Sentinel Watch February 14, 2011 Issue

Haiti’s right to food and water

Melanie Ball

Recent news reports about conditions in Haiti, a year after a massive earthquake struck the country, reveal many people are still struggling to obtain the basic necessities of life, including shelter, food, and clean water. More than a million still live under tarpaulins or temporary shelters, and while access to water supplies has improved, many Haitians still need access to water purification systems. The cholera epidemic has reached new levels, and for many—both inside and out of the country—the situation continues to appear desperate. A New York Times report reads in part, “After a year of almost unfathomable hardship in Haiti, there is little reason to be hopeful now” (Deborah Sontag, “A Year Later, Haiti Struggles Back,” January 3, 2011).

But prayer can play a powerful and effective role in ensuring that food, clean water, and other supplies are readily available to the people of Haiti. Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, encouraged her students to pray about world problems, and she knew from experience that those prayers carried with them God’s healing power.

A main starting point for our prayers is a clear understanding of God’s true nature and of His relationship to the family of man. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation” (p. 332). This concept reveals God as protector and nurturer, provider and comforter. Cherishing each individual’s unbreakable relationship to the one Father-Mother God kindles firmer faith in His provision, supports dawning hope, and ultimately reveals fresh, practical ways to meet the human need.