Haiti Earthquake
May 11, 2010 From a team member: A group of us met over 9 months ago with a common interest to serve others, specifically Haitians. We planned to partner with Christian World Outreach, a nonprofit that has been working in Haiti since the 70’s.The Earthquake that happened 1/12/10 only one week prior to our scheduled departure changed everything. All of our hearts were broken knowing that this earthquake would have brought so much more devastation to a country already struggling. Three months later we were able to reschedule our trip. Stepping off the plane, we were welcomed by a crowded, sweaty, warehouse in typical Haitian mayham, not to be confused with regular ole chaos. This warehouse was the airport baggage claim -welcome to Haiti. Our ability to work as a team was quickly tested, as we scrambled to retrieve our luggage, which included 13 totes full of medical and school supplies. The locals were fixated on helping us with the luggage to our transportation, hoping in for a days wage in return. The next 9 days our team continued to be tested, emotionally and physically as we set out to help demolition a teacher’s home that worked for Christian World Outreach, in an effort to help her find hope again. We found this is the way the leadership of CWO works; help to empower the leaders of Haiti so they can in turn help their own people. Daily heat exhaustion, a swarm of mosquito bites, a foreign language, and a disappearing act of all standard amenities were all hurdles that our team took in stride. God equipped us for this trip more than we even knew. In our spare time we were able to assist with a children’s feeding program that fed around 100 children 3 times a week, tore down the damaged wall in front of CWO’s headquarters, provided first aid and physical therapy to people in need, and somehow we were able to fit in ring around the rosy and patty cake with the neighborhood kids. God was able to provide a home for our school supplies as we were greeted at the work site by dozens of children at a school that happened to be right next to the home that we were demolitioning – a coincidence, I think not. Our last day, we were able to drive around downtown Port Au Prince and see the devastation. It really is hard to explain in words, people going about their day in the midst of rubble. Complete streets crumbled into pieces, an ocean of colors, concrete, and rusted rebar. It looked as though the earthquake had happened yesterday. People are still living in tents, some held up by sticks, all in the midst of the rainy season. Being back home and struggling to come to terms with the devastation, we are all trying to remember the hearts and smiles of the people we had the opportunity to create relationships with. When feeling overwhelmed and helpless, it is best to remember how we were told over and over again by the people of Haiti; thank you for coming to our country and showing us that you care. Sometimes, when grappling with how to solve the world’s problems, it is best to just show up with a servant’s heart and god will show you the way.
April 1, 2010 A medical team from Colorado and Michigan spent March 22 – 27 seeing patients in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They were able to see over 440 people with a wide variety of issues. They gave care for some wounds due to the January 12 earthquake as well as dealt with emotional issues. Because of a great outpouring of donated medical supplies almost all were given the medications they needed.
February 17, 2010
February 6, 2010 Rumors are a part of life, unfortunately when dealing with a disaster such as the one in Haiti rumors can be frustrating as they hinder aid getting to those who need it. Here are some examples of rumors we have heard lately. Doctors are amputating for no reason - because of this rumor people with injuries that require medical attention are fleeing to the countryside and their injuries are becoming more complicated, even life threatening. A 9.0 earthquake is predicted to happen at anytime - because of this rumor people are afraid and still living outside their homes, in tents, on the streets, in any open area. We had the opportunity to witness to the family living below us as they expressed their fears of another earthquake. Unfortunately, rumors are not limited to the Haitians. There have been rumors that doctors should not come to Haiti to help because of the infectious diseases. In my opinion there are three major hurdles Haiti is going to have to overcome in the upcoming months.
- The "tent cities" will remain in place for months, if not years. People who have lost their homes are starting to rebuild more permanent structures with whatever makeshift materials they can find.
- The influx of people fleeing Port-au-Prince will have a negative effect on the economy of the towns to the north and to Port itself. Many people have left Port to live with families or friends outside the city.
- Infectious diseases and poor hygiene will spread diseases. With so many people crowded in to the "tent cities" diseases will spread easily and currently there is no working sanitation for the tent cities or in most of Port. This will only worsen when the rain starts.
Greg
February 2, 2010 Thought you might be interested to see some photos from Haiti. The first is a picture of what once was a four or five story apartment building located not far from the CWO facilities. The second shows how natural disasters effect everyone, rich or poor, educated or uneducated. In the "tent cities" you will see nice cars parked in front of the tents because regardless of your income or education level the earthquake destroyed many, many homes and families have no other place to go. The third photo shows Haiti more as it has always been with street vendors sitting on the side of the road selling goods.
