Wednesday, January 27, 2010
From Brittany in Port au Prince!!
Brittany Joy Hilker is still in Port Au Prince. 32 orphaned and injured children went home to Danita's Children yesterday. We are still searching and gathering more children who need a home. So blessed I get to do this.
Messages from staff on the situation in POP and the new arrivals...........
Brittany Joy Hilker This is an orphanage that collapsed during the earthquake. Over 30 children were inside but they all made it out alive. They were sleeping in tents outside without food or water for days. They left on a bus to come live at our orphanage... now they are safe
Karris Hudson is finally heading to bed after a long day with a very happy ending. I'm so glad my incredible mom has been here! A bus arrived tonight at 2:00 a.m. full of children from 2 orphanages that collapsed in Port-Au-Prince. The orphans were living in tents and we got to tuck them into their new beds tonight...they are some ...of the sweetest and grateful children I've ever met. There is always room for one more...
Karris Hudson is finally heading to bed after a long day with a very happy ending. I'm so glad my incredible mom has been here! A bus arrived tonight at 2:00 a.m. full of children from 2 orphanages that collapsed in Port-Au-Prince. The orphans were living in tents and we got to tuck them into their new beds tonight...they are some ...of the sweetest and grateful children I've ever met. There is always room for one more...
Linzi Sharpling yesterday our orphanage welcomed home 3 new children, 2 of them with amputated limbs. A bus full of children are on their way today- their orphanage has completely collapsed and were sleeping outside in tents in Port Au Prince with no food or water.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
New arrivals via Facebook!!
Karris Hudson went to the airstrip this afternoon to pick up 2 precious children and one teenager orphaned by the earthquake...missionary flight brought them from Port-Au-Prince to Ouanaminthe...2 are amputees...came off the plane smiling. Thank you for your prayers in bringing our first few "home."
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Made me cry................
Diana Campbell (Event Manager - Canucks Sports& Entertainment) sets a big ziplock bag of change on my desk on Friday.
"I talked to Meghan last night about what was going on in Haiti and she ran around the house collecting every bit of change she could find and emptying half her piggybank."
Di says Meghan couldn't understand why things are so desperate in Haiti.
Meg "Why don't they just go buy food"
Di "Because they don't have any money"
Meg "Well we have to send them some then"
Megan is a precious 5 year old!!
Jen
"I talked to Meghan last night about what was going on in Haiti and she ran around the house collecting every bit of change she could find and emptying half her piggybank."
Di says Meghan couldn't understand why things are so desperate in Haiti.
Meg "Why don't they just go buy food"
Di "Because they don't have any money"
Meg "Well we have to send them some then"
Megan is a precious 5 year old!!
Jen
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Newest addition to Hope for Haiti Children's Orphanage!
Brittany Joy Hilker We found Johnny, a 7 year old boy, naked, leg broken, his back and face covered in wounds from being trapped under bricks from the earthquake. #36 is written in his arm in week-old marker. He's been sitting on the sam mattress for 10 days. Johnny is the first of many new orphans we will be taking home with us.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
UBC Thunderbirds to help the orphanage..........
UBC Thunderbirds Athletics (http://www.gothunderbirds.ca/) is giving half of every ticket I am able to sell to The Hope for Haiti Children's Orphanage (http://www.danitaschildren.org/)
THEN we are able to get the donation matched by the Canadian Government!
That's $10 per ticket going to Hope for Haiti Children's Orphanage!
Tickets ($10) are valid for any Thunderbird regular season home game until the end of regular season.
UBC Volleyball January 22 and 23 vs Calgary 6 & 8pm
UBC Hockey January 22 & 23 vs Lethbridge 7:30pm
UBC Volleyball January 29 and 30 vs Manitoba 6&8pm
UBC Basketball February 5 & 6 vs Victoria 6 & 8pm
UBC Basketball vs TWU February 13 @ 6 & 8pm
Contact me if you want to purchase tickets!
thunderbirdtickets4haiti@gmail.com
Thanks to UBC Athetics for partnering with this and THANK YOU to all the athletes at UBC who are helping to make this happen!!
Jen
THEN we are able to get the donation matched by the Canadian Government!
That's $10 per ticket going to Hope for Haiti Children's Orphanage!
Tickets ($10) are valid for any Thunderbird regular season home game until the end of regular season.
UBC Volleyball January 22 and 23 vs Calgary 6 & 8pm
UBC Hockey January 22 & 23 vs Lethbridge 7:30pm
UBC Volleyball January 29 and 30 vs Manitoba 6&8pm
UBC Basketball February 5 & 6 vs Victoria 6 & 8pm
UBC Basketball vs TWU February 13 @ 6 & 8pm
Contact me if you want to purchase tickets!
thunderbirdtickets4haiti@gmail.com
Thanks to UBC Athetics for partnering with this and THANK YOU to all the athletes at UBC who are helping to make this happen!!
Jen
Messages from staff in Haiti
Linzi Sharpling Pray for the team at Danita's Children that is going to PAP today to pick up a large group of orphans bring back to the orphanage. Please allow God to use each and every person to raise awareness and relief for these Haitian people. Pray that God gets me there as soon as possible to help.
Brittany Joy Hilker Walking to my house late at night with our 4 year old boy Lubenson he said, "are you scared?" I said "no are you scared?" he said... "I not scared because Jesus here!"
Karris Hudson felt the aftershock here in Santiago this morning...heading to buy lots of bunk beds and sheets here...thanks to everyone for your donations...Danita and team is heading to Port-Au-Prince now...please pray for wisdom and safety.
Brittany Joy Hilker Walking to my house late at night with our 4 year old boy Lubenson he said, "are you scared?" I said "no are you scared?" he said... "I not scared because Jesus here!"
Karris Hudson felt the aftershock here in Santiago this morning...heading to buy lots of bunk beds and sheets here...thanks to everyone for your donations...Danita and team is heading to Port-Au-Prince now...please pray for wisdom and safety.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
If you want to help.......................
Hope for Haiti children's Orphanage (www.danitaschildren.org) is preparing to go into Port au Prince this week and bring home orphans to Ounaminthe.
They have started a fund to help expand the orphanage and provide food, clothing and shelter for these traumatized children.
Information if you want to help directly.
It is very difficult to send packages to Haiti as there is no mail service on the island. Packages are first sent go to the orphanage's office in Florida THEN the orphanage has to pay $2.00 per LB to get it shipped to Santiago, Dominican Republic. If you want to send things please remember that it will cost the orphanage to recieve it so if you are able to please send the cost of shipping to the orphanage office as well that will help ALOT.
Cheques made out to INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT MINISTRIES CANADA will go directly to the orphanage I work with. Mike Estrella who runs ISMC is the brother of Danita who founded and runs the orphanage.
International Support Ministries Cananda
5932 200 St
Langley, BC
V3A 1N3
I will be going back down to the orphanage to live as soon as I can get the everything in place.
This includes monthly support and donations as I will be a missionary in Haiti.
With the influx of more orphans into the orphanage (where they were already stressed to the max) it will be even more vital to have more hands at the orphanage to love and care for the children.
I will let everyone know how to support me directly whether it is a monthly or one time donation so that you can get a tax reciept if you wish it.
If you don't need a tax receipt and want to help you can contact me directly:
Jen Wride
6215 Mackenzie St
Vancouver, BC V6N 1H4
604-999-7402
jen@jeninhaiti.org
Thank you to everyone for your concern, questions and support. I greatly appreciate it!
Jen
They have started a fund to help expand the orphanage and provide food, clothing and shelter for these traumatized children.
Information if you want to help directly.
It is very difficult to send packages to Haiti as there is no mail service on the island. Packages are first sent go to the orphanage's office in Florida THEN the orphanage has to pay $2.00 per LB to get it shipped to Santiago, Dominican Republic. If you want to send things please remember that it will cost the orphanage to recieve it so if you are able to please send the cost of shipping to the orphanage office as well that will help ALOT.
Cheques made out to INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT MINISTRIES CANADA will go directly to the orphanage I work with. Mike Estrella who runs ISMC is the brother of Danita who founded and runs the orphanage.
International Support Ministries Cananda
5932 200 St
Langley, BC
V3A 1N3
I will be going back down to the orphanage to live as soon as I can get the everything in place.
This includes monthly support and donations as I will be a missionary in Haiti.
With the influx of more orphans into the orphanage (where they were already stressed to the max) it will be even more vital to have more hands at the orphanage to love and care for the children.
I will let everyone know how to support me directly whether it is a monthly or one time donation so that you can get a tax reciept if you wish it.
If you don't need a tax receipt and want to help you can contact me directly:
Jen Wride
6215 Mackenzie St
Vancouver, BC V6N 1H4
604-999-7402
jen@jeninhaiti.org
Thank you to everyone for your concern, questions and support. I greatly appreciate it!
Jen
Friday, January 15, 2010
Most recent from Reuters................
Quake destruction "like in a war": Haiti president
Andrew Cawthorne and Joseph Guyler Delva
Fri Jan 15, 2010 6:39pm EST
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti's shell-shocked president, Rene Preval, thanked the world on Friday for its rush to aid his poor Caribbean nation after the catastrophic earthquake that he compared to a wartime bombardment.
"The damage I have seen here can be compared to the damage you would see if the country was bombed for 15 days. It is like in a war," the 66-year-old leader told Reuters in an interview outside the police station that has become his home and office in the wrecked capital Port-au-Prince.
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated much of the hilly coastal city on Tuesday also collapsed the elegant presidential palace and his own home.
