Colorado Springs, Colo. — Engineering Ministries International (EMI) was part of the initial first responders to the Haiti earthquake. As the leader of EMI’s disaster response program, Scott Powell went to Haiti on January 16th with a team of two other men to partner with Samaritan’s Purse and Food for the Hungry. Powell’s team consisted of himself, a civil engineer; Zack Graham, a structural engineer from Montana; and LTC Scott Peck, an army officer stationed at Peterson AFB who went as a volunteer. The team was tasked with providing support to set up clean water systems and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. The three men spent almost 3 weeks in the quake ravaged city of Port au Prince and experienced firsthand the devastation that took the lives of an estimated 150,000 people. EMI has a long history of development work in Haiti, having completed over 80 projects in the organization’s 27 years. EMI is committed to the rebuilding of Haiti having already sent two more teams since the initial response with a fourth team on the way. One of our two teams on the ground provided training this week for Haitian workers with Food for the Hungry to assess damaged buildings. There is huge shortage of trained personnel to assess damaged structures. It was exciting to release these new workers to help people.

Disaster response is close to the heart and origin of EMI. The ministry was conceived of in a post-disaster situation, the structural redesign of a hospital on Saipan after a hurricane in 1981. Since then EMI has remained active in responding to disasters around the world. EMI is uniquely skilled in responding to disasters using our technical expertise, network of relationships, and passion for serving the poor.

The rebuilding efforts in Haiti will take years and EMI will be in the forefront of that effort seeking technical volunteers and continued fundraising to bring relief to a devastated nation. Please visit our website at www.emiworld.org for more information and find out how you can be involved.