In reflection on our recently completed assessment trip from 2/4/10 to 2/10/10, we want to share many details with you. We also have a large number of photos taken by our assessment team in the project. (After we have posted them you will be able to get to them by clicking on the "pictures" link on the left of our home page).
The people of Haiti are responding with grace and elegance in the face of unimaginable hardship. The local markets are functioning, food and other products are available. Concrete blocks and other building materials are being salvaged and utilized. Most of all, the industriousness and good humor, a Haitian trait is most appealing and evident. The UN and other forces are managing the situation very well, with little conflict. Medical teams have improvised and continue to do great work in the face of difficult circumstances.
The work being done cannot be clearly designated as relief or development. It is perhaps best captured by recovery, rebuilding, and redevelopment. These are distinct activities, and all are going on simultaneously. There is a continued demand for resources to meet the many needs of the Haitian people, such as medicine, food, clean water, shelter, and sanitation. Also, the economy is slowly getting restarted, but needs help.
Lastly, we are thankful that CODEP will play a role in meeting many of these needs in the areas we are presently working. In addition, we have provided for the complete restocking of the APKF farm store cooperative as well as helping introduce funds to boost the economy in the mountains.
Thank you for your generous support. We expect that this work will continue for some years, so we urge you to continue to keep the Haitian people and how you can partner with us in this process in your prayers.
I saw great hope in the people we visited, regardless of their situation. The Haitians are tough and their spirit and resolve under such conditions can teach us affluent Americans lesson after lesson about dealing with tragedy and destruction. God is there, God was there, and God will continue to be there in God’s grace.
This update comes at the end of a busy week of preparation and planning for the next trip into the project in Haiti. We'll be posting photos of both trips when the folks return from the upcoming trip.
The Carlins: Mike and Scott arrived in the states a week ago after spending about a week in Haiti. You have already received an update about that trip. Many of you are aware that Pastor Gabriel’s house is intact and sustained little damage. However, his family, like most Haitians, are terrified to stay inside (of any concrete structure) for fear of the continuing tremors. On Thursday, Mike and Nicole lead a class on missiology and spoke at a luncheon about Haiti at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. On Friday, they made a presentation at a local Bruderhoff community, on Saturday Nicole presented at a breakout session at a women’s gathering in Pittsburgh. On Sunday, they met with a representative from a local community of Columbians that desired to make a contribution to the work of CODEP. Finally, on Monday, Mike and Nicole along with their four children flew to Florida as they began making preparations to return to Haiti.
First Work Trip: We are currently coordinating a trip to return to Haiti. There are four main tasks we seek to accomplish:
- * to begin facilitating the relief work within our project zone and the 40-50,000 people in our areas
- * to continue to make basic repairs to the L’Acul facility so that our systems for water and electric will be able to support the presence of the Carlins and work groups
- * to assess rebuilding and reconstruction needs to homes and facilities in CODEP; and
- * to define a short term plan for the next 6-12 months that will respond to the immediate needs of the individuals and facilities in CODEP.
Participants on Trip: The team will leave tomorrow, February 4th. We will fly into Santiago, Dominican Republic and then on Friday morning fly into Jacmel, where we will be met by Mimi and Clement. The Jacmel road is open, but only one lane exists in many places. The individuals that will accompany this trip include: Mike Carlin, long term board members Jim Sylivant and Russ Thienpont, Bill Mebane of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, Jack Stoner and Mike Stoneking from Building Goodness Foundation, and John Winings. We expect to return on Wednesday, February 10.
Statement of Support: Nicole and the children expect to return to Haiti on February 14th, (pending successful system repairs at L’Acul). We have seen through Mike and Scott’s visit that our presence has lent courage to the people of Haiti. In this ordeal they are able to point to our presence and see they are not forgotten or abandoned. They know they have partners who care deeply for them and for their future.
Support from You: We have been humbled and amazed at the outpouring of support we have received from you, both in prayers and finances. We will continue to support the work of CODEP through planting trees as requested by the animators and staff in the project. We also will be establishing a response to the immediate need people have of food, shelter, potable water and hygiene. We look forward to being able to communicate more about this response as we finalize the plans we have been considering.