Authorities in Haiti, already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, are saying they believe the death toll will be between 100,000 and 200,000 and that three-quarters of the city will need to be rebuilt.
Preval, a balding, graying figure who like many of his countrymen appeared stunned by the enormity of the catastrophe, said he hadn't slept for two days after the quake hit.
"I do not have a home, I do not have a telephone, this is my palace now," he said, smiling wryly and pointing to the headquarters of the judicial police where he is staying.
Several times he took a Blackberry out of his pocket to show there was no signal to illustrate the huge communications and infrastructure problems that his country is facing as a big international relief effort gains momentum.
Speaking calmly, but visibly shaken, Preval said he had spoken Friday morning to U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the massive relief initiative they were spearheading for Haiti.
"They offered sympathy and said they will do all that they can to help ... I thank them for the attention that they are giving to the situation in Haiti," said Preval, who wore a loose, short-sleeved shirt.
"WE HAVE TO RECONSTRUCT EVERYTHING"
The soft-spoken Haitian president, who at one point checked on earthquake victims arriving in an ambulance, waved aside questions on casualty figures.
"I'm not going to hazard a guess," Preval said, although various national and international authorities have said the toll will run into many tens of thousands.
"We have to reconstruct everything. The palace fell down, the parliament has crumbled, the justice palace has fallen down," he said.
Asked about the cost of reconstruction, Preval said: "The U.N. is in a better place to assess this than we are. The UNDP (United Nations Development Program) said they estimate more than 500 million dollars are needed".
The lack of functioning communications was a major problem. "There are virtually no (working) telephones ... It is even hard to call or meet the prime minister," Preval said.
There were also concerns about the availability of fuel.
"We have to make sure there is gas available for the cell phone companies and for the trucks for collecting the bodies. The hospitals are full, they are overwhelmed," the president said.
Trucks piled with corpses have been carrying bodies to hurriedly excavated mass graves in at least one area outside the city, but thousands of bodies are still believed buried under rubble.
Authorities have reported some looting and growing anger and frustration among earthquake survivors as international aid takes time to reach people on the street because of huge logistical challenges and bottlenecks.
Asked which out of food, water, communications, or police on the street were Haiti's top priorities in this time of emergency, he replied "All, my friend, all".
Andrew Cawthorne and Joseph Guyler Delva
Fri Jan 15, 2010 6:39pm EST
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti's shell-shocked president, Rene Preval, thanked the world on Friday for its rush to aid his poor Caribbean nation after the catastrophic earthquake that he compared to a wartime bombardment.
"The damage I have seen here can be compared to the damage you would see if the country was bombed for 15 days. It is like in a war," the 66-year-old leader told Reuters in an interview outside the police station that has become his home and office in the wrecked capital Port-au-Prince.
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated much of the hilly coastal city on Tuesday also collapsed the elegant presidential palace and his own home.
Authorities in Haiti, already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, are saying they believe the death toll will be between 100,000 and 200,000 and that three-quarters of the city will need to be rebuilt.
Preval, a balding, graying figure who like many of his countrymen appeared stunned by the enormity of the catastrophe, said he hadn't slept for two days after the quake hit.
"I do not have a home, I do not have a telephone, this is my palace now," he said, smiling wryly and pointing to the headquarters of the judicial police where he is staying.
Several times he took a Blackberry out of his pocket to show there was no signal to illustrate the huge communications and infrastructure problems that his country is facing as a big international relief effort gains momentum.
Speaking calmly, but visibly shaken, Preval said he had spoken Friday morning to U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the massive relief initiative they were spearheading for Haiti.
"They offered sympathy and said they will do all that they can to help ... I thank them for the attention that they are giving to the situation in Haiti," said Preval, who wore a loose, short-sleeved shirt.
"WE HAVE TO RECONSTRUCT EVERYTHING"
The soft-spoken Haitian president, who at one point checked on earthquake victims arriving in an ambulance, waved aside questions on casualty figures.
"I'm not going to hazard a guess," Preval said, although various national and international authorities have said the toll will run into many tens of thousands.
"We have to reconstruct everything. The palace fell down, the parliament has crumbled, the justice palace has fallen down," he said.
Asked about the cost of reconstruction, Preval said: "The U.N. is in a better place to assess this than we are. The UNDP (United Nations Development Program) said they estimate more than 500 million dollars are needed".
The lack of functioning communications was a major problem. "There are virtually no (working) telephones ... It is even hard to call or meet the prime minister," Preval said.
There were also concerns about the availability of fuel.
"We have to make sure there is gas available for the cell phone companies and for the trucks for collecting the bodies. The hospitals are full, they are overwhelmed," the president said.
Trucks piled with corpses have been carrying bodies to hurriedly excavated mass graves in at least one area outside the city, but thousands of bodies are still believed buried under rubble.
Authorities have reported some looting and growing anger and frustration among earthquake survivors as international aid takes time to reach people on the street because of huge logistical challenges and bottlenecks.
Asked which out of food, water, communications, or police on the street were Haiti's top priorities in this time of emergency, he replied "All, my friend, all".
Mesages from the Hope for Haiti Children's Centre
Brittany Joy Hilker There's nothing sweeter and more humbling than hearing orphans pray for other suffering children
Karris Hudson had devotions with our 27 girls tonight and the presence of God was so strong. Francia, our oldest, led worship and we all prayed for the people in Haiti that are suffering. Our older girls who understand the severity of the situation kept crying as they prayed. I looked up and our 4-year old girl, Loveka, came towards... me, put her little hand on my head and prayed for me. Then she prayed for everyone else.
Sophie Floyd Thanks for everyone's concern. It reminds me that in time of tragedy people are willing to look past racial, ethnic, and cultural boundaries to help out! It's encouraging to see people from all over the world contacting my family and I, wanting to get involved!
Karris Hudson had devotions with our 27 girls tonight and the presence of God was so strong. Francia, our oldest, led worship and we all prayed for the people in Haiti that are suffering. Our older girls who understand the severity of the situation kept crying as they prayed. I looked up and our 4-year old girl, Loveka, came towards... me, put her little hand on my head and prayed for me. Then she prayed for everyone else.
Sophie Floyd Thanks for everyone's concern. It reminds me that in time of tragedy people are willing to look past racial, ethnic, and cultural boundaries to help out! It's encouraging to see people from all over the world contacting my family and I, wanting to get involved!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Helping in Haiti
If you choose to support the orphanage and would like a tax receipt please make cheques payable to International Support Ministries Canada – marked Haiti - as this is a Canadian based charitable organization run by Mike Estrella, Langley, BC (the brother of the woman, Danita Estrella, that runs the orphanage in Haiti).
Cheques payable to: International Support Ministries Canada/Haiti
You can arrange to get the cheque to me and I will be taking all donations out to Mike next week.
An earthquake of 7.0 magnitude hit the city of Port au Prince, January 12, 2010. Everyone in Haiti at Danita’s Children (Hope for Haiti Children’s Centre 300 km from the epicentre) is safe.
Many have asked how you can help during this crisis. Our mission is specifically to care for the orphaned and impoverished children. We anticipate an influx of needs for the children of Haiti. Quite likely, many children have lost parents in this disaster. We are preparing to take in new orphans as needed. It is our prayer that our orphanage and school, as well as other orphanages in our community can bring hope and assistance to those who need it most. (After the hurricanes in 2004, Danita travelled to the Gonaive region to pick up 10 orphans that she had been told about. She came home with 26 children……………..)
Give. Your donation makes it possible for us to do more during this crisis. Your donation will help us supply food, clothing, shelter and hope to the neediest children.
www.danitaschildren.org
Danita's ChildrenHope for Haiti Children's Center, Inc.P.O. Box 864311Orlando, FL 32886
www.jeninhaiti.org
Cheques payable to: International Support Ministries Canada/Haiti
You can arrange to get the cheque to me and I will be taking all donations out to Mike next week.
An earthquake of 7.0 magnitude hit the city of Port au Prince, January 12, 2010. Everyone in Haiti at Danita’s Children (Hope for Haiti Children’s Centre 300 km from the epicentre) is safe.
Many have asked how you can help during this crisis. Our mission is specifically to care for the orphaned and impoverished children. We anticipate an influx of needs for the children of Haiti. Quite likely, many children have lost parents in this disaster. We are preparing to take in new orphans as needed. It is our prayer that our orphanage and school, as well as other orphanages in our community can bring hope and assistance to those who need it most. (After the hurricanes in 2004, Danita travelled to the Gonaive region to pick up 10 orphans that she had been told about. She came home with 26 children……………..)
Give. Your donation makes it possible for us to do more during this crisis. Your donation will help us supply food, clothing, shelter and hope to the neediest children.
www.danitaschildren.org
Danita's ChildrenHope for Haiti Children's Center, Inc.P.O. Box 864311Orlando, FL 32886
www.jeninhaiti.org
Hope for Haiti Children's Centre - support from BC!!!
Langley Times
Langley man gets rolling to provide help for Haiti
Mike Estrella holds a picture of himself and his sister Danita, who runs a school for orphans in Haiti. He is organizing a relief effort to help refugees from Tuesday's massive earthquake which has killed thousands of people and left many others injured or homeless.
John Gordon/Langley Times
How to help Haiti
By Brenda Anderson - Langley Times
Published: January 13, 2010 4:00 PM Updated: January 14, 2010 3:56 PM
A Langley businessman with connections to a Haiti orphanage is hoping local residents will step up and help in the aftermath of Tuesday's devastating earthquake in the impoverished Caribbean nation.
