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ATLANTA – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s continuing Hurricane Katrina response in Pearlington, Miss., has received a $100,000 grant from National Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA.

The Fellowship has been working in Pearlington since Katrina heavily damaged the area in August 2005. In partnership with Pearlington Recovery Center, the Fellowship has helped rebuild homes and lives. One of the smallest yet worst hit communities, Pearlington still needs at least 70 houses rebuilt, said Charles Ray, the Fellowship’s disaster response coordinator.

"There are 70 families that want to come back that still own land but can’t find the money to build a house," he said. "Our mission is to help those with the most need and the least resources, and that’s what we’ll do here."

With the National Ministries’ grant, the Fellowship will construct the exterior of up to 10 houses. After the foundation, exterior walls and roof are completed, the new home owner will work with Pearlington Recovery Center to obtain grant money that will finish the house’s interior.

"I’m very pleased that we are able to continue our partnership in response to Pearlington’s need," said Kenneth George, national coordinator for direct human services of National Ministries. "It’s a community that has not received a lot of press attention but has as much of a need as other parts of the Gulf."

"CBF disaster response is grateful for this gift to our continuing efforts to meet human need in Pearlington," said CBF Global Missions coordinator Rob Nash. "This gift represents another step in the ongoing cooperation between American Baptists and Fellowship Baptists that enables us to do far more together than we could ever do separately. People are still reeling from the tragedy of Katrina—and CBF and ABC are still present together with them even almost two and half years after the hurricane."

Many individuals and families still live in temporary travel trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While small, the greater health concern is formaldehyde levels, which have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be higher than typical indoor living conditions.

"We urgently need help in relieving such human suffering by getting people into safer and more permanent housing," said Reid Doster, who works as CBF disaster response coordinator in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Nearly 2,000 Fellowship Baptists have served in Pearlington since 2005, and volunteer labor will be crucial to maximizing the grant’s impact. The time it takes to finish construction depends on weather and the number of Fellowship volunteers available.

"We need people to serve now as much as ever before," Ray said.

Those wishing to help in Pearlington should contact Chris Bolton at cboltin@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.