Greg
February 1, 2010 Today was our first full day in Port and what a busy day it was! Mark, Billy and I spent the morning at the American Embassy, the car pool for the military, the UN headquarters, and a cluster meeting on food distrubtion. (Clusters are term used for teams of NGO's working at several different areas of the city). After all of our time and efforts we weren't able to accomplish quite as much as we wanted however, we have made some good contacts in unexpected places. When we were heading to the CWO facility we ran in to a Major with one of the U.S. military groups who was providing security for a food distribution a few blocks from the CWO facility. He said that there hadn't been any major security problems with the community around the facility. We are hoping that he will be able to help provide assistance transporting items from the container of supplies we already had at the port prior to the earthquake. I ran in to one of the first interpreters CWO used in Haiti back in 1978, Lionel. It was quite a joyous reunion that happened in front of the embassy. He is working for USAID and is providing us with contacts to help check the structural integrity of the CWO facility. God is good! I was able to speak with our staff today, which was very encouraging. I told them that CWO was committed to helping them work through the loss of their family members, homes and the emotional trauma they have endured. CWO is planning to continue to pay our entire staff even though most are not working at this time. In Haiti, this will mean many will be helped because they will take care of each other and share food, clothing and other necessities. It has been a long day and we are very tired. Please continue to pray for God to open doors, help us make to make appropriate contacts and guide our efforts in ways to help the people here. Serving Together,
Greg
January 31, 2010 As many of you are aware, Greg Yoder and Mark Overton (CWO advisory board member) traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti through the Dominican Republic on Saturday, January 30th. Below is an email from Greg after arriving in Port and witnessing the devastation first hand.
We flew into the DR last night about 7:00 PM EST. This morning we met up with a team driving to Port-au-Prince and arrived in Port-au-Prince about 6:30 PM. We are seeing what you have heard on the news. The damage seems random with one building collapsed and the building next door with little to no damage. Any place that was an open area has makeshift tents where people are living. The people are still afraid to stay inside even if their home is not damaged. As I sit here typing this Billy heard from a friend of his. They have found that mutual friend was in the National Palace during the earthquake and was killed.
We were able to meet with some of the staff at Quisqueya Christian School who will be great contacts as we make plans. The CWO truck is being used to transport teams of medical people wherever needed. Sergo (our driver) is doing a great job of driving them and they could not say enough good things about him.
As we drove up to the CWO headquarters I heard, “Greg” and was greeted by two boys with big smiles on their faces. For those of you who have been to Haiti over the last few years, it was Evanson and Sonson. We did a quick check of the CWO building with flashlights since there in no electricity in the city. No major damage to the main structure but some minor cracks we will have an engineer check. The wall around the property has a lot of damage. The back wall is completely down and will need repaired immediately to prevent damage to the building. Half of the front wall will need to be torn down and rebuilt.
We appreciate all of your prayers and notes of encouragement.
We will continue to update you on the progress of Greg and Mark's trip as we receive updates from them.
January 18, 2010 Here is information from two e-mails we received today from our staff in Haiti. Please pray for our staff and friends there and us as we continue to work to send relief. We are grateful for the generosity that has been shown already. We are working to get personal on the ground there to coordinate efforts with those already providing relief aid.
"We met yesterday in front of the church we were some fifty people, including children.
(see Los Angeles times article)
The engineer came to assess the damages on the building and he believes that the structure of the church has not been deteriorated since the beams and the posts has not moved an inch.
If it is so then Praise the Lord! However, I would like to have a second opinion.
The pressure is incredible but we are holding on through Christ who is our strength.
Sergo's house has been destroyed but the family is alive. Actually it is the same thing for other employees.
Please, know that all information I give now is partial until I can freely move around and everywhere.
Now there is no fuel. I keep in touch with Billy and Rigaud.
In fact Rigaud’s wife spent a night with us before she and Rigaud left for Mirebalais.
I have not heard from them since this morning.
One of our deacons (Ronald Laurent) and his daughter (Rodjena) have gone to be with the Lord. Sister Mona Demosthene has also passed away. She was one of the leaders of the children's church. On Thursday we buried Ronald but his daughter’s body has not been found. We also do not know where to find the body of Mona. A deaconess’s sister is still buried under the tons of concrete in a building where she was teaching. This means that the children are there too! The printing business of brother Justin (a deacon) has been destroyed. Vine church is standing bur it does have some cracks.
