Interview with Kent Annan

As you know I've been to Haiti several times leading medical teams, and our Atlanta chapter has an ongoing partnership in Haiti.

Recently Patheos conducted an interview with Kent Annan who is the author of After Shock (a book about the Haitian earthquake and our faith) and of Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle. You can find more about his writing at www.KentAnnan.com, and you can follow him on twitter: @kentannan.

Here is an excerpt of the interview:

1. What is the status of the recovery from the earthquake? Are people still living in the camps?

About half a million people are living in some form of tent camps or temporary structures. So recovery progress is obviously far, far too slow for each of these boys, girls, women, and men. Excruciatingly slow, two years later. At the same time, many have moved out of those temporary shelters. Building is happening. Projects are underway. So absolutely, the progress is unacceptable with so many people having to accept living in circumstances nobody should have to endure. But the recovery isn’t in a vacuum. The circumstances were very hard before the earthquake. I’m asked this all the time but still struggle to answer succinctly: some progress, too much suffering still, much more progress needed. I guess that says it.

2. How is the faith of the Haitian people holding up?

Like with any group or society, there’s not just one monolithic response. On a general level, many people still go to church every Sunday, and there is lots of other continued evidence of how important faith is in so many people’s lives. I can speak a little more about my friends and colleagues, the people I work with regularly. And I see their faith still sustaining them, still central in how they understand life, receive grace and strength. This past September we started a new scholarship program, that we’re calling Micah Scholars. We’re partnering with three Haitian seminaries and providing full scholarships for five students in each, as well as extra support and mentoring. So with this question, my mind goes to these 15 students, who are all in their twenties and early thirties. They’re remarkable young men and women. They’re in circumstances as challenging as almost any in the world. They’re engaged in leadership for their churches and communities. They’re studying hard. They’re excited about the future, without any delusions about the challenges. One more thought, to play off the wording of your question, is that one thing I often find the faith of Haitian people holding up is my own faith.

3. Have American churches basically forgotten about it? Or are they still engaged?

We have great church partners with Haiti Partners — though of course we always want more because there are so many vital needs and opportunities to help. Haiti is an important focus for me, so sure, I wish the American church would be even more involved (well, maybe not always, but as long as they’re involved humbly, thoughtfully, and respectfully). Realistically, though, there are also many needs in American communities, not to mention in places all over the world. My general advice is, it’s good to help out in a crisis, but I think it benefits the people you’re trying to help, as well as your own church, to have a focus that lasts, that doesn’t just jump from place to place, from headline to headline, from trendy cause to trendy cause, every year or two. This lets a relationship develop. It means there can be back and forth. It can break us out of thinking of others as simply victims, and of ourselves as kind of saviors–and then, with a longer commitment, we start to realize how we’re all in this together. That has implications for their lives and for our own lives. That’s my pitch for staying engaged: you’ll help more, and you’ll be transformed yourself in ways that are challenging and transforming.

4. What can we do now to help?

Read the whole interview HERE