Words are at a premium this week. Every television and newspaper reporter seems to be grasping for words to describe the suffering, heartache, and tragedy that they are observing and reporting from Haiti. There simply are no words that are able to capture the enormity of the disaster and its aftermath. Our thoughts, prayers, and donations are all that many of us are able to share with the victims and their families. While those acts may not seem to be enough on an individual level, we can rest in the reality that our individual donations, prayers and thoughtful offers of support are being matched by millions of others around the world. Collectively, these acts will lay the foundation of hope upon which the people of Haiti can begin to rebuild. My own thoughts and prayers have been aimed not only toward the mass of victims, but to individuals with whom I had a personal relationship and who lost their lives in the collapse of the Montana Hotel. One individual in particular, Rev. Dr. Sam Dixon, was unable to be rescued before he perished underneath the rubble of that building. Sam was the top executive with UMCOR, the organization I worked with and that oversaw the Katrina Aid Today project, just a couple of short years ago. He was in Haiti, along with three other UMCOR and Methodist Mission leaders, for meetings involving UMCOR’s ongoing relationship with the UMCOR-Haiti mission. Sam did his best to carry a message of hope and healing around the world as he, and UMCOR, worked on issues ranging from agricultural development in Africa, to disaster recovery and relief from the Indonesian Tsunami. His spirit was generous and welcoming, and he will be missed by all who knew, loved, and admired him for his tireless efforts to improve the lives of others.

While I no longer have any formal ties or relationship with UMCOR, I consider them as I do all of the faith based and volunteer organizations, to be a part of my own extended family. The people within these organizations are bound together by a common calling to serve humanity, and whenever one of our brothers or sisters is lost, we all grieve together. I have no doubt that the response from people around the world will lift up those who have lost so much, and yet I am concerned that as time moves forward, the stories of the people will be replaced by discussions that involve buildings, bridges and other physical infrastructure. We, the members of the disaster recovery community, will continue to support the individuals and families just as we continue to support those recovering from Katrina, while governments and corporations will turn their attention to tangible examples of their contributions, like roads. What will likely be lost from the news coverage will be the stories of families and their individual struggles to rebuild their lives. What is likely to replace those individual stories will be an unending tally of the number of businesses, hotels, roads and bridges that are being rebuilt as a result of governmental involvement. While these accounts of progress are certainly important to report, let all of us strive to remind those who will listen that buildings and houses do not complete the task of rebuilding livelihoods and homes.

Just as we continue to raise awareness that the work of our own recovery is not complete, we must continually advocate for the individual on a personal level lest they merely become a statistic of the devastation. The MCMC project will face an even tougher task in the weeks and months ahead of raising awareness, maintaining focus, and securing resources that are vital to complete our mission. While words are certainly at a premium these days, what is even more scarce is the focus and concentration of people living in a technologically advanced world. Distraction is an almost inescapable problem for most of us, and yet we must remain vigilant in our efforts to combat its effects. This week, concentrate more than ever on the individuals and families with whom you are working and who are so close to completing their recovery. You are their best hope of securing the much needed attention and focus that their case needs in order to be resolved. There will be many opportunities to serve those in need, and we must complete the task with which we have been charged so that we can effectively move forward and ensure that those whom we help now, have the ability to help others at some point in the future. Thanks for who you are, all that you do, and all that you will continue to do in the weeks and months that lay ahead.

Blessings,

Stephen P. Carr II, MA,  MFT
Program Director
Mississippi Case Management Consortium
www.mc-mc.org