Mike Estrella, owner of Café Estrella on 200 Street, has put out a call for funds on behalf of his sister Danita, who operates an orphanage in the town of Ouanaminthe. It is located about nine hours northeast of Port-au-Prince, on the border with the Dominican Republic.
The orphanage was spared any damage when the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the capital, killing as many as 50,000 people, according to Red Cross estimates. But Estrella expects survivors seeking food and shelter will soon begin making their way out of the city, which has reportedly been reduced to rubble after many of its buildings — constructed from concrete blocks — collapsed.
"We know there will be a wave of people coming to the outlying areas," said Estrella.
When Hurricane Jeanne struck Haiti in 2004, causing flash floods and mud slides, that's what happened, he added. During the disaster, his sister was able to take in 50 additional children.
There's no telling at the moment just how great the demand will be from Port-au-Prince, Estrella said. But it's likely to be significant, he added.
"As the information comes in, we're trying to build a picture, but we can already tell, it's pretty bad."
Danita Estrella, who was in Tennessee fundraising for the orphanage on Tuesday when the earthquake struck, will also begin sending trucks into Port-au-Prince in an effort to find and rescue children who have been orphaned in the disaster, he said.
When the expected refugees begin to arrive, feeding them will be an immediate priority.
"One of the biggest things is we need to start buying food from the Dominican Republic side. We already buy food there and truck it across," Estrella said.
Donated cash will be used to purchase pinto beans, rice and chicken — all staples of a Haitian diet.
Danita's Children has been operating in Ouanaminthe for the past 10 years, starting out as Hope for Haiti Children's Centre in a rented garage. Today, it is home to 570 children.
"I've always said my sister has been at the back door of this country for a purpose," said Estrella.
He has visited the island nation many times and has seen food rotting on the docks at Port-au-Prince, unless money changes hands to get it distributed.
"She personally brings (food) in through the back door," he said.
Anyone who would like to make a donation and doesn't need a receipt can do so online at danitaschildren.org or www.estrellasdeli.com. Those who would like a tax receipt for their contribution can do so through Mike Estrella's charitable organization, International Support Ministry of Canada Inc. which has an account set up at Canadian Western Bank in Langley. Cheques may be dropped off at Café Estrella, at 5932 200 St.
Another local agency is also collecting donations following the Port-au-Prince earthquake. Abbotsford-based Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has been working in Haiti since 1958 and has a number of staff members in the country, both within the capital city itself and based in the surrounding countryside.
Those who wish to respond to the disaster through the charitable organization may do so by making cheques payable to MCC and marked for “Haiti Earthquake”. Cheques can be sent to MCC BC PO Box 2038, Abbotsford, BC V2T 3T8. Credit card donations can also be made by phone at 604-850-6639 or toll free at 1-888 662-6337 or online at donate.mcc.org. For continued updates on MCC’s response, visit mcc.org.
Langley man gets rolling to provide help for Haiti
Mike Estrella holds a picture of himself and his sister Danita, who runs a school for orphans in Haiti. He is organizing a relief effort to help refugees from Tuesday's massive earthquake which has killed thousands of people and left many others injured or homeless.
John Gordon/Langley Times
How to help Haiti
By Brenda Anderson - Langley Times
Published: January 13, 2010 4:00 PM Updated: January 14, 2010 3:56 PM
A Langley businessman with connections to a Haiti orphanage is hoping local residents will step up and help in the aftermath of Tuesday's devastating earthquake in the impoverished Caribbean nation.
Mike Estrella, owner of Café Estrella on 200 Street, has put out a call for funds on behalf of his sister Danita, who operates an orphanage in the town of Ouanaminthe. It is located about nine hours northeast of Port-au-Prince, on the border with the Dominican Republic.
The orphanage was spared any damage when the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the capital, killing as many as 50,000 people, according to Red Cross estimates. But Estrella expects survivors seeking food and shelter will soon begin making their way out of the city, which has reportedly been reduced to rubble after many of its buildings — constructed from concrete blocks — collapsed.
"We know there will be a wave of people coming to the outlying areas," said Estrella.
When Hurricane Jeanne struck Haiti in 2004, causing flash floods and mud slides, that's what happened, he added. During the disaster, his sister was able to take in 50 additional children.
There's no telling at the moment just how great the demand will be from Port-au-Prince, Estrella said. But it's likely to be significant, he added.
"As the information comes in, we're trying to build a picture, but we can already tell, it's pretty bad."
Danita Estrella, who was in Tennessee fundraising for the orphanage on Tuesday when the earthquake struck, will also begin sending trucks into Port-au-Prince in an effort to find and rescue children who have been orphaned in the disaster, he said.
When the expected refugees begin to arrive, feeding them will be an immediate priority.
"One of the biggest things is we need to start buying food from the Dominican Republic side. We already buy food there and truck it across," Estrella said.
Donated cash will be used to purchase pinto beans, rice and chicken — all staples of a Haitian diet.
Danita's Children has been operating in Ouanaminthe for the past 10 years, starting out as Hope for Haiti Children's Centre in a rented garage. Today, it is home to 570 children.
"I've always said my sister has been at the back door of this country for a purpose," said Estrella.
He has visited the island nation many times and has seen food rotting on the docks at Port-au-Prince, unless money changes hands to get it distributed.
"She personally brings (food) in through the back door," he said.
Anyone who would like to make a donation and doesn't need a receipt can do so online at danitaschildren.org or www.estrellasdeli.com. Those who would like a tax receipt for their contribution can do so through Mike Estrella's charitable organization, International Support Ministry of Canada Inc. which has an account set up at Canadian Western Bank in Langley. Cheques may be dropped off at Café Estrella, at 5932 200 St.
Another local agency is also collecting donations following the Port-au-Prince earthquake. Abbotsford-based Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has been working in Haiti since 1958 and has a number of staff members in the country, both within the capital city itself and based in the surrounding countryside.
Those who wish to respond to the disaster through the charitable organization may do so by making cheques payable to MCC and marked for “Haiti Earthquake”. Cheques can be sent to MCC BC PO Box 2038, Abbotsford, BC V2T 3T8. Credit card donations can also be made by phone at 604-850-6639 or toll free at 1-888 662-6337 or online at donate.mcc.org. For continued updates on MCC’s response, visit mcc.org.
from CTV.ca..................
Date: Thu. Jan. 14 2010 1:13 PM ET
Canada and a host of other nations are sending food, medical supplies, experts, even mobile hospitals and collapsible shelters to Haiti, all in an attempt to help the country still reeling from a devastating earthquake.
But major obstacles lie between the aid and those who desperately need it.
In the best of times, the poverty-stricken Caribbean nation faces huge logistical, social and infrastructure-related challenges that make even simple projects difficult for NGOs.
With the destruction of the UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, the collapse of key government buildings and a hospital, and the fact the capital is essentially in shambles, the aid delivery process is expected to be complicated and slow.
"Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere prior to this happening," Craig Kielburger, founder of Save the Children, told CTV's Canada AM.
"(Haiti has) an infant mortality rate, a maternal mortality rate that is through the roof. We hear so many conflicting numbers on the casualty rates because no one even knows how many people live in Port-au-Prince."
The CIA's World Fact Book also paints a grim picture of the situation in Haiti:
80 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, with 54 per cent in abject poverty
Telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean
The country has inadequate supplies of potable water to supply the population
It lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to sever storms from June to October
It's also politically volatile, and relies on 8,000 UN peacekeepers for what security and stability it has.
President Rene Preval, who was democratically elected following a coup in 2004, has said the state's basic infrastructure was destroyed in the quake -- along with the presidential palace, the main prison, and parliament buildings to name a few.
Electricity has reportedly been almost completely nonexistent since the temblor, along with water. Airport, roads and bridges were all damaged and it appears that ships can't access the harbour at Port-au-Prince, which doesn't bode well for aid ships currently steaming towards the port with much needed supplies.
"It's chaos," United Nations humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told The Associated Press. "It's a logistical nightmare."
By Thursday, she said, 40 international search-and-rescue teams were on the ground and ready to start searching for survivors still trapped in the rubble.
But the teams rely on heavy machinery to sift through collapsed buildings, and that equipment simply isn't available, Byers said. So if teams didn't bring their own, they are largely unable to do their work until machinery can be brought in from the nearby Dominican Republic.
But the "greatest handicap for everybody," Charles Vincent of the World Food Program told AP, is the broken communications network.
The lack of working phones makes it difficult, if not impossible, for various groups and organizations to co-ordinate efforts once they are on the ground, said Mike Weickert, senior team leader of humanitarian and emergency affairs for World Vision Canada.
"It's really crucial to making our plans, communicating to the Canadian public and the Canadian government. That has really been a challenge," Weickert told CTV.ca.
In addition, he said, damage to the airport has slowed down travel and deliveries, and those on the ground are struggling to find spaces to warehouse supplies as it arrives, run operations, shelter staff and treat the injured.
Even travelling by road to assess the damage is a huge challenge, he said.
"It makes it more complicated and makes it very hard to do our work," he said.
The situation in Haiti is also unique due to the virtual collapse of the government and UN in Port-au-Prince -- which normally play "crucial" roles in the co-ordination and delivery of international aid," Weickert said.
But with 800 mostly-Haitian staff already working in country for World Vision Haiti, he said the group is in a good position to deliver aid quickly and effectively, despite the challenges.
Debarati Guha Sapir, director of the World Health Organization's Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, told AP that the delays caused by the infrastructure and communications problems are especially problematic for medical teams.
The longer it takes for doctors to reach the injured, she said, the deadlier the quake will be.
