria Harbajan, IPC's Regional Director for the Caribbean:

1. URGENT Pray for Curacao.

Curacao is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea about 65 km (40 mi) north of the Venezuelan coast.

The Nation has been under siege from within.

It began with mass demonstrations versus the Government over economic issues. They stormed the City and broke into the Government buildings. It has escalated with criminal elements now burning buildings all across the nation, attacking security facilities and threatening government officers.

Dutch troops were sent into the island to assist local police in keeping unrest in check, broadcaster NOS stated on Saturday. The move follows days of violent protests against Covid-19 layoffs which saw demonstrators looting stores and storming the government palace on the island.

The addition of Dutch troops to the island is expected to allow local authorities ease the 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m curfew it has held in place in recent days. A reporter for the broadcaster said that there were dozens of fires set leading into the early morning hours of Saturday, and that the authorities seemed to have a difficult time preventing them from happening.

Unrest on the island was ignited on Wednesday after the local government announced that a number of garbage collectors on the island would be laid off. Protests ensued, which quickly turned into riots that culminated in the storming of the government center Fort Amsterdam on the island's capital city, Willemstad. In addition, large numbers of storefronts in Willemstad were looted, with fires being reported across the island.

A total of 48 people were arrested on Wednesday alone, many of whom were young people suspected of theft and vandalism. According to the local authorities, a number of gangs also took advantage of the chaos in order to run roughshod.

There was concern that the presence of the Dutch military might make matters worse with the imagery reminiscent of the island's history as a Dutch colony.

The Prime Minister has summoned a meeting with Pastor Bakhuis and the Council of Churches to meet with him.

Let's be in prayer that calm can be restored and financial assistance can be brokered for those whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by the pandemic.

Pray also for the over-stretched medical staff on the island as they handle the covid-19 situation.

More: https://nltimes.nl/2020/06/27/dutch-deploy-troops-quell-curacao-riots

2. Update on Guyana:

Beloved , Guyana now awaits judgement at the level of the Caribbean Court of Justice concerning the March 2 Elections results which are still pending.

The hearing will be on July 1st. Of course, we are looking to The Righteous Judge of all the Earth for His judgement. The stakes are great. The warfare Intense, lots of propaganda & misinformation. 

We would greatly appreciate your prayer. Both major political parties have grieved the Lord. But God's will & purpose for us, a Church which has failed Him in many ways, is the important factor. We plead for His mercy.

3. Event: 'Intercessors at the Summit... Soaring like Eagles'

We have an Upcoming Intercessors Camp 2020 which is going ONLINE using Zoom.   The theme will be: "Intercessors at the Summit...Soaring Like Eagles."   Date: July 31 - Aug 1 2020 starting each day at 9am (Jamaican time).

More info will be available shortly at www.nipnoj.org

The secretariat of the Caribbean Prayer Summit were encouraged by the participation of delegates from across the region in their fourth summit, which took place online due to the pandemic. 

The theme was “A United Caribbean Church …a Regional Revival”.

The session recordings can be viewed online now at our website at www.caribbeanprayersummit.org

We will be circulating a report containing current prayer needs from the Caribbean nations shortly.  Please contact us by email for further information at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Any gifts towards the overheads of the event can be made using the info online at: https://caribbeanprayersummit.org/give/

Sharon Hermitt/Secretary (for)

Rev. Maria Harbajan

CPS Convener/Member, CPS Secretariat

Member, International Prayer Council
www.caribbeanprayersummit.org