Grace and peace, John
Technical Problem with our Contact Us.
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We apologize if you have tried to contact us and got no reply. Until this problem is solved,
please use the following e-mail to contact us directly:
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Update – January 27th
Hello Folks,
As of January 22nd, Mike Carlin and Scott Britton had left for the Dominican Republic to await a flight into Haiti. This report from Mike while he was in Haiti gives you a consolidated, first-person update of their time in Haiti. And, there is much to report. After a productive visit, Mike returned to the US last night (January 26). The people of CODEP were very encouraged by his presence in Haiti since it spoke volumes about HFI/CODEP's commitment to not only continue the work of reforestation but bring aid in this crisis. His report is detailed and informative, so our information is broken down by category for clarity.
Summary:
The people of CODEP and the area around the living facility in L’Acul have not suffered much injury or loss of life. Most concrete structures are down, or have had the second story collapse. We believe that most of the treated wooden homes have withstood the earthquake fairly well. Most of the CODEP people desire to replace their fallen homes with wooden ones. There is a great need for rebuilding, as one can imagine.
Now that Mike has made his initial assessment visit, we can now make an attempt to prioritize the relief effort, and with his return, we will be able to put a plan together for the next phase of the process, including when to return and with what skills and materials.
The support that you have given and continue to give is wonderful. Again, because there will be differing needs, and over- and under-supply of a variety of things, at this time it is still best to give money. The added benefit of this is that items that are available in Haiti will be bought in Haiti which helps rejuvenate the economy.
News reports show the massive effort by coordinated UN, American, and other countries’ troops, and warn the people may become quickly desperate if shortages occur. However, as Mike points out in his report, indications are that their presence will provide good security as aid is distributed.
Mike’s moving account of the discussions with the CODEP leaders and their insistence on continuing tree planting while also adding the work of supplying aid to the area is an indication that the methods we have employed to instill belief in sustainable development have become ingrained and part of the culture – a huge step forward.
Finally, many of you have volunteered to go to Haiti to help in the rebuilding effort. We fully plan to involve many of you in this effort, but understand that we need to orchestrate carefully this work so that we, as visitors, don’t become a burden to the Haitian people as they regain their lives and livelihoods. Please continue your prayers for Mike and Nicole and all the others who are dedicated to fulfilling our vision and mission in CODEP and in Haiti.
Glossary Of Terms/People:
Many visitors to the web site have often commented that we use many terms that are not easy to decipher and understand. Shown below are some of them that you have asked about:
Animator – the tem used to describe the leaders of CODEP. Each is assigned a geographic area, except for Edvy and Clement.
APKF – Association Paysans Kormier Fondebudin – a cooperative which operates a farm store and makes microloans to local farmers and vendors. Headed by Edvy Durandisse, who is one of the lead animators in CODEP.
Clement Kercelin – also an animator and one who heads up operations at L’Acul as well as oversight of CODEP.
Mimi – a local man who acts as our driver; is known throughout the project and Léogâne, and who can find any place in Port au Prince.
Wesly Pierre – a local Haitian who is employed in Léogâne by Hôpital Ste. Croix and Hilda Alcindor at the Nursing School. Wesly does IT work. He has been to L’Acul to help with our satellite system.
Pè August – the Episcopal priest assigned to Epiphane church directly across the road from our facility.
Mike’s Reports from Haiti (1/24-1/26)
CODEP people and their situations:
I met with the animators the first is afternoon I arrived, which was also a great re-union. I listened to their situations and their needs, both personal and for those in the groups they work with. Not many people have died in the project, praise be to God. Unfortunately those outside the project were less fortunate. The response I continue to hear is of, people who have either died or been lost. Homes are either cracked or fallen completely, and no one is risks sleeping inside. People are sleeping under tarps or sheets away from homes and either on the roads or near to them. There are shanty towns everywhere made of whatever scrap they can salvage. We have some broken cisterns and the few latrines in the project have also been destroyed, which is a significant health risk. In some places the earth has fallen and pushed homes. People are afraid and they are asking how long this will last. We talked about organization and they felt they need to continue to work with the nurseries and planting of
trees, which will help people stay focused. In the midst of this work, we need to develop a plan for housing. They voiced housing as the number one priority and they no longer want block or concrete homes, they want wood. Medical, food and pure water follow housing as the most pressing need. and are also very important to the group. They are concerned not only for the people in the project, but also for their neighbors. We take into consideration the needs of CODEP and its neighbors, including L'Acul and the communities around the market we shop in, and there are many needs. We were walking with Mimi through his neighborhood and the destruction is as severe as anywhere. I have been thinking of ways to let the Haitians know we are here to support them with aid, but also that they need to take responsibility for the efforts of reconstruction.