"Impacts are not natural nor is there a divine hand or ill fate," Sapir said. "People will also die now of lack of follow-up medical care. In other words, those who survived the quake may not survive for long due to the lack of adequate medical care."
Canada and a host of other nations are sending food, medical supplies, experts, even mobile hospitals and collapsible shelters to Haiti, all in an attempt to help the country still reeling from a devastating earthquake.
But major obstacles lie between the aid and those who desperately need it.
In the best of times, the poverty-stricken Caribbean nation faces huge logistical, social and infrastructure-related challenges that make even simple projects difficult for NGOs.
With the destruction of the UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, the collapse of key government buildings and a hospital, and the fact the capital is essentially in shambles, the aid delivery process is expected to be complicated and slow.
"Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere prior to this happening," Craig Kielburger, founder of Save the Children, told CTV's Canada AM.
"(Haiti has) an infant mortality rate, a maternal mortality rate that is through the roof. We hear so many conflicting numbers on the casualty rates because no one even knows how many people live in Port-au-Prince."
The CIA's World Fact Book also paints a grim picture of the situation in Haiti:
80 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, with 54 per cent in abject poverty
Telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean
The country has inadequate supplies of potable water to supply the population
It lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to sever storms from June to October
It's also politically volatile, and relies on 8,000 UN peacekeepers for what security and stability it has.
President Rene Preval, who was democratically elected following a coup in 2004, has said the state's basic infrastructure was destroyed in the quake -- along with the presidential palace, the main prison, and parliament buildings to name a few.
Electricity has reportedly been almost completely nonexistent since the temblor, along with water. Airport, roads and bridges were all damaged and it appears that ships can't access the harbour at Port-au-Prince, which doesn't bode well for aid ships currently steaming towards the port with much needed supplies.
"It's chaos," United Nations humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told The Associated Press. "It's a logistical nightmare."
By Thursday, she said, 40 international search-and-rescue teams were on the ground and ready to start searching for survivors still trapped in the rubble.
But the teams rely on heavy machinery to sift through collapsed buildings, and that equipment simply isn't available, Byers said. So if teams didn't bring their own, they are largely unable to do their work until machinery can be brought in from the nearby Dominican Republic.
But the "greatest handicap for everybody," Charles Vincent of the World Food Program told AP, is the broken communications network.
The lack of working phones makes it difficult, if not impossible, for various groups and organizations to co-ordinate efforts once they are on the ground, said Mike Weickert, senior team leader of humanitarian and emergency affairs for World Vision Canada.
"It's really crucial to making our plans, communicating to the Canadian public and the Canadian government. That has really been a challenge," Weickert told CTV.ca.
In addition, he said, damage to the airport has slowed down travel and deliveries, and those on the ground are struggling to find spaces to warehouse supplies as it arrives, run operations, shelter staff and treat the injured.
Even travelling by road to assess the damage is a huge challenge, he said.
"It makes it more complicated and makes it very hard to do our work," he said.
The situation in Haiti is also unique due to the virtual collapse of the government and UN in Port-au-Prince -- which normally play "crucial" roles in the co-ordination and delivery of international aid," Weickert said.
But with 800 mostly-Haitian staff already working in country for World Vision Haiti, he said the group is in a good position to deliver aid quickly and effectively, despite the challenges.
Debarati Guha Sapir, director of the World Health Organization's Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, told AP that the delays caused by the infrastructure and communications problems are especially problematic for medical teams.
The longer it takes for doctors to reach the injured, she said, the deadlier the quake will be.
"Impacts are not natural nor is there a divine hand or ill fate," Sapir said. "People will also die now of lack of follow-up medical care. In other words, those who survived the quake may not survive for long due to the lack of adequate medical care."
latest from CNN........................
Trying to prevent 'absolutely catastrophic' situation in Haiti
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- International aid groups were feverishly trying to get supplies into quake-ravaged Haiti on Thursday to prevent the situation from going from "dire to absolutely catastrophic."
The search-and-rescue efforts are the top priority.
"The ability to get people out of that rubble is paramount," said Jonathan Aiken, a spokesman for the American Red Cross. "You have a very limited time to accomplish that before people die and before you start to get into issues of diseases."
Behind the scenes, a massive coordination effort involving dozens of aid groups, the Haitian government, the United Nations and the U.S. military was under way to get food, water, tents and other supplies to survivors of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake.
Ian Rodgers, a senior emergency adviser for Save the Children, said aid efforts were at a "tipping point."
"People are without water; children are without food and without shelter," he said. "What we will see with the lack of water is the possibility of diarrheal diseases and, of course, that can kill children in a matter of hours if not tended to appropriately.
"It is very possible," Rodgers said, "that the situation can go from dire to absolutely catastrophic if we don't get enough food, medicine and work with children and their families to help them."
In the United States, President Obama promised the people of Haiti that "you will not be forsaken."
"Today, you must know that help is arriving," Obama said.
Precise casualty estimates were impossible to determine. Haitian President Rene Preval said Wednesday that he had heard estimates of up to 50,000 dead but that it was too early to know for sure. The Haitian prime minister said he worries that several hundred thousand people were killed.
The country's infrastructure has been devastated, the scope of the calamity enormous. "The government personnel that would normally lead these types of responses, they themselves have been affected," Rodgers said.
The Haitian government stopped accepting flights Thursday because ramp space at the airport in the capital city, Port-au-Prince, was saturated and no fuel was available, said Federal Aviation Adminstration spokeswoman Laura Brown.
Meanwhile, the pier used for delivery of cargo to Port-au-Prince was "completely compromised" by Tuesday's earthquake, said CNN's Eric Marrapodi. Three ships filled with medical supplies, food, clothing and water were turned away, he said. Roads leading into the city from the dock were bucked about 5 feet high by the earthquake, he said.
Relief agencies are focusing on food, shelter, medical care and communications, all of which will help establish a sense of security, Aiken said. "The people will at least know that the world is paying attention to them."
Supplies and security
A bottleneck of supplies has built up while authorities have tried to get Haiti's main airport functioning. Rubble-strewn roads, downed trees and a battered communications network have hampered humanitarian efforts. Aftershocks continue to jolt the region, causing further fear and panic among residents.
"We're going to have to wait for this pipeline of aid coming in from various places around the world to be set up and put into full gear before Haitians can get all the help that they need," Aiken said. "You're going to start seeing some progress on that today."
While planes were able to bring in the first round of supplies, the question became, Aiken said, "how do you get it to the folks who need it?"
Impact Your World: How you can help
Haiti isn't accustomed to quakes and doesn't have the heavy equipment or specialized machinery to help clear the rubble, Aiken said. Aid groups and government agencies are coordinating to get the equipment in.
"It's basically a matter of clearing out the rubble, making sure that areas are workable, that you have security that can protect these supplies and that you have security in place to help people," Aiken said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a contingent of 2,000 U.S. Marines will help the international peacekeeping and police force established after the 2004 ouster of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
"We'll try to support them as they re-establish authority," Clinton said.
The American Red Cross emptied a warehouse in Panama that had been filled with everything from cooking kits to toiletries to medical supplies and tents. That load of supplies is likely to make it into Haiti on Thursday, Aiken said. "Our effort is immediate relief and supplies."
"The needs are overwhelming at this point in time," Rodgers said. "We are going to be doing our best to respond to that, but obviously that's a big task at hand."
Medical emergency
Hospitals in Port-au-Prince have collapsed, and the few facilities still open can't handle the needs of the injured. The United States and other countries were dispatching medical supplies, facilities and personnel. People who suffered broken bones from falling debris have been unable to get treatment; there's simply too many of them.
"We need medical help," Haitian President Rene Preval said. "Some of the hospitals, they collapsed. The hospitals, they are full, and they put people in the outside."
It is very possible that the situation can go from dire to absolutely catastrophic.--Ian Rodgers
Port-au-Prince
Clinton said, "Just getting to people to provide the medical assistance they need is proving to be very difficult."
See CNN's complete coverage of the quake
Barbara DeBuono, the former commissioner of health for New York state, said the coordination between the U.S. military and groups like the Red Cross is essential to treating the sick and injured. "Making sure that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing is really, really critical here, so that there isn't further chaos and confusion."
Aiken said officials would assess the situation on the ground and coordinate medical efforts.
As the days go by, health concerns will grow about diseases, like cholera and tuberculosis, from the thousands of corpses on streets and in the rubble. The bodies also can affect the water supply and sanitation.
"You can have airborne diseases," Aiken said. "You can have animals carrying [diseases] feeding off these corpses."
Haiti could also have a humanitarian crisis since tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed, forcing residents onto residents.
"There needs to be a place to put people and to set up a structure like a refugee camp," Aiken said. "That's all part of this."
But he said, for now, the priority is to rescue as many people as possible -- and get supplies in as quickly as possible.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- International aid groups were feverishly trying to get supplies into quake-ravaged Haiti on Thursday to prevent the situation from going from "dire to absolutely catastrophic."
The search-and-rescue efforts are the top priority.
"The ability to get people out of that rubble is paramount," said Jonathan Aiken, a spokesman for the American Red Cross. "You have a very limited time to accomplish that before people die and before you start to get into issues of diseases."
Behind the scenes, a massive coordination effort involving dozens of aid groups, the Haitian government, the United Nations and the U.S. military was under way to get food, water, tents and other supplies to survivors of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake.
Ian Rodgers, a senior emergency adviser for Save the Children, said aid efforts were at a "tipping point."
"People are without water; children are without food and without shelter," he said. "What we will see with the lack of water is the possibility of diarrheal diseases and, of course, that can kill children in a matter of hours if not tended to appropriately.
