logo
Donate
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Nonprofit Newswire | Evangelical Hotbed in Haiti

Rick Cohen
February 11, 2010
Subscribe via E-Mail Get the newswire delivered to you – free! {source} [[form name=”ccoptin” action=”http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp” target=”_blank” method=”post”]] [[input type=”text” name=”ea” size=”20″ value=”” style=”font-family:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:10px; border:1px solid #999999;”]] [[input type=”submit” name=”go” value=”GO” class=”submit” style=”font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:10px;”]] [[input type=”hidden” name=”m” value=”1101451017273″]] [[input type=”hidden” name=”p” value=”oi”]] [[/form]] {/source} Subscribe via RSS Subscribe via RSS Submit a News Item Submit a News Item

February 8, 2010; NBC Bay Area | In Nonprofit Quarterly‘s coverage of the dubious missionary effort to spirit 33 Haitian children out of the country ostensibly to orphanages, we are reminded about how much of disaster relief and even ongoing aid and assistance in developing nations occurs through church-based missions.  In some cases, as this report from NBC notes, the missionaries mean well and they often deliver valuable services. But in some cases, the missionaries are naïve, ignorant, disrespectful of local traditions, and even abusive. Haiti has been a missionary hotspot for decades, with many small communities having several churches built by competing missionary groups. One expert said that there were some 1,700 long-term professional missionaries before the earthquake, but because of Haiti’s proximity to the U.S.—and the majority of the population’s belief in Voodoo—thousands of American missionaries go to Haiti for periods of weeks or months to evangelize, build churches, and provide services. The condition of Haiti’s children is a big issue for them. NBC says, without citation, that before the earthquake, 15 percent of Haitian children were orphaned or abandoned and 200,000 lived in institutions. UNICEF estimates that just under 40 percent of the Haitian population is under 14. The extreme poverty of the nation makes children vulnerable to child trafficking and other kinds of abuse (the NBC article notes another case where a missionary from Colorado working in a school for Haitian street children is under arrest for sexually abusing 18 boys). UNICEF’s Ann Veneman has expressed its concern about child trafficking and is “setting up safe centres where children can be registered, identified and eventually reunited with their families, receiving psycho-social support in the meantime.” Whether cloaked in humanitarianism or religion, those people who run roughshod over the Haitian people and particularly Haitian children should not be tolerated by American charitable or religious donors.—Rick Cohen

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

About the author
Rick Cohen

Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.

More about: Nonprofit News

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Advocates Mobilize to Stave Off Cuts to Federal Student Loan Programs
Marian Conway
How to Reduce Economic Inequality by Expanding Employee Ownership
Julie Menter and Alison Lingane
As Neoliberalism Crashes, What Comes Next?
Steve Dubb
Why the Threats Against Nonprofit Tax Status Are Unprecedented
Rebekah Barber
How Are Foundations Responding to Federal Cuts?
Rebekah Barber
Tax Provision Would Give Trump Administration Unilateral Power to Strip Nonprofit Status
Rebekah Barber and Isaiah Thompson

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
May 27th, 2:00 pm ET

Ask the Nonprofit Lawyer

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register

    
You might also like
US Capitol Building
Tax Provision Would Give Trump Administration Unilateral...
Rebekah Barber and Isaiah Thompson
A piggy bank wearing a graduation hat and standing on a pile of cash, symbolizing how endowments for academic institutions can be accessed in difficult times.
Endowments Aren’t Blank Checks—but Universities Can Rely...
Ellen P. Aprill
Saving AmeriCorps: What’s at Stake and Why We Must Act Now
Hillary Kane

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.