The earthquake was a 37 seconds long and surprised me while I was parking my vehicle at the front of the church. I did see the Roman Catholic church nearby collapse with many people gathered inside. Everywhere you see a collapsed building, it means that it is a place where many souls are crushed. I do not know when they are going to get all of those bodies out. There are two to five storied buildings that have collapsed and it is an immense load to clean everywhere in a short time. A few buildings that are still standing are cracked everywhere. The presidential palace, the tax building, the Roman church cathedral , the house of justice, one major police station, schools and churches have collapsed causing thousands upon thousands of deaths.
The localities which have been destroyed are the following: Turgeau, Carrefour, Delmas, Bourdon, Canapé Vert and down town, etc. There is a hospital in Petion Ville and a few other building that have collapsed. Two student have been killed at the Bolosse Seminary and another one has been seriously injured. One of the main buildings on the campus has collapsed. The residences of one of the teachers to whom I spoke this morning has been severely damaged.
Port-au-prince is not the only city where the earth shook. It shook also in Jacmel, Petit Goave, Grand Goave, etc. Up to today, there are still many dead bodies on the sidewalks in certain areas. Many bodies have been buried under collapsed buildings and the smell begins to come out from under the rubbles. More than ever the population needs food, lodging/ shelter, medical supplies, and so forth. All communication was disrupted and is still not working properly. That's the reason why it took me so long to inform you.”
We stand in need of your prayers.
Joel ST AMOUR,
Director CWO Haiti.
Director CWO Haiti.
“The Lord is faithful and we thank Him for His goodness towards our family. We should have been dead at this time, but because the Lord, Almighty has a plan for us, He kept us alive. He showed us that no matter what we do, no matter what we say or think, He is God and has everything under control. God showed us that everything under the earth is vanity and we, as humans, we had to take it together, helping everybody at the same time, calling those that we never talked to. The LORD has showed us that He is God.
On Tuesday 12, 2010, while school was going on, while students were at the Center, while we were making plans, there was the earthquake and in a minute, everything was gone. Few students while running fell, but thanks to God everybody who was at the Center is alive and we didn’t have anyone with severe injuries. Some teachers didn’t have to come that day, those are the ones we are worried about.
Now, I can say that Port-au-Prince had been destroyed and therefore, we need to think of new things. I went to the Center on Wednesday and gave the rest of the flour and rice to people around in need. We are willing to help but we just don’t have the possibility.
Mirhioll helped many people out, some were severely injured. She had taken some of the medical supplies that weren’t expired for the past 6 months in order to do her best. Because we are alive and we acknowledge this is a blessing from heaven, we are putting our self in a position to be helpful to others, as long as we can breathe!
In the present time, the most important things are medical supplies and food. If I get the possibility, I would cook and give out food to some people. Since everybody is in the streets, I would select a particular place where to distribute the food. We as well cannot go in our house, but we stay outside the house, far from the walls. Because of the bad odor that is very annoying in the streets, Naomi (Rigaud’s wife) and Rebecca were with us because the odor doesn't bother there. Some of us sleep in the car and the rest of us on the street in front of the house.
Some people from the church had died. Now, everybody is sharing whatever they have to everybody because we really don’t know the future and we can’t plan accordingly.
We are still thanking the Lord for miraculously saving our family!!!
May the Lord richly and keep on praying for us and our nation.”
Marie
Director of the CWO Feminine Training Center
We have updated the Haiti Eearthquake Relief documents.
Please click on the appropriate link above to see the updated information for getting involved with the relief efforts.
Director of the CWO Feminine Training Center
January 15, 2010 Christian World Outreach has made contact with all of our leadership team in Haiti and they and their families were not injured in the earthquake. We continue to pray for the other CWO staff as we try to find out more information on their well being. Communication is still sporadic because of the lack of cell service and electricity to charge cell phones and computers. A preliminary report on the condition of the CWO headquarters is that there was no damage. We are praying this is true so that it can be used to give aid to those in need. We are currently looking to get a generator to power the facility and other needed items for immediate use. We appreciate all of the donations that have come in already and are continuing to work on getting needed items to Haiti as soon as possible. The outpouring of generosity has been amazing as people have brought in clothes, food, medical supplies, hygiene supplies, financial donations and signing up to volunteer. We are in the process of partnering with a shipping company that is already airlifting items to Haiti.
January 12, 2010
