The aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. (AP)
By KHRISNA RUSSELL
Deputy Chief Reporter
krussell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Christian Council President Bishop Delton Fernander says the body plans to offer aid to Haiti as that nation now looks to begin restoration following a magnitude 5.9 earthquake.
According to Bishop Fernander, the council is waiting for assessments to be completed before aid is sent.
“Oh definitely,” he said when he was contacted by The Tribune and asked whether the BCC was set to give aid to Haiti.
He explained: “All of the denominations, we are a part of an international body, so any denomination that is a part of the council - Baptist, Catholic, Anglican, Seventh-Day Adventist…
“Say I speak for my denomination, we will have a representational group that will go from my denomination internationally and assess Haiti and when they assess Haiti they will come back and say to us ‘here is the state’ and I think some of the initial information has already come back that they need tents and what not and they will ask all of our churches to help.
“Sometimes it seems onerous, but it’s not.
“The same way we were able to provide generators, water and supplies and if you remember during the last hurricane we had a whole shipment come from Florida. Now those are all denominations that were mobilised based on a need and so they will assess the needs, they will make a recommendation to every denomination and we will do what we can.”
He was also asked whether he thought Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis should revisit his position on the country offering aid to Haiti. When asked on Monday whether the government would offer reprieve to those in Haiti affected by the quake, similar to what was done for citizens of Dominica following Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year, Dr Minnis said: “At this point in time I am looking at moving the Bahamas forward, Bahamas first.”
In response, Bishop Fernander said: “I was really hoping that that decision was really based on a national security stance because as a CARICOM partner it means that we will have to do something and a contributing factor of being a part of all of all these treaties we signed on to they will make a report to CARICOM and other groups that we are a part of and they will ask for each member state to do something and so it would be kind of strange for us I would say not to do something.”
On Tuesday Bishop Fernander told The Nassau Guardian it was unfortunate the Bahamas was not considering lending aid to the devastated nation, as was suggested by the prime minister.
He said at the time that Dr Minnis should remember “we are better than that.”
Comments
bogart 6 years ago
When the BAHAMAS CHRISTIAN COUNCIL HEAD becomes the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas ..... Instead of the Christian head public destabilizing commentry. whose own organization internalized policies that in this day an age..... hinder national international position.... females of their equal Rights in the Bahamas, ...no advocacy to change..plus represemting hundreds if not thousands of Religious entities getting Tax Exemptions for their works contributions....uplifting society ....against the Gambling Referendun...promised advocacy to ..stop....yet no advocacy...despite the fact that his Christian Councils christian moral teachings in the nation seems at its lowest point.....should first try to right side his own ship ....for too long now the Bahamas nation has been crying out for more of the Churches participaton in uplifting....but ....instead....
geostorm 6 years ago
instead........ it's a consistent amount of hogwash and bologna!
bogart 6 years ago
Truth hurts....heheheheh . Charity begins at home. Yall criticize the NATIONAL LEADER ...when he helps Dominica in much worse position for helping an blaming him for not checking for Bahamians... NOW... yall criticize the same NATIONAL LEADER for looking out for business of Bahamas..!!!!.....Certified HYpocrites...!!!!
bogart 6 years ago
Churches ......IF.iN HAITI...versus ...FACTUAL .IN BAHAMAS. In sovrreign country of Bahamas 900 plus illegally homes plus set to be demolished...months ago ...thousands of families, Bahamians, migrants legal or not, little chillren to lose the place they know as home...plenty move out plenty still there many chillrens...where is the Church....???...Shantytown dwellers REGARDLESS their legal circumstances..have been living in these dismal circumstances know to Churches for decades..where is the Church humanity.!!!! Where is the Church ???
DDK 6 years ago
Bahamas helps Haiti PLENTY (to the detriment of its own people)! Nice for THE CHURCH to be helping the victims of the recent Haiti earthquake. When it has done that perhaps it will turn its attention our neighbours to the NW who were just devastated by a major hurricane. THEN perhaps BCC will consider FINANCIAL aid to all of the gambling addicts in this country.
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