Seventh-day Adventists contribute to Bahamas National Disaster Relief Fund

Wednesday,  November 23, 2005

NASSAU, The Bahamas: The Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and its Northern Bahamas Mission earlier this month voted $10,000 to the National Disaster relief Fund to assist with the recovery effort in the wake of Hurricane Wilma.

The Conference, whose membership totals more than 14,000 persons throughout The Bahamas, also donated a trailer filled with blankets, clothing and non-perishable goods to the relief effort. The trailer is expected to reach victims of Hurricane Wilma in the Northern Bahamas within the next few days.

Dr. Leonard Johnson, President of the Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said it is important for the Church to step forward and take a lead role when devastation of the magnitude caused by Hurricane Wilma affects the citizens of The Bahamas.

He said it is the Conference’s belief that as a Church and a caring organization, they have a responsibility to identify with the government and to partner with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and all other sectors of the society “to bring relief and hope to the many persons who have been displaced, who have been affected” because the Government cannot do it alone.

Dr. Johnson said the Church must also be at the forefront “in helping to relieve the pain, the suffering and even frustration that the people in these affected areas are going through.”

“The Church is a caring organization by its very nature and when something of this magnitude affects our country, you are talking about affecting our own people and the Church has to partner with the Government in bringing relief to our people because the Government cannot do it alone,” Dr. Johnson said.

“We appreciate the work NEMA did last year in Grand Bahama in bringing relief to the people there after Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, but as you can see, 13 months later the same people have been affected by another hurricane.

“The Gospel of Christ demands that we do more than just tell people that Christ loves them. We must share with them what it means to be loved by Christ and this is how we as a Church can do it, by coming to their aid in their time of need, by providing them with some of their immediate needs including blankets, clothing for children and adults and whatever we can find to give.

“These are not items that we are trying to get rid of,” Dr. Johnson added, “but these are items that the affected people in the Northern Bahamas can use as they try to gain some semblance of normalcy in the wake of what happened in those affected areas.”

Dr. Johnson urged organizations throughout The Bahamas to give to the Fund, saying that their donations will go a long way towards improving the lives of the affected persons at a time when they need it most.

He said that as Christians living in a Christian nation, Bahamians must follow Christ’s Golden Rule which is: “To do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, which crosses all barriers.

“For us, it doesn’t matter whether you are black or white, whether you are Adventist or some other religion. What matters is that here are people who have a need and while we are talking about them, next time it can be you or I because it only takes a matter of hours for what we have to all perish, to be taken away from us, to be washed away from us, and we ourselves may be on the other side where we need to be helped,” Dr. Johnson added.

NEMA Coordinator Carl Smith, who accepted the cheque on behalf of the Government, applauded the Conference, its president and membership for their response, saying that the Adventists as a group and organization “have always come forward to lend a hand in our national efforts to bring relief to affected persons in times of disasters.” 

“This is a very significant contribution and on behalf of the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Disaster Relief Fund, I would like to thank The Bahamas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists most sincerely for their kindness and sincerity,” Mr. Smith said.

“The damage that have occurred in the Northern Bahamas as a result of Hurricane Wilma has been significant, leaving hundreds of families displaced (and so) it will take a few months before things are back to normal and so public/private partnerships will be needed to bring even further relief to our affected persons.

“I would therefore like to take this opportunity to appeal to members of the general public, to corporate citizens and other denominations and entities within The Bahamas, to contribute to the relief effort as we continue our efforts to bring relief and recovery to the persons in the affected areas,” Mr. Smith added. 

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