"It is very possible," Rodgers said, "that the situation can go from dire to absolutely catastrophic if we don't get enough food, medicine and work with children and their families to help them."
In the United States, President Obama promised the people of Haiti that "you will not be forsaken."
"Today, you must know that help is arriving," Obama said.
Precise casualty estimates were impossible to determine. Haitian President Rene Preval said Wednesday that he had heard estimates of up to 50,000 dead but that it was too early to know for sure. The Haitian prime minister said he worries that several hundred thousand people were killed.
The country's infrastructure has been devastated, the scope of the calamity enormous. "The government personnel that would normally lead these types of responses, they themselves have been affected," Rodgers said.
The Haitian government stopped accepting flights Thursday because ramp space at the airport in the capital city, Port-au-Prince, was saturated and no fuel was available, said Federal Aviation Adminstration spokeswoman Laura Brown.
Meanwhile, the pier used for delivery of cargo to Port-au-Prince was "completely compromised" by Tuesday's earthquake, said CNN's Eric Marrapodi. Three ships filled with medical supplies, food, clothing and water were turned away, he said. Roads leading into the city from the dock were bucked about 5 feet high by the earthquake, he said.
Relief agencies are focusing on food, shelter, medical care and communications, all of which will help establish a sense of security, Aiken said. "The people will at least know that the world is paying attention to them."
Supplies and security
A bottleneck of supplies has built up while authorities have tried to get Haiti's main airport functioning. Rubble-strewn roads, downed trees and a battered communications network have hampered humanitarian efforts. Aftershocks continue to jolt the region, causing further fear and panic among residents.
"We're going to have to wait for this pipeline of aid coming in from various places around the world to be set up and put into full gear before Haitians can get all the help that they need," Aiken said. "You're going to start seeing some progress on that today."
While planes were able to bring in the first round of supplies, the question became, Aiken said, "how do you get it to the folks who need it?"
Impact Your World: How you can help
Haiti isn't accustomed to quakes and doesn't have the heavy equipment or specialized machinery to help clear the rubble, Aiken said. Aid groups and government agencies are coordinating to get the equipment in.
"It's basically a matter of clearing out the rubble, making sure that areas are workable, that you have security that can protect these supplies and that you have security in place to help people," Aiken said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a contingent of 2,000 U.S. Marines will help the international peacekeeping and police force established after the 2004 ouster of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
"We'll try to support them as they re-establish authority," Clinton said.
The American Red Cross emptied a warehouse in Panama that had been filled with everything from cooking kits to toiletries to medical supplies and tents. That load of supplies is likely to make it into Haiti on Thursday, Aiken said. "Our effort is immediate relief and supplies."
"The needs are overwhelming at this point in time," Rodgers said. "We are going to be doing our best to respond to that, but obviously that's a big task at hand."
Medical emergency
Hospitals in Port-au-Prince have collapsed, and the few facilities still open can't handle the needs of the injured. The United States and other countries were dispatching medical supplies, facilities and personnel. People who suffered broken bones from falling debris have been unable to get treatment; there's simply too many of them.
"We need medical help," Haitian President Rene Preval said. "Some of the hospitals, they collapsed. The hospitals, they are full, and they put people in the outside."
It is very possible that the situation can go from dire to absolutely catastrophic.--Ian Rodgers
Port-au-Prince
Clinton said, "Just getting to people to provide the medical assistance they need is proving to be very difficult."
See CNN's complete coverage of the quake
Barbara DeBuono, the former commissioner of health for New York state, said the coordination between the U.S. military and groups like the Red Cross is essential to treating the sick and injured. "Making sure that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing is really, really critical here, so that there isn't further chaos and confusion."
Aiken said officials would assess the situation on the ground and coordinate medical efforts.
As the days go by, health concerns will grow about diseases, like cholera and tuberculosis, from the thousands of corpses on streets and in the rubble. The bodies also can affect the water supply and sanitation.
"You can have airborne diseases," Aiken said. "You can have animals carrying [diseases] feeding off these corpses."
Haiti could also have a humanitarian crisis since tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed, forcing residents onto residents.
"There needs to be a place to put people and to set up a structure like a refugee camp," Aiken said. "That's all part of this."
But he said, for now, the priority is to rescue as many people as possible -- and get supplies in as quickly as possible.
Helping in Haiti
The orphanage in Ounaminthe is preparing to take in more orphans after the catastrophic earthquake on Tuesday. If you want to help please make cheques payable to:
Hope for Haiti Children's Center, Inc.
Danita's Children
Hope for Haiti Children's Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 864311
Orlando, FL 32886
http://www.danitaschildren.org/earthquake-relief-effort/
Or I will be collecting cheques to send down a package. Please let me know if you want to contribute!
Jen
Hope for Haiti Children's Center, Inc.
Danita's Children
Hope for Haiti Children's Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 864311
Orlando, FL 32886
http://www.danitaschildren.org/earthquake-relief-effort/
Or I will be collecting cheques to send down a package. Please let me know if you want to contribute!
Jen
for Reuters...........................
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Troops and planeloads of food and medicine trickled in to Haiti on Thursday to aid a traumatized nation still rattled by aftershocks from the catastrophic earthquake that flattened homes and government buildings and buried countless people.
World Natural Disasters
The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died and 3 million more were hurt or left homeless by the major 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti's capital on Tuesday. The quake flattened entire hillsides and many people were believed to be still trapped alive in the rubble
Heavy aircraft had begun to ferry in aid but the influx had yet to reach shell-shocked Haitians who silently wandered the broken streets of Port-au-Prince, searching desperately for water, food and medical help.
"Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency," one foreign aid-worker told Reuters.
Looters swarmed a broken supermarket in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, peacefully carrying out electronics and bags of rice. Others siphoned gasoline from a wrecked tanker.
"All the policemen are busy rescuing and burying their own families," said tile factory owner Manuel Deheusch. "They don't have the time to patrol the streets."
The United States was sending 3,500 soldiers and 300 medical personnel to help with disaster relief and security in the devastated Caribbean capital, with the first of those scheduled to arrive on Thursday. The Pentagon was also sending an aircraft carrier and three amphibious ships, including one that can carry up to 2,000 Marines.
"To the people of Haiti, we say clearly and with conviction, you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you," President Barack Obama said.
The United States pledged long-term U.S. help for the crippled Haitian government. Parliament, the national palace, and many government buildings collapsed and it was unclear how many lawmakers and officials survived. The main prison also fell, allowing dangerous criminals to escape.
"The authorities that existed before the earthquake are not able to fully function. We're going to try to support them as they re-establish authority," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN.
SURVIVORS DUG OUT
There were still no signs of organized rescue operations to free those trapped in debris, and doctors in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, were ill-equipped to treat the injured.
Survivors feared returning to their precarious homes and slept overnight in open areas where groups of women sang religious songs in the dark and prayed for the dead.
"They want God to help them. We all do," said Hotel Villa Creole employee Dermene Duma, who lost four relatives.
Foreigners slept around the hotel's pool while scores of injured and dying people lay outside. Sobs and wailing were heard throughout the night but aftershocks interrupted the mourning, sending panicked people running away from the walls.
The quake's epicenter was only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, a sprawling and densely packed city of 4 million people in a nation dogged by poverty, catastrophic natural disasters and political instability.
Bodies lay all around the hilly city. Corpses were delivered by the pickup truck load to the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, where hospital director Guy LaRoche estimated the bodies piled outside the morgue numbered 1,500.
BODY BAGS
The Haitian Red Cross had run out of body bags and the International Committee of the Red Cross said 3,000 were on the way. Brazil, whose troops make up part of the UN peacekeeping force, proposed an emergency plan to set up a new cemetery and the United States was sending mortuary teams.
Haitians clawed at chunks of concrete with bare hands and sledgehammers, trying to free those buried alive.
A 35-year-old Estonian, Tarmo Joveer, was freed from the rubble of the United Nations' five-story headquarters early Thursday, and told journalists he was fine.
The UN said at least 22 members of its 9,000-strong peacekeeping mission had been killed and scores were still missing. Brazil said 14 of its soldiers were among the dead.
Nations around the world pitched in to help. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said three French state aircraft carrying 40 tons of equipment, doctors and security staff had already landed in Haiti and two more were on the way.
The United States, China, and European states were sending reconnaissance and rescue teams, some with search dogs and heavy equipment, while other governments and aid groups sent tents, water purification units, food and telecoms teams.
Aid distribution was hampered because roads were still blocked by rubble and normal communications were cut off.
U.N. peacekeepers around the city seemed overwhelmed by the enormity of the recovery task ahead.
"We just don't know what to do," a Chilean peacekeeper said. "You can see how terrible the damage is. We have not been able to get into all the areas."
Many hospitals were too badly damaged to use, and doctors struggled to treat crushed limbs, head wounds and broken bones at makeshift facilities where medical supplies were scarce.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders was sending an inflatable hospital with two operating theaters and the Brazilian military was sending two field hospitals. The U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort was on the way back to Haiti, where it delivered medical care after a spate of storms caused massive flooding and mudslides in 2008.
World Natural Disasters
The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died and 3 million more were hurt or left homeless by the major 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti's capital on Tuesday. The quake flattened entire hillsides and many people were believed to be still trapped alive in the rubble
Heavy aircraft had begun to ferry in aid but the influx had yet to reach shell-shocked Haitians who silently wandered the broken streets of Port-au-Prince, searching desperately for water, food and medical help.
"Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency," one foreign aid-worker told Reuters.