Preliminary Estimate of Needs:
I talked with Edvy and asked him for his opinion of what is needed. This was his quick response: rice, oil, sugar, flour, black beans, and soap for washing clothes and tarps. As we think about rebuilding, we need to think of houses, schools, and churches His final need is finances. People who had borrowed money from APKF to do business have obviously lost that investment, so Edvy's comment was that the economy here has crashed. That will need to be addressed and thankfully we have already been talking about this, at the level of micro-financing and small businesses. It just means this is all the more important now.
People have lost everything. For example, Edvy’s has lost his house and everything in it, and since he doesn’t have insurance to cover this, he is just out of that entire investment. And yet Scott, who has come with me, noted that as Edvy walked us around his house he was joking about it and very light spirited. This provided me is a huge cultural insight – they don’t ask why, there is just an acceptance of what today has to offer. (That statement is oversimplified and generalized of course). But for the most part what we saw were communities of people responding to the needs of today. Scott was puzzled by their response – almost as if they didn’t understand that they just had gone through an enormous catastrophe, and yet he was very encouraged by their will to continue on with life.
I saw both UN and American military stations as I came through Léogâne, and I'm am trying to see what our options are with supplies through them. They were using a helicopter to drop off supplies, as we landed and were also dropping off supplies. The situation is grave and is significant. People don’t have housing and food is scarce and tenuous. That is, for those who were not injured in the earthquake. Water is a problem as is fuel and many other things. There is a lot to talk about.
Structural Damage:
APKF is not down. It is probably the only structure not down in the mountains. Everything else is at some level of disrepair from cracks in the walls to completely leveled. Siloe is completely leveled, Edvy’s house now has only one story, (it had two), Clement’s house has cracks in every wall. The road up into the project is buckled in places, and parts of the mountain have fallen down onto it. I have only gone up as far as Siloe at this point, and in the pickup – bigger trucks would not be able to get through.
At With L’Acul, the outer wall along the driveway is down, and we have some breaks and holes in the inner walls. The guest house and director’s quarters at a glance are good, but the concrete pad surrounding and connecting them has multiple cracks. The water system is down, and I will try and restore parts of it, but it has some serious damage. One of our two working generators is down, so we only have one functioning as long as we have diesel. The solar generators panels and batteries are still working. And, two of our larger fish tanks broken as well as 4 or 5 of the smaller ones for babies. We experienced 5 tremors today so far - small, but nerve racking for the Haitians as well as us.
Other Items/People:
I was able to talk with the US military outside of Léogâne, and they are willing to support us with supplies. That will not be vast amounts, but I would like to continue to work on developing a relationship with them. They are throughout the country now, and I have felt could be helpful in a push-comes-to-shove situation. I also need to get over to the UN, because it is my understanding that they have resources we could use now, tents and tarps.
I talked with Wesly Pierre and with Jimmy Hite – an architect from Greenville, NC who is assessing damage to the hospital and nursing school. Jimmy will attempt to visit the compound tomorrow. I am hoping that he will help me gain more insight into evaluating homes in the project. I feel that I have a good understanding of this already, and Jim has helped to add to that. So my plan is to have Jimmy round that out. While I am waiting for this, I hope to look at the water system more thoroughly and look at the generator that is currently not working.
Jimmy Hite made it out to L'Acul on Monday, the 25th and his view is that both the guest house and the residence were extremely well built with proper attention to adequate reinforcing-bar and proper ratios of concrete, sand, and aggregate. The support columns show no voids in concrete so they were well constructed. The architecture of the buildings were extremely suited to withstand earthquakes and survived without even cracks in the walls.
