Prayers, prep for Haiti ahead of Hurricane Matthew

Preparations and prayers are underway as Hurricane Matthew set its sights on a number of islands in the Caribbean, with Haiti being among the most vulnerable.

Mission of Hope Haiti, the formerly Fort Myers-based ministry, was already getting food and water lined up and delivered to the island over the weekend, while the storm was the topic of conversation at many of Haitian-Creole and Caribbean churches in Fort Myers on Sunday.

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, Matthew, a category 4 hurricane, was about 320 miles south-southwest of Port Au Prince Haiti moving west at about 5 mph.

Matthew is expected to produce 15 to 25 inches of rain over southern Haiti, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 40 inches. Matthew is expected to produce 10 to 20 inches of rain over eastern Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches. This rainfall will produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Mission of Hope Haiti, a Christian organization dedicated to helping Haiti, had more than 200,000 emergency meals put together and distributed to parts of the island that are considered possible hot spots for need after a storm hits.

The organization, now headquartered in Austin, Texas, is gearing up to assist the island nation after Matthew passes.

"We've been mobilizing since Saturday," said Janeil Owen, director of the group's HaitiOne Ministry. "We need to get to some specific zones that are troubling along the southern peninsula."

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Owen, who lived in Haiti for 15 years, said that preparing for the storm ahead of time would help the organization meet the needs of a lot of Haitians who will likely be affected by Matthew.

"Waiting to see what happens can be devastating," he said.

Owen said the organization has connecting ministries all over Haiti, which will allow them to find out just where supplies and relief is needed.

"I'm able to start connecting with a lot of our partners and talk about what they are doing and what should be done in advance of the storm," he said. "We want to have supplies in place in advance."

Owen said there are areas in Haiti that will get cut off and cannot be easily access if a major storm like Matthew hits.

The 200,000 emergency meals already sent are comprised of rice, soy, vegetables and a mineral powder that will take care of up to 70 percent of a person's required daily nutritional needs, Owen said, adding that water supplies are also being prepared in case they are needed.

"We're ready to go," he said. "It's crazy wicked in terms of what we might experience."

Owen said he was planning on heading to the island in a few days to help coordinate relief.

Mission of Hope Haiti's president, Brad Johnson, said the organization would distribute information on how to support disaster relief efforts if the storm reaches Haiti.

In Lee County, Robert Pompliano, mission director for the church, said the congregation has a church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and is studying the situation and praying for its members.

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"We're poised," he said. "We'll wait and see."

The church has an airplane that goes to Haiti periodically, Pompliano added. "We have access to bring them stuff."

The church was in the midst of a move from a temporary Fowler Street location to the old Riverside Baptist Church on Palm Beach Boulevard.

Pastor Rony Prophete, of Heavenly Canaan Baptist Church, said his Haitian and Creole congregation have helped before when there's been a problem in Haiti. The church meets in the fellowship hall of the Christian Faith Fellowship Church on Moreno Avenue in Fort Myers.

"We're prepared," he said. "We hope God can do something."

And Will Ponce, associate pastor at Templo Cristiano El Buen Samaritano on Hunter Street in Fort Myers, said members of the church had discussed the hurricane's impact at Sunday school and said a special prayer for those in Haiti.

"We will join in the relief efforts in the community," he said. "A lot of members of the church are from that area or have family there."

As Matthew inched closer Sunday, Lehigh Acres resident Rachelle Ford said her family in Port-au-Prince has not had the opportunity to prepare for such a storm.

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"There's not much you can do, especially when you barely have money for the necessities," she said.

"You just kind of pray. You just pray for the best."

Ford said she has communicated with her aunts and cousins about the storm's pathway.

"They say all we are doing is just holding on tight and praying to God, we are just praying the storm goes easy on us," Ford, 33, said.

Ford, who owns Fort Myers-based Ford Entertainment Magazine, said she is worried about the storm.

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"Haiti is very mountainous," Ford said. "It either builds momentum from the mountains or it dies off by the mountains."

She said she is hoping for the best.

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