November 30, 2010

NEW YORK CITY – Church World Service Haiti Program Manager Burton Joseph will be featured in "Haiti: Religion's Response to Disaster," a CBS Religion Special about the faith community's assistance to survivors of the devastating earthquake, to be broadcast Sunday, Dec. 5, on the CBS Television Network. (Please check your local CBS station for exact time.)

After a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ravaged Haiti in January 2010, some of the first responders were faith-based relief organizations. These faith-based groups continue to assist Haitian survivors on the long road to recovery.

The CBS program examines relief efforts begun immediately after the quake and the progress made by faith-based organizations. Members of Church World Service, Catholic Relief Services, Jewish Distribution Committee and United Methodist Committee on Relief will share stories about their work with viewers.

CWS's Joseph, who was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, assists Church World Service with getting children back to school in new buildings, aiding people with disabilities, and expanding the agency's established rural food co-op program to serve quake survivors migrating to Haiti's Artibonite area.

Also featured on the broadcast is Charisse Classman, a Washington-based legislative assistant for Catholic Relief Services.

Church World Service has worked in Haiti since 1954, providing disaster relief and sustainable development programs, in collaboration with local partners. Its current food security program, operating since 2005 in Haiti's Artibonite and Northwest departments, helped families form farming cooperatives to mitigate the effects of chronic drought, poverty and food scarcity.

John P. Blessington is executive producer and Liz Kineke is producer of "Haiti: Religion's Response to Disaster, which was produced in cooperation with the National Council of Churches, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Islamic Society of North America, the Union for Reform Judaism and the New York Board of Rabbis.

Church World Service