Finally, I talked with John Parker, over at Hospital St Croix. The guest house and his housing are down. The second floor now resides where the first floor resided. He spent over two hours trapped under his house as compound workers opened a hole to allow him to exit. He is in good spirits, especially after a very terrifying situation. It was unbelievable to hear his story and what he has gone through. Also, the guest house of Hôpital Ste. Croix fell as the first floor where the administration offices were located collapsed.
The meaning of it all:
On Sunday (1/24) we worshipped at Epiphane Church across the road. It was an emotional service. Pè August is safe and his family has left. (I am not clear on what that meant.) The church and school are fairly damaged, but it was difficult for Jimmy Hite to make a specific recommendation. What is needed is for the church to be declared safe or not, so the path forward is clear.
We read from Nehemiah today, chapter 8. In verse 10 Nehemiah declares, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Pè August, said that we have survived, we have life, and with that life we are responsible to God and to each other. We praised God through Psalm 113, and remembered that the 'Body' as we see in I Corinthians 12:12-31 has many parts that need one another. We meditated on scripture and gave praise to God, and Pè August used the presence of Scott and me to remind people that we are one body, and that they were not forgotten. For me, even though I had been so thankful to return to the US and worship in English, the experience this morning was powerful. Both Pè August and I were without our families, both serving the people of Haiti.
So, this gives you a lot of new information and likely answers many of the questions you have been asking about people you know in CODEP. I'm sorry we don't have all the specific answers, but they will come.
Again, thank you for all that you are doing in prayer and support for these wonderful people who are our partners in Haiti.
If you need earlier reports, please check the HFI web site: www.haitifundinc.com ?scroll down to read them.
Grace and peace, John
CODEP Update – January 22, 2010
Hello Folks,
Much has happened in the past two days. At this writing Mike Carlin and his close associate from ECHO, Scott Britton are flying to Cibao Airport, located in Santiago, Dominican Republic, in the north central part of the DR. From there they expect to take a helicopter to Léogâne and then transit to L'Acul and CODEP.
We have rented a Satellite Phone which they are carrying so they can contact us, regardless of whether phone service is working in Haiti. We suspect, however, that phone service internal to Haiti is fine, it is the significant demand placed on the system when calling in from the states that jams up the system.
They will assess the situation with the people - injuries, sickness, availability of food and water - and the status of the structures at our supported schools, APKF, the condition of CODEP workers and others' homes, and at L'Acul.
Then they will assess how best to organize so that CODEP can play a lead role in distributing the relief supplies as they become available to our area.
It is expected that they will return in a few days, flying the reverse route they are taking to get there. We ask for your prayers for Mike and Scott and their families, as Nicole and Martha and their children remain home.
On another front, we have made contact with one of the coordinators from the Clinton Bush Foundation, the entity set up earlier this week by President Obama. We are told that they are working to respond to our request. That request asked for 5 containers of rice be delivered by helicopter to the CODEP region, to be placed in various locations so that CODEP people can assist in the distribution of this food. It is important to note, that although we have received lots of encouragement, we do not now have a commitment to deliver these containers. It is our understanding that they would come from the large 'inventory' of ships and containers in the area. We will keep you posted on this as it develops. Following our assessment of other needs, we will request other items including rebuilding materials.
Finally, thank you so much for your generosity in supporting Haiti Fund and our efforts to respond appropriately to this devastation of Haiti. We will continue to count on you, because at this point, we have no real way of knowing the full extent of the cost, nor can we really plan for it yet. For example, we do not know what the cost of the rice in the containers we have requested will be. In addition, there will be a great need for rebuilding, and we are working with Building Goodness Foundation to organize our collective response in that arena.
So, folks, the need continues - for your prayers, your contributions, and your good will toward the people of Haiti.
Grace and peace, John
PS: Some of you may be new to the list. For prior updates, please check out our web site: www.haitifundinc.org J
New Address for Sharyn Babe
,
Cards and letters to Sharyn Babe should now be sent to:
Sharyn - Attn: The Presbytery of Tropical Florida
440 E. Sample Rd., Suite 208
Pompano Beach, FL 33064-4440
Hello Folks,
Haiti Fund/CODEP Update – January 19, 2010:
How will my contribution be used?– Many people have asked if their contributions to Haiti Fund, Inc. will be used for the relief effort, instead of our normal development work.
