Food and Supplies to Jeremie

Bryan's had it with the beaurocracy and just told Dieudonne to come with a truck from Jeremie to pick up a load of stuff from Port to take back with him. Bryan will make sure it's loaded. It's a 15-18 hour trip, so Dieudonne won't arrive until tomorrow, but at least he and Bryan will be able to talk and make a plan to get supplies into that town and distributed, with or without help from the big boys...or at least until we have help from them. May I suggest Dieudonne Ettienne, for one of those Haitian Senate seats? For those non-French readers...his name means, "God-given." So true. And there are many, many Haitian men just like him. May everything they are doing for their people be blessed 100x.

My dad, who flew into Carrefour with the Smokers, is going to continue talking with USAID even after Bryan has to leave.

Red Tape

There are now 80,000 refugees in Jeremie!

And we have no way to get there! Jon can't fly there because there's no gas so he has no ability to refuel in Port-au-Prince. And we don't have time to take a truck or boat. Jon was hassled for a long time yesterday when he was trying to fly out. Hassled by the Haitian government, who is trying to get their sticky fingers back in the pie. They used to collect a lot of money at this airport in "taxes." They are also quite resistant to deregulation of the adoption processes, as that was also an enormous source of revenue for them.

They still have not opened Jeremie as a port so we are forced to go through Port-au-Prince. Everybody keeps whining about the bottlenecks, but nobody's making the simple decisions to open the floodgates. The days of small relief planes may be drawing to a close if they continue to complicate flights.

We used to be able to drive back and forth from Gonaive to Port-au-Prince with food. Those days are over. Now, we go to Gonaive to pay for a piece of paper to take back to Port-au-Prince (8-10 hours round trip) to get an extortionists signature (more money) before returning to Gonaive to try for the food again. This process can be repeated a couple times before food is actually released from USAID. But it is the Haitian government's involvement now with USAID that is making this even more excruciatingly wasteful in every sense of the word. Yesterday, one of the Americans finally just bribed people to try to get food. Welcome to Haiti.

Evidently, Amy almost got caught in the midst of a food riot. She said she is completely overwhelmed by the need. This was a pretty rough introduction to the the third world. She's going to need some major decompression when she gets home. She said she treated a lot of babies yesterday. The Carrefour camp is well-organized and well-supplied, though, even to the point of being able to give supplies to other clinics and hospitals. But it's because all those supplies have been flown in on our little planes. The immense ship-yards offer nothing.

Bryan did talk to another man with USAID yesterday about supplying Jeremie, specifically. He was much more open than the chick was. The guy seemed to be surprised and concerned by the vast numbers of people Bryan said have arrived empty-handed and unattended there. Dieudonne said he thinks the numbers are accurate because he's there and he says all the buses and ferries end up at the dock, where they are counting heads. Bryan is hopeful that this man will direct aid toward Jeremie. USAID said they only have access to 11 helicopters in the country. Bry told him that he could fill a boat and have it shipped down the coast quicker, with more supplies on board, and cheaper. The guy seemed to show interest and they will talk again today. Bryan sounded pretty desperate on the phone. Pray that they will move the food more quickly! It will get increasingly more frustrating to distribute the longer people go hungry.

Duane is on the plane and coming home tonight. He went to evaluate the rebuilding situation and has seen plenty in just a few days, so his job is done. Plus, the camp is getting another influx of volunteers today or tomorrow, so we all must make room for fresh troops.

Evidently, Kate is begging to go on to Jeremie by truck to stay there with our Haitian friends and to volunteer her help at the public hospital. Bryan is saying no, so it looks like she'll be coming home with Bry and Amy (perhaps Sunday). In which case, Travis and I will be the preachers again on Sunday for a church service and youth group, without Bryan home to speak. It's OK. We have no shortage of words.

Bryan says the little outdoor church services the Haitians are having are precious times, with singing, prayer, thanksgiving and healing. Beautiful.

School Assemblies

Travis and I spoke yesterday at the King's School in Corinth and at the Hadley-Luzerne High School this morning. The kids were very respectful and responded positively. They are actively pursuing ways to contribute to the work in Haiti. The teachers, too, are helping the kids find ways to get involved. It's pretty great to see the schools take time out to hold assemblies on behalf of Haiti. It is a huge encouragement to all of us. Thanks to all those who made that possible. More drops in the bucket.

Travis did pretty well, speaking. It's still hard for him to talk about some of his experiences. His face clouds over and I can tell he's reliving some of the more difficult sights and sounds of the suffering. It's probably good for him to have to keep talking.
He's also done a terrific job of holding down Bryan's business details, even though he's frustrated to be here, so I'm pretty proud of him. And I'm glad he doesn't read this blog. :)

Amy called home and said she's seeing some pretty bad stuff and is working as hard as she can, together with a nurse. Maybe Sabrina, I'm not sure.

Still waiting to hear whether or not it's possible for them to get to Jeremie.

Lloyd and Darlene, the founders of the mission in Carrefour, arrived today. It is the first time they will see the devastation with their own eyes. So many of their closest friends are dead. Pray for them as they grieve...and begin to heal.

