Church of the Brethren supports food distribution at Vine Ministries.

Giving to the Church of the Brethren's Emergency Disaster Fund for Haiti earthquake relief is helping support an additional children's feeding program at Vine Ministries in Port-au-Prince. Vine Ministries was founded by Church of the Brethren members Evelyn Dick and her late husband LeRoy. Evelyn Dick also took part in the Brethren medical delegation to Haiti in March.

A grant of $8,100 is supporting the feeding program at Vine Ministries, according to a report from Roy Winter, executive director of Brethren Disaster Ministries. The funds will be used to feed 94 children at the Vine Evangelical Baptist Church, which is related with the ministry. Vine Ministries' national pastor Joel St. Amour is leading the distribution of the food.

The grant proposal from Vine Ministries said that "there is a total of 194 people in the Vine Church in need of food. Of this number 104 are adults and 94 are children. This number includes three elderly widows and one young widow whose husband and daughter were killed in the quake. She has 10 people living with her since the floods of last year in Gonaives. One child has been orphaned due to the quake having lost her mother and sister."

Of the above number of people, 14 owned homes that have been destroyed by the earthquake, Vine Ministries reported. The homes of 20 families who were renting also have been destroyed. In addition, the families that were renting their homes have lost that rent money for the year because "in Haiti a renter pays one year of rent in advance," the grant proposal added.

Source: 4/7/2010 Newsline Special