Looters swarmed a broken supermarket in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, peacefully carrying out electronics and bags of rice. Others siphoned gasoline from a wrecked tanker.
"All the policemen are busy rescuing and burying their own families," said tile factory owner Manuel Deheusch. "They don't have the time to patrol the streets."
The United States was sending 3,500 soldiers and 300 medical personnel to help with disaster relief and security in the devastated Caribbean capital, with the first of those scheduled to arrive on Thursday. The Pentagon was also sending an aircraft carrier and three amphibious ships, including one that can carry up to 2,000 Marines.
"To the people of Haiti, we say clearly and with conviction, you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you," President Barack Obama said.
The United States pledged long-term U.S. help for the crippled Haitian government. Parliament, the national palace, and many government buildings collapsed and it was unclear how many lawmakers and officials survived. The main prison also fell, allowing dangerous criminals to escape.
"The authorities that existed before the earthquake are not able to fully function. We're going to try to support them as they re-establish authority," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN.
SURVIVORS DUG OUT
There were still no signs of organized rescue operations to free those trapped in debris, and doctors in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, were ill-equipped to treat the injured.
Survivors feared returning to their precarious homes and slept overnight in open areas where groups of women sang religious songs in the dark and prayed for the dead.
"They want God to help them. We all do," said Hotel Villa Creole employee Dermene Duma, who lost four relatives.
Foreigners slept around the hotel's pool while scores of injured and dying people lay outside. Sobs and wailing were heard throughout the night but aftershocks interrupted the mourning, sending panicked people running away from the walls.
The quake's epicenter was only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, a sprawling and densely packed city of 4 million people in a nation dogged by poverty, catastrophic natural disasters and political instability.
Bodies lay all around the hilly city. Corpses were delivered by the pickup truck load to the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, where hospital director Guy LaRoche estimated the bodies piled outside the morgue numbered 1,500.
BODY BAGS
The Haitian Red Cross had run out of body bags and the International Committee of the Red Cross said 3,000 were on the way. Brazil, whose troops make up part of the UN peacekeeping force, proposed an emergency plan to set up a new cemetery and the United States was sending mortuary teams.
Haitians clawed at chunks of concrete with bare hands and sledgehammers, trying to free those buried alive.
A 35-year-old Estonian, Tarmo Joveer, was freed from the rubble of the United Nations' five-story headquarters early Thursday, and told journalists he was fine.
The UN said at least 22 members of its 9,000-strong peacekeeping mission had been killed and scores were still missing. Brazil said 14 of its soldiers were among the dead.
Nations around the world pitched in to help. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said three French state aircraft carrying 40 tons of equipment, doctors and security staff had already landed in Haiti and two more were on the way.
The United States, China, and European states were sending reconnaissance and rescue teams, some with search dogs and heavy equipment, while other governments and aid groups sent tents, water purification units, food and telecoms teams.
Aid distribution was hampered because roads were still blocked by rubble and normal communications were cut off.
U.N. peacekeepers around the city seemed overwhelmed by the enormity of the recovery task ahead.
"We just don't know what to do," a Chilean peacekeeper said. "You can see how terrible the damage is. We have not been able to get into all the areas."
Many hospitals were too badly damaged to use, and doctors struggled to treat crushed limbs, head wounds and broken bones at makeshift facilities where medical supplies were scarce.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders was sending an inflatable hospital with two operating theaters and the Brazilian military was sending two field hospitals. The U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort was on the way back to Haiti, where it delivered medical care after a spate of storms caused massive flooding and mudslides in 2008.
Messages from staff in Haiti
Eliza Floyd well we just sent two teachers off to port au prince!! they family members and even children that they have not heard from since the earth quake!! since the phones are down!! they are gonna go search for their family members!! please keep them in your prayers!!:S
Annie Wiseman-Floyd Haiti is on my mind! One of my very favorite teachers from Espoir Pour Haiti has his 2 old son in the capital and another dear collegue just wired money to his niece on Monday in P au P for an operation. No news from loved ones as the lines of communication are down but the media reports are staggering and we cannot i...magine the hardship!!!
Annie Wiseman-Floyd Please pray for my 2 favorite teachers (Robinson & Roland) whose families are in Port au Prince. They have no news so they are journeying there today! Roland's 2 year old son is there with his parents in Carrefour an area devastated by the earthquake!
Jacee Boldt www.danitaschildren.org is preparing to respond to the devastation in Haiti. You can give to them through there website. I have been connected with them for 7 years and know first hand that any support given to them will be a great aid to the people of Haiti at this time.
Home - Danita's Children
danitaschildren.org
Danita's Children in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, has 75 orphans in the Hope for Haiti Children's Center in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. They also have over 500 students in the school, and a feeding program of over 17,000 meals a month.
Brittany Joy Hilker It was a bittersweet night for me in Haiti enjoying our precious kids at the orphanage. I'm so thankful that ours are safe but so heartbroken for the thousands of people who lost the people they love most. I held one of our youngest boys tonight with tears in my eyes thinking what if it had been him??
Annie Wiseman-Floyd Haiti is on my mind! One of my very favorite teachers from Espoir Pour Haiti has his 2 old son in the capital and another dear collegue just wired money to his niece on Monday in P au P for an operation. No news from loved ones as the lines of communication are down but the media reports are staggering and we cannot i...magine the hardship!!!
Annie Wiseman-Floyd Please pray for my 2 favorite teachers (Robinson & Roland) whose families are in Port au Prince. They have no news so they are journeying there today! Roland's 2 year old son is there with his parents in Carrefour an area devastated by the earthquake!
Jacee Boldt www.danitaschildren.org is preparing to respond to the devastation in Haiti. You can give to them through there website. I have been connected with them for 7 years and know first hand that any support given to them will be a great aid to the people of Haiti at this time.
Home - Danita's Children
danitaschildren.org
Danita's Children in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, has 75 orphans in the Hope for Haiti Children's Center in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. They also have over 500 students in the school, and a feeding program of over 17,000 meals a month.
Brittany Joy Hilker It was a bittersweet night for me in Haiti enjoying our precious kids at the orphanage. I'm so thankful that ours are safe but so heartbroken for the thousands of people who lost the people they love most. I held one of our youngest boys tonight with tears in my eyes thinking what if it had been him??
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Devastating..............
All the new reports are awful. This country is not set up to handle basic human standards of living on a day to day basis let alone a disaster of this magnitude! Please pray for them and if you feel the need to get involved please send money to organizations that will be on the ground in Haiti! No just funds set up to be used by the country.
thank you
Jen
thank you
Jen
from Reuters
Thousands feared dead as major quake strikes Haiti
Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:56am EST
By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Thousands died in a major earthquake that destroyed the presidential palace, schools, hospitals and hillside shanties in Haiti, the country's president said on Wednesday, and the United States and other nations geared up for a big relief operation.
A five-story U.N. headquarters building was also brought down by Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said was the most powerful in Haiti in over 200 years. Many casualties were feared in the U.N. building.
President Rene Preval called the damage "unimaginable" and told The Miami Herald he believed thousands were dead in the rubble across the impoverished capital.
He described stepping over dead bodies and hearing the cries of those trapped in the collapsed Parliament building, where the senate president was among those pinned by debris.
"There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them," he told the Herald. "All of the hospitals are packed with people. It is a catastrophe."
Sobbing and dazed people wandered the streets of Port-au-Prince, and voices cried out from the rubble.
"Please take me out, I am dying. I have two children with me," a woman told a Reuters journalist from under a collapsed kindergarten in the Canape-Vert area of the capital.
The presidential palace lay in ruins, its domes fallen on top of flattened walls. Preval and his wife were not inside when the quake hit.
GROUND STILL TREMBLING
The quake's epicenter was only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince. About 4 million people live in the city and surrounding area. Many people slept outside on the ground, away from weakened walls, as aftershocks as powerful as 5.9 rattled the city throughout the night and into Wednesday.
The devastation crippled the government and the U.N. security and assistance mission which had kept order, and there were no signs of any organized rescue efforts.
Haitian Red Cross spokesman Pericles Jean-Baptiste said his organization was overwhelmed. "There are too many people who need help ... We lack equipment, we lack body bags," he told Reuters on Wednesday.
Reports on casualties and damage were slow to emerge due to communication outages.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said those unaccounted for at the U.N. mission headquarters included the chief of the mission, Hedi Annabi, but he could not confirm reports Annabi had died. He said 100 to 150 people were in the building when the quake struck.
Brazil's army said at least 11 Brazilian members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission were killed and many soldiers were missing.
The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster, lacking heavy equipment to move debris and sufficient emergency personnel.
FLIMSY HOMES
"I am appealing to the world, especially the United States, to do what they did for us back in 2008 when four hurricanes hit Haiti," Raymond Alcide Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to Washington, said in a CNN interview.
"At that time the U.S. dispatched ... a hospital ship off the coast of Haiti. I hope that will be done again ... and help us in this dire situation that we find ourselves in."
He said that it was impossible to estimate casualties.
U.S. President Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and pledged "unwavering support".
In Geneva, U.N. officials said they expected the world body would issue an international emergency appeal for funds and other assistance, once needs on the ground had been assessed.
Germany was sending 1 million euros in immediate aid, and the EU's executive European Commission pledged 3 million Euros ($4.37 million) of fast-track funding.
The United States, Britain, Canada, France, Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg and Netherlands were sending reconnaissance and rescue teams, some with search dogs and heavy equipment, while other government and aid groups offered tents, water purification units, doctors and telecommunications teams.