The Ups and Downs

Bryan spent most of the day trying to get his hands on some of the acres and acres of supplies and food at the airport and docks. He, along with hundreds of other small organizations throughout Port-au-Prince, could distribute food to thousands of people who are still unreached, at their own expense. Many have connections, vehicles, and manpower...but no food.

Instead, Bryan was directed from one person to the next from morning until late afternoon, before finally being turned away by USAID, who has taken control of food distribution from the U.S. military. And the control won't be shared.

The USAID woman in charge told him that "there is plenty of food getting to the people." Perhaps that is true in some areas (the areas they are servicing) ...but not ours, and especially not in the villages experiencing the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees. But there was no convincing her otherwise. I guess she has a funny idea of what "plenty" means. Her stomach must be full tonight.

Bryan was more than angry, as was Duane, who had accompanied him. Bryan finally told Duane to go help the Haitians, who are still clearing rubble at the site in Carrefour. Duane was happy to forego any more beaurocratic runaround and gladly got his hands dirty. I'm sure the work helped him to simmer down, but Bry was still pretty frustrated when we spoke. He told me it's a good thing I wasn't with them because I would be in jail by now. I told him I could bunk with the Baptist "traffickers." :)

Amy and Kate spent the entire day moving from camp to camp, treating the sick. Amy said she was seeing things that still couldn't be treated for lack of supplies. Amy was flushed red with the heat and the work, but in her element, as was Kate.

Bryan wants to get to Jeremie tomorrow, but is beginning to doubt that they'll be able to make it. Flights to Jeremie are sporadic and seats are difficult to come by, and Jon's fuel supply wouldn't hold out for him to fly them, since there is no ability to refuel in Port-au-Prince. It has been a frustrating day for him. Pray that tomorrow is more profitable and that he will be encouraged.

There is a Danish organization that has building supplies they are giving to people who have cleared their plots of rubble. Apparently, they are little temporary homes with tin roofs that can be easily erected. That is an exciting prospect to many who are left, who are literally starting over from scratch.

There is great affection among the Haitian people for the Americans right now. Not so much for the UN, however, which the people see as an idle military presence, both historically in Haiti, and currently. They have seen the U.S. military presence in Haiti during this crisis as active and kind. So thumbs up to our men and women in Haiti. This is great news for us Americans who have worked there, since it will make it relatively easier to get things done.

Bryan confirmed that it is true. Of the thirty people holding senate seats in Haiti, 20 senators are dead. No comment.

Yo Arrive! (accent grave over the E)

No, this is not a Sylvester Stallone impression. They have arrived in Port-au-Prince. Bryan called long enough to get cut off.

The most recent team is on the ground and safe and sound with Rodney! And good news from Rodney, by the way...he says that the emergency crisis they have faced in Carrefour the last couple of weeks is over. Well, not over...subsiding. You know what I mean. :) The edge of extreme tension is off. Or maybe Rodney's just used to it....hmmmm.

Evidently, many areas of Port-au-Prince have not fared as well as this little section of Carrefour, which has now survived the worst of this disaster. To think that it's all because little people all over the U.S. decided to do something big! You gave money, supplies, planes, pilots, trucks, encouragement, prayer, yourselves...Unbelieveable!

Let us not rest on our laurels, though. Continue to pray. Continue to give in any way you can. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti still waiting. Still suffering. Let us press on.

Yet Another Flight Out

Jon is in the air and on his way to the Providenciales, where he will refuel before going on to Port-au-Prince. They should land tonight at 6 or 7. Bryan said Amy and Duane are pretty psyched! This makes a total of around 20 people we've been able to take to Haiti to help, as well as untold amounts of relief and medical supplies! God is good!

I talked to Jean-Michele in Jeremie this morning. He thinks perhaps upwards of 30,000 refugees have arrived. Food is a BIG issue. We hope that Bryan can find a way to get relief to the southern provinces of haiti, which are full of refugees who have been largely cut off from help, due to their geographic location on the island....so far from Port-au-Prince (or any other port of entry). Pray for success in dealing with the powers that be, who make decisions that may expedite this process.

Stay tuned. Bry should call me from the ground (tonight, I hope).

Carrefour Update

The following is a letter from one of the German volunteers at the camp in Carrefour to his supporters as translated into English.

Hello dear friends,

Thank you very much for your prayers and for caring. We are doing well. Right now we are in Carrefour. For two days I have been sleeping in a tent on a mattress. Before I was sleeping outdoors with the others.

Yesterday it was raining for the first time, but only 10-15 minutes. It was enough to get wet. We pray, that it will not rain anymore - because the people do not live in their houses. The word building has become a sensitive word. Everybody who walks into a building, tries to get out as soon as possible. Every day we still feel afterschocks.

In Port-au-Prince people are trying to get back to a normal life. Here you see a lot UN and other Aid Oranisations as well as mobile clinics. Many people leave the city to go to the countryside.

In Carrefour the situation is different. In this part of the city there are almost no Aid Organisations and no physicians. Ricardo´s house was levelled off and several tents were built up where some of the group