Yes, definitely. The executive committee met today and decided that we are suspending our reforestation work to focus on the immediate relief effort. The rationale is as follows:
- * the urgent need right now is to assess the damage and provide relief
- * primary needs are for medical supplies, clean water, housing and food
- * we are seeking a variety of ways to get relief materials to the area so our project workers can distribute them
- * we have a leadership team on the ground, with a management structure in place
- * they are trusted, local, have been in place for many years and are able to quickly provide for distribution
Therefore, your contributions will be used to provide relief to all the communities in our project area – from near Carrefour Dufort to Tombe Gateau at the top of the mountain.
What is the situation? – We have verified reports that APKF, Siloe schools and many homes in the project have collapsed. While it seems that none of our animators have been killed, there are injuries and deaths in the project. We have distributed all of our clothing and medicine supplies we had at the L'Acul facility. We have participated in the team effort that brought medical supply flights into Léogâne. As you know from watching the news reports from Haiti, the major problem now is not the lack of relief supplies, but the receipt and distribution of them through the port and then to the rest of the country. Accordingly, we are exploring a variety of ways to get the needed supplies to our area. Then we can implement our project distribution system to deliver them. We will keep you posted on that as we know more.
What are the next steps? – Project directors, Mike and Nicole Carlin, were in the US at the time of the earthquake. Mike is currently making plans to return to Haiti over the next several days with the following goals:
- * to establish a reliable means of communication with the leadership team of CODEP
- * to assess the level of personal injury and damage in the project, and
- * to evaluate the needs in reference to medicine, food, water and shelter
As noted, we have already distributed all the L’Acul supplies. Now we need to establish consistent channel of communication so we can assess how best to bring more relief to the project area.
Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and for those who now are helping them through this crisis.
Grace and peace, John
Hello Folks,
January 17; 8:30 PM
Some things we've learned today:
A plane with some supplies landed on a makeshift runway on the Léogâne bypass road. A makeshift helicopter landing space has been set up next to the Gates Guest House and the Nursing School headed by Hilda Alcindor. It is expected that medical supplies will continue to arrive tomorrow morning. In-bound flights are expected every couple hours. Japanese aid workers arrived in Léogâne tonight.
We have not been able to contact Edvy or Clement yet today, but we hope to do so tonight. We hope to establish satellite internet communications to the L'Acul facility tomorrow. We will keep you posted on that. It is possible to send text messages and so we are hopeful that cell phone communications will continue to improve.
The thrust of this is to establish regular and reliable communications with Clement and Edvy so we can assess the situation reliably and plan on a measured and as rapid response as possible.
Please continue to pray for the people of Léogâne, as well as all the Haitians, the medical, and other aid workers, as well as all the folks involved in assisting and coordinating the effort.
Grace and Peace, John
Saturday, January 16, 11:00 PM
Hello Folks,
A quick update for you today. CODEP Director Mike Carlin received a phone call from Clement tonight, and they will talk more tomorrow.
Clement reports that L'Acul is good, and that there is damage to most of the concrete structures up in CODEP, but that the casualties are minimal. So we are all thankful for that.
We will be reporting more when we have more news after they talk again tomorrow..
Thank you for your prayers and continuing support of the people of Haiti.
Grace and peace, John.
Update Friday, Jan. 16, 11:00 PM
Hello Again Folks,
It is with a sense of thanks, humility, and joy that I report
to you tonight the following information from today: This afternoon
at 1:20 PM we received the following news about Sharyn Babe, who
many of you have been asking about:
According to Nancy Babe, Rodney's sister, who is with Sharyn
at North Broward Hospital. Sharyn has 3 vertebral compression
fractures, multiple fractured ribs, and significant crush injury
contusions of her thighs. She is resting with the help of
some pain medication. They have measured her for a body cast but
it appears that she will not require surgery. Nancy mentioned
that Rodney returned to the apartment building and it is a
miracle that she is alive. Rodney is working to join them
and he is looking at being able to get to the US in the next
couple of days, possibly coming through the Dominican Republic. For
anyone wanting to send a card, Sharyn is in room 356 bed 2. I
don't have the full mailing address, but the main number for
the hospital is 954-941-8300. Thank you all for your prayers
for Sharyn, Rodney, the people of Haiti, and all who are working
so hard to help them. May God use each of us to show his love
to others.
