Thank You for Praying for Haiti With Us

IMA President and CEO Rick Santos shares his thoughts with the crowd during a prayer service to reflect on the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.

Emily Esworthy/IMA

IMA World Health would like to thank everyone who attended and participated in the One Year After prayer service at Carroll Lutheran Village on January 12, the first anniversary of the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti last year. Despite a snowstorm earlier in the day, many people from the community near IMA's headquarters in New Windsor, MD, came to pray for the Haitian people.

At the service, IMA Program Officer Ann Varghese moved many in the audience with her story of being rescued from the collapsed Hotel Montana following the earthquake last January, and she spoke about how IMA has been responding to health care needs in Haiti since the quake.

Local ministers in attendance led the time of prayer, each focusing on a particular area of need including comfort and healing, health, housing and livelihood and thanksgiving. This inter-denominational approach aligned with IMA's 50 year history of working with a wide array of denominations to advance health around the world.

Participating ministers included Rev. Martha Clementson, Senior Pastor of the Westminster Grace Lutheran Church; Rev. Glenn McCrickard, Senior Pastor of the Westminster Church of the Brethren; Rev. Dr. David Highfield, retired from the Westminster United Methodist Church; Rev. Ronald S. Fisher, Rector of the Westminster Church of the Ascension Episcopal Church; and Rev. Jimmie Schwartz, Chaplain of Carroll Lutheran Village.

Looking Forward

IMA president and CEO Rick Santos also addressed the crowd, reflecting on his experience as an earthquake survivor and drawing inspiration to continue working from IMA's Dr. Abdel Direny, who tirelessly leads IMA's health projects in Haiti. Santos explained that the rebuilding process in Haiti will be a long one and that IMA is firmly dedicated to being an integral part of it, even though this work will not capture media attention the way initial relief efforts do following a disaster of this magnitude.