NOWHERE TO GO
The quake hit at 5 p.m. (2200 GMT), and witnesses reported people screaming "Jesus, Jesus" running into the streets as offices, hotels, houses and shops collapsed. Experts said the quake's epicenter was very shallow at a depth of only 6.2 miles, which was likely to have magnified the destruction.
Witnesses saw homes and shanties built on hillsides tumble as the earth shook, while cars bounced off the ground. "You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go," said Rachmani Domersant, an operations manager with the Food for the Poor charity.
Media reports said the archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, has been found dead in the wreckage of the archdiocese office.
U.N. officials said normal communications had been cut off and the only way to talk with people on the ground was via satellite phone. Roads were blocked by rubble.
Some 9,000 U.N. police and troops are stationed in Haiti to maintain order and many countries were trying to determine the welfare of their personnel. (Additional reporting by Sophie Hardach, Raymond Colitt, Alister Bull, David Morgan, Jane Sutton, Phil Barbara, Patrick Worsnip; Writing by Jane Sutton and Pascal Fletcher; Editing by David Storey)
Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:56am EST
By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Thousands died in a major earthquake that destroyed the presidential palace, schools, hospitals and hillside shanties in Haiti, the country's president said on Wednesday, and the United States and other nations geared up for a big relief operation.
A five-story U.N. headquarters building was also brought down by Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said was the most powerful in Haiti in over 200 years. Many casualties were feared in the U.N. building.
President Rene Preval called the damage "unimaginable" and told The Miami Herald he believed thousands were dead in the rubble across the impoverished capital.
He described stepping over dead bodies and hearing the cries of those trapped in the collapsed Parliament building, where the senate president was among those pinned by debris.
"There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them," he told the Herald. "All of the hospitals are packed with people. It is a catastrophe."
Sobbing and dazed people wandered the streets of Port-au-Prince, and voices cried out from the rubble.
"Please take me out, I am dying. I have two children with me," a woman told a Reuters journalist from under a collapsed kindergarten in the Canape-Vert area of the capital.
The presidential palace lay in ruins, its domes fallen on top of flattened walls. Preval and his wife were not inside when the quake hit.
GROUND STILL TREMBLING
The quake's epicenter was only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince. About 4 million people live in the city and surrounding area. Many people slept outside on the ground, away from weakened walls, as aftershocks as powerful as 5.9 rattled the city throughout the night and into Wednesday.
The devastation crippled the government and the U.N. security and assistance mission which had kept order, and there were no signs of any organized rescue efforts.
Haitian Red Cross spokesman Pericles Jean-Baptiste said his organization was overwhelmed. "There are too many people who need help ... We lack equipment, we lack body bags," he told Reuters on Wednesday.
Reports on casualties and damage were slow to emerge due to communication outages.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said those unaccounted for at the U.N. mission headquarters included the chief of the mission, Hedi Annabi, but he could not confirm reports Annabi had died. He said 100 to 150 people were in the building when the quake struck.
Brazil's army said at least 11 Brazilian members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission were killed and many soldiers were missing.
The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster, lacking heavy equipment to move debris and sufficient emergency personnel.
FLIMSY HOMES
"I am appealing to the world, especially the United States, to do what they did for us back in 2008 when four hurricanes hit Haiti," Raymond Alcide Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to Washington, said in a CNN interview.
"At that time the U.S. dispatched ... a hospital ship off the coast of Haiti. I hope that will be done again ... and help us in this dire situation that we find ourselves in."
He said that it was impossible to estimate casualties.
U.S. President Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and pledged "unwavering support".
In Geneva, U.N. officials said they expected the world body would issue an international emergency appeal for funds and other assistance, once needs on the ground had been assessed.
Germany was sending 1 million euros in immediate aid, and the EU's executive European Commission pledged 3 million Euros ($4.37 million) of fast-track funding.
The United States, Britain, Canada, France, Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg and Netherlands were sending reconnaissance and rescue teams, some with search dogs and heavy equipment, while other government and aid groups offered tents, water purification units, doctors and telecommunications teams.
NOWHERE TO GO
The quake hit at 5 p.m. (2200 GMT), and witnesses reported people screaming "Jesus, Jesus" running into the streets as offices, hotels, houses and shops collapsed. Experts said the quake's epicenter was very shallow at a depth of only 6.2 miles, which was likely to have magnified the destruction.
Witnesses saw homes and shanties built on hillsides tumble as the earth shook, while cars bounced off the ground. "You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go," said Rachmani Domersant, an operations manager with the Food for the Poor charity.
Media reports said the archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, has been found dead in the wreckage of the archdiocese office.
U.N. officials said normal communications had been cut off and the only way to talk with people on the ground was via satellite phone. Roads were blocked by rubble.
Some 9,000 U.N. police and troops are stationed in Haiti to maintain order and many countries were trying to determine the welfare of their personnel. (Additional reporting by Sophie Hardach, Raymond Colitt, Alister Bull, David Morgan, Jane Sutton, Phil Barbara, Patrick Worsnip; Writing by Jane Sutton and Pascal Fletcher; Editing by David Storey)
Message from Mike and Annie @ the orphanage
This didn't let me paste earlier..................... Jen
Earthquake, Haiti, and all the rest.
From:
Michael and Annie Wiseman-Floyd (wisemanfloyds@yahoo.com)
Sent:
January 13, 2010 4:15:14 PM
To:
Jennifer Wride (jen_wride@hotmail.com)
Dear Family and Friends, Thank you for writing, praying, calling, and all the rest... we definitely are in the news. Here in Haiti people know a bit of what is going on, but Americans probably have more information than Haitians about what is going on... The capital seems to be a complete disaster zone, on a 9/11 scale of things... But we are here on the other end of Haiti. We are doing better than the UN, the President of Haiti, and many in the wrecked hospital in P. au Prince. Here, we felt a huge shiver go through the town, and heard shouts all around us... but nothing I know of was knocked down (skyscrapers in this town are three stories high) and we are all unscathed. But P. au Prince was the epicenter of the quake, and there is no doubt that the amount of substandard construction was multiplied by the factor of the tremendous power at the center of the quake. It is difficult to believe that two of the most international buildings in the capital, the UN and the presidential palace were not built to a sufficient standard... yet that may well have been the case. Most of the nations on earth have lost people in the UN building disaster. And the UN does such a great job here... This has been two weeks of rain and now an earthquake. But I really feel for those in this country who are unprepared for every event, including just rain and cold. Teachers at our school have children sleeping on the ground. Single mothers whose husbands have walked out. AIDS moms raising AIDS children. The nation is all camping. dirt floors, flooded homes, damp beds, streams running through yards, and all the mud, mud, mud. nothing is ever clean... Pray that people will seek and find wisdom to live for every day and every possibility. The poverty we see does not have roots in lack of money, but in lack of wisdom; the sense that life is a tremendous gift, not a compilation of lucky charms and evil curses to be navigated by spells, revenge, sacrifices, and so on. But Haiti faces disasters compiled upon disasters, and this quake will set back a nation of setbacks. The greatest thing that could be gained is that the very wealthiest people in the nation could have a sense for the way those on the bottom feel every day: the Haitian proverb says: "The rocks in the stream are going to feel how the rocks in the sun have felt". But now all the world is feeling, through the UN, tourists missing or dead, and international news of the plight of people buried in homes, hospitals, hotels, how Haiti feels every day. Thank you for your love, concern, notes. prayers, etc. We love you! Michael for all.
Earthquake, Haiti, and all the rest.
From:
Michael and Annie Wiseman-Floyd (wisemanfloyds@yahoo.com)
Sent:
January 13, 2010 4:15:14 PM
To:
Jennifer Wride (jen_wride@hotmail.com)
Dear Family and Friends, Thank you for writing, praying, calling, and all the rest... we definitely are in the news. Here in Haiti people know a bit of what is going on, but Americans probably have more information than Haitians about what is going on... The capital seems to be a complete disaster zone, on a 9/11 scale of things... But we are here on the other end of Haiti. We are doing better than the UN, the President of Haiti, and many in the wrecked hospital in P. au Prince. Here, we felt a huge shiver go through the town, and heard shouts all around us... but nothing I know of was knocked down (skyscrapers in this town are three stories high) and we are all unscathed. But P. au Prince was the epicenter of the quake, and there is no doubt that the amount of substandard construction was multiplied by the factor of the tremendous power at the center of the quake. It is difficult to believe that two of the most international buildings in the capital, the UN and the presidential palace were not built to a sufficient standard... yet that may well have been the case. Most of the nations on earth have lost people in the UN building disaster. And the UN does such a great job here... This has been two weeks of rain and now an earthquake. But I really feel for those in this country who are unprepared for every event, including just rain and cold. Teachers at our school have children sleeping on the ground. Single mothers whose husbands have walked out. AIDS moms raising AIDS children. The nation is all camping. dirt floors, flooded homes, damp beds, streams running through yards, and all the mud, mud, mud. nothing is ever clean... Pray that people will seek and find wisdom to live for every day and every possibility. The poverty we see does not have roots in lack of money, but in lack of wisdom; the sense that life is a tremendous gift, not a compilation of lucky charms and evil curses to be navigated by spells, revenge, sacrifices, and so on. But Haiti faces disasters compiled upon disasters, and this quake will set back a nation of setbacks. The greatest thing that could be gained is that the very wealthiest people in the nation could have a sense for the way those on the bottom feel every day: the Haitian proverb says: "The rocks in the stream are going to feel how the rocks in the sun have felt". But now all the world is feeling, through the UN, tourists missing or dead, and international news of the plight of people buried in homes, hospitals, hotels, how Haiti feels every day. Thank you for your love, concern, notes. prayers, etc. We love you! Michael for all.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Major Earthquake hits Haiti Jan 12, 2010
I'm putting together some info. So far the orphanage is fine. They felt it and are now watching for tsunami warnings as they are on the river. I'll keep people posted with info as I get it.