Note: The address of the hospital is:
North Broward Medical Center
201 E. Sample Road
Deerfield Beach, FL 33064
===
And then, at approximately 9 PM tonight we received this news
from Jim Sylivant who has many contacts throughout Haiti and especially
in Léogâne. Yesterday, he was contacted by Wesly Pierre a technician
who, in the past, has assisted us with our satellite system at
L'Acul. Jim asked him if he could visit the L'Acul Facility to
contact Clement and Paul and see its condition. Wesly was able
to make that trip today and he contacted Jim who in turn filed
this report:
The time is 9:00 PM Friday, Jan. 15, 2010
My good friend from Léogâne, Wesly Pierre, took time from the
desperate situation in Léogâne to drive out to the L'Acul Facility. He
reports that Paul and Clement were there and he went inside and
saw no damage to the buildings. The only damage he reported was
to a part of the wall near the entrance gate. His words were:
I went to Lacul this morning, I saw Paul the guardian. I went
Inside I saw no damage. At the entrance, in your left the edge
is broken. The house is oke. I talked to Paul he said Clement
was there. Oke Let me if you need more infos.
Also, I was able to successfully Ping* the HughesNet satellite
modem at L'Acul and it sent back replies with no errors. From
that I conclude the electricity is working and the satellite dish
is still aligned.
*Editors Note: Pinging a satellite dish or web site is a utility
program that sends packets of information to a specific internet
IP address to determine if there is a response. If the satellite
system is working, the packets of information are sent back. The
meaning of this is that the satellite has power, is working, and
is the dish is properly aligned.
===
Finally, we must report that we have no information on any of
the people in the mountains. We reported yesterday we were attempting
to send a motorcycle from Jacmel to APKF and Siloe, but we have
heard nothing as of this point.
Please continue to pray with us that CODEP people are safe and
well.
Grace and peace, John
Questions you have been asking:
What is the status of CODEP and L’Acul
guest house?
It has been a huge problem for us to make contact
with any of the people in CODEP. The prime way of communicating
in Haiti today is cell phones through the Digicel network, which
has tall cell phone towers above Port au Prince – these contain
the switchgear and beaming antennae which connect with the cell
towers. Some cell phones on another network in Haiti are working,
but not Digicel. But, this makes us hopeful we will be back up
in a few days. In the meantime, we are working to send someone
out to L’Acul to contact Clement and find out the status.
Same for CODEP further up the Jacmel road. We will keep you posted.
What about the buildings and CODEP facilities – Siloe
School, APKF, and others?
Again, we do not know. We are taking steps to get
a current high-resolution satellite photo of the area so we can
inspect damage at all locations. We hope this will be the fastest
way, so that we can begin making contingency plans.
Do you have plans to return, and if so, when?
Yes! As noted, our first priority is to find out
the situation on the ground and what the needs are – food
and water, medical, housing – so that we can take the proper
team. We don’t know how long it will be before commercial
transportation will be available, but we are trying to plan for
several different methods. We will have contingency plans finalized
in the next few days.
What is the need for relief for CODEP people,
especially since you are a development project and typically
don’t do relief functions?
This is a valuable question, and is especially good
at this time. We expect that the roughly 600 CODEP people may be
somewhat better off because they live in rural areas where there
are no large buildings to be affected by the earth tremors. However,
these people depend on the existing systems, such as they are – roads,
vehicles, food markets every few days – to get along. These
systems are non-functional everywhere in Haiti. A special problem
is rice – which is all imported to Haiti – and the
black market price is expected to significantly rise in the next
few days and weeks. Plus, many of the CODEP people’s homes
may not be usable following the earthquake. So, we believe that
we will essentially be in the relief business for the next several
weeks, if not months, as CODEP gets back on track. Our thrust is
to take care of these people and their families and communities
for as long as is needed.
We want to donate some funds to help in this
effort. Why should we donate to CODEP now?
This is an excellent question, and is perhaps best
answered by two people who have been long familiar with CODEP and
who wrote compelling answers to this very question today. They
are quoted in part below:
From Jamie Rhoads – a former employee
of CODEP who is now working near Cap Haitien and has six years
of experience living in Haiti.
Many people have been asking the question of where
to give. Large organizations like American Red Cross and Partners
in Health are quite active in the immediate response.
However, there is a HUGE popular response to their demands and
they won’t be in need of money for the immediate future. In
other areas they were oversubscribed and had so much ear-marked
money left over that they had to find ways to spend it. Plus,
they have the US news media and the international community essentially
doing their fund-raising for them.
The question that haunts me is: “But what
will happen after that help, like so much here, has vanished?” It
seems selfish to ask for money for organizations that don't do "relief," but
I have a feeling that everything will be relief for a while. I
chose to work with groups that are reliable stewards of money and
are committed to the long term success of Haiti. For example, The
Haiti Fund works in the area reportedly the most damaged
by the quake. The epicenter was a few miles from my old house.
Perhaps as many as 600 people rely directly on HFI for support
and thousands more indirectly. The need there was already
overwhelming and I can't imagine what it is like right now.
I just want to make the point that everyone will
be hurting there right now. When you give money, give to
groups that are known and established in Haiti (there are supposedly
10,000 private volunteer orgs working in Haiti!), but pick one
that won't be the recipient of the general bubble of funds. Also,
pick one that is focused on Haiti's future beyond the next few
days and weeks, when it has fallen from the top story in the news.
From Joel Millikan – a Haiti Fund
board member for many years:
In the wake of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti,
the people need our help. Many lives have been lost and many
more have been injured. As Rodney Babe, our Presbyterian
mission co-worker puts it, “the situation in Port-au-Prince
is very dire”. His wife, Sharyn Babe was injured in
the quake, but is now recuperating in a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale.
But, Sharyn’s story is one we know. There are untold
others who are suffering in Haiti whom we do not know.
At this early time, the strongest response we can
make is to provide financial assistance to those organizations
already in Haiti and equipped to serve. Haiti Fund, Inc.
is uniquely positioned and equipped to respond. We have over
600 CODEP workers in the immediate area of the epicenter who know
the people, the communities and the needs. While CODEP/HFI
is geared toward long term development, there are moments when
immediate assistance is necessary. This is one of those moments.
We Need Your Help for Haiti
In the wake of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti, January 12, 2010,
CODEP and Haiti Fund, Inc. are working to establish communication with
our Haitian staff at our facility in L'Acul. We have no information
at this time about the extent of damage to the project or the compound. We
have had reports of property damage and some loss of life in other communities,
but we must wait to connect with Clement and our folks on the ground
to get a clear picture of the type of relief effort necessary for CODEP. Historically
CODEP has primarily been a reforestation project but we have always assisted
with water, housing, education and medical needs. In preparation,
we are planning to meet the immediate needs of people in the project
as best we can, once the full extent of the situation is defined.
Many of you have asked, "How can we help?" CODEP/HFI
is prepared to receive your donations to assist in the immediate relief
effort and the ongoing task of rebuilding and development that will follow. Remember
that our project is geared toward long-term development, but there are
moments when immediate assistance is necessary; this is one of those
moments.
Join us as we pray and work alongside of the people of Haiti and CODEP
to help.
Additional information:
Current CODEP directors, Mike and Nicole Carlin along with their 4 children
are presently in the United States on a scheduled month-long sharing
and support raising trip. Rick and Kathy Land, previous directors,
had planned to return to Haiti in late January, but have delayed their
trip. Original directors, Rodney and Sharyn Babe were in Port au Prince
at the time of the earthquake and both sustained some injuries and are
in contact with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
We will make additional reports as we learn more.
If you would like to donate online,
please enter an amount in
the Google Checkout space at the top left side of this page,
and
then click on the “Donate” button. (go
to top) |
Please send donations to our office in New Bern at this address:
Haiti Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 1075
New Bern, North Carolina 28563 |