Jen
(CNN) -- A major earthquake struck just off the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, sparking a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, told CNN he had little information about the extent of damage from the quake, which had a reported magnitude of 7.0. But he said the suffering inflicted on the impoverished Caribbean nation was likely to be "catastrophic."
"The only thing I can do now is pray and hope for the best," he said.
Joseph said one government official -- the only one he was able to reach -- told him houses had crumbled "on the right side of the street and the left side of the street."
The Associated Press reported that a hospital had collapsed.
The quake had a reported magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (16 km) off the coast and about 6 miles (10 km) underground, according to the USGS. Are you there? Submit an iReport
A tsunami watch was posted for Haiti and parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, but historical data suggests a destructive, widespread tsunami was not a threat, the USGS reported.The quake could be felt strongly in the eastern Cuban city of Santiago, about 250 miles west of Port-au-Prince.
"It was very strong. It lasted for almost a minute," said Marlon Romaguera, who runs a bed-and-breakfast there.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A major magnitude 7.0 quake hit the impoverished country of Haiti on Tuesday and prompted a tsunami watch for parts the Caribbean, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on Tuesday.
World Natural Disasters
The epicenter of the quake, which was initially reported off the coast, was located inland, only 10 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince and was very shallow at a depth of only 6.2 miles.
A major earthquake, of magnitude 7 or higher, is capable of causing widespread and heavy damage. There was no immediate report of damage or casualties.
The tsunami center said the watch was in effect for Haiti, the neighboring Dominican Republic, with which it shares the island of Hispaniola, Cuba and the Bahamas.
"A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the center said. "However, there is the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a 100 km (60 miles) from the earthquake epicenter."
The quake was quickly followed by two nearby, strong aftershocks of initial magnitude of 5.9 and 5.5,
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Jen
(CNN) -- A major earthquake struck just off the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, sparking a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, told CNN he had little information about the extent of damage from the quake, which had a reported magnitude of 7.0. But he said the suffering inflicted on the impoverished Caribbean nation was likely to be "catastrophic."
"The only thing I can do now is pray and hope for the best," he said.
Joseph said one government official -- the only one he was able to reach -- told him houses had crumbled "on the right side of the street and the left side of the street."
The Associated Press reported that a hospital had collapsed.
The quake had a reported magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (16 km) off the coast and about 6 miles (10 km) underground, according to the USGS. Are you there? Submit an iReport
A tsunami watch was posted for Haiti and parts of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, but historical data suggests a destructive, widespread tsunami was not a threat, the USGS reported.The quake could be felt strongly in the eastern Cuban city of Santiago, about 250 miles west of Port-au-Prince.
"It was very strong. It lasted for almost a minute," said Marlon Romaguera, who runs a bed-and-breakfast there.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A major magnitude 7.0 quake hit the impoverished country of Haiti on Tuesday and prompted a tsunami watch for parts the Caribbean, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on Tuesday.
World Natural Disasters
The epicenter of the quake, which was initially reported off the coast, was located inland, only 10 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince and was very shallow at a depth of only 6.2 miles.
A major earthquake, of magnitude 7 or higher, is capable of causing widespread and heavy damage. There was no immediate report of damage or casualties.
The tsunami center said the watch was in effect for Haiti, the neighboring Dominican Republic, with which it shares the island of Hispaniola, Cuba and the Bahamas.
"A destructive widespread tsunami threat does not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the center said. "However, there is the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts located usually no more than a 100 km (60 miles) from the earthquake epicenter."
The quake was quickly followed by two nearby, strong aftershocks of initial magnitude of 5.9 and 5.5,
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Sitting in my hotel room in Santiago, Dominican Republic watching the IIHF World Junior Hockey Gold Medal game! Ahhhh technology!
Giddyup - Canada just scored!
I am exhausted. It's quite the production getting in and out of Haiti. When you fly into the DR you stay overnight because 99% of the time you'll miss getting to the border between the DR and Haiti before it closes.
Then you have to pay $25 USD to leave the DR and $1 USD to "arrive" or stamp into Haiti. It feels a bit like you have to walk a guantlet on a dirt road with garbage and animals and shacks and people selling things. Market days (Monday and Friday) are particularly busy.
Today I had Annie, Mike and Jude come across with me with Annie getting me stamped out/in of each country. Linzi met us at the border and we walked over to the bus depot to catch a guagua. (Thanks Bertico!!!) Saying goodbye is so hard but it was easier than previous times because I know when I am going back.
However it doesn't make missing the kids any easier.
Likendly came to me this morning and said "I going to miss you when you go".................... break my heart.
Last night before bed I was talking to a bunch of the boys about when I move down and asked who wanted to come live me. Benedith immediately yelled "ME and we'll have roasted marshmellows every night!!"
I've never had roasted marshmellows with Benedith but I was laughing too hard to ask where that came from!
Jameson got a Power Rangers raincoat for Christmas which HAD to be worn to school yesterday. However when it came time to take it off and give it to me before he went into school there was a fair bit of crying. TODAY he said to me on the way to school "Mami Jennie, I not going to cry when you take my jacket at school." And he didn't. What a difference a day makes.
Giddyup - Canada just scored!
I am exhausted. It's quite the production getting in and out of Haiti. When you fly into the DR you stay overnight because 99% of the time you'll miss getting to the border between the DR and Haiti before it closes.
Then you have to pay $25 USD to leave the DR and $1 USD to "arrive" or stamp into Haiti. It feels a bit like you have to walk a guantlet on a dirt road with garbage and animals and shacks and people selling things. Market days (Monday and Friday) are particularly busy.
Today I had Annie, Mike and Jude come across with me with Annie getting me stamped out/in of each country. Linzi met us at the border and we walked over to the bus depot to catch a guagua. (Thanks Bertico!!!) Saying goodbye is so hard but it was easier than previous times because I know when I am going back.
However it doesn't make missing the kids any easier.
Likendly came to me this morning and said "I going to miss you when you go".................... break my heart.
Last night before bed I was talking to a bunch of the boys about when I move down and asked who wanted to come live me. Benedith immediately yelled "ME and we'll have roasted marshmellows every night!!"
I've never had roasted marshmellows with Benedith but I was laughing too hard to ask where that came from!
Jameson got a Power Rangers raincoat for Christmas which HAD to be worn to school yesterday. However when it came time to take it off and give it to me before he went into school there was a fair bit of crying. TODAY he said to me on the way to school "Mami Jennie, I not going to cry when you take my jacket at school." And he didn't. What a difference a day makes.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Last full day in Haiti!!!!
I cannot believe it's my last day!
Up at 5am to get all 21 (I've added 2 since I've been here but that's another story) showered, dressed with golf shirts, shorts, belts socks and shoes. Cornflakes breakfast and then off to school at 7am for a 7:30am start.
I went back to our house where we've had no street power for 3 nights which means the inverter doesn't charge and since we've had to run the generator so much we ran out of gas...............
Welcome to Haiti!
Actually, Linzi was awesome the other night when one of the boys came up to her and said "Mami Linzi, I hot". She just looked at him and said "Welcome to Haiti!!"
Jefferson came out and asked for a fan last night. He came into the livingroom where candles were lit because we have no power. When I explained the no power situation all I could hear as he walked back to his room was "Oh man!" hahaha
Time to get ready to pick up the boys at school! They get out by 12:30pm because there are so many kids they go in 2 shifts!
I'll be overnight in Santiago before my flight on the 6th so I will have some time to add more photos and tell more stories before I fly home!
Jen
Saturday, January 2, 2010
More adventures..............
Pictures above are from Pastor Daniel's orphanage.
Out and about in Ounaminthe visiting 2 other orphanages with some visitors that are starting their own orphanage in the Dominican Repbulic for Haitian children sold into slavery. How am I the one taking people around already!?!? It has been a steep learning curve this time but awesome. For all the things we need to be careful/smart about there is still an important part of getting to know some people in the community and the culture.
I am becoming an expert at driving around on the motor taxis though and enjoying the breeze!!
Pastor Daniel's orphanage has 30 girls and Pastor Altesse has 45 girls and boys. I met Pastor Altesse when I was here last year. I had met and cared for his wife in Santiago when she was very ill with gall stones, diabetes, high blood pressure and a miriad of other illnesses. Unfortunately Eveline passed away last May from all the complications. As Eveline and Pastor Altesse were both orphans themselves they chose to take in children and provide a home for them. Our orphanage here does what it can when there is extra to help these other 2 orphanages. They are so desperate.
Annie is going to go out for a visit this week to Pastor Altesse's and take school supplies and de-worming medication for all their children.
We had a fabulous time yesterday afternoon talking to papi Pete in Ontario on Skype! ahhhh the magic of technology. Thank goodness it held up. He could see us and we could hear him so the kids enjoyed that alot.
This trip has been good to learn more about what the priorities are. I can live without power (at least in the winter, summer may be another story) but I think water ranks higher for me with need. I NEED to be able to shower because even right now I sweat all day long and you're dusty just from walking from one house to another.
With the children on Christmas vacation there is alot more hanging about. School starts again Monday so it will be up at 5:30am to get everyone ready, fed and out the door for 7am! The children are home by 12:30pm everyday because there are so many kids and not enough desks that there are 2 shifts every day.
Note to self - need activities for the afternoons with the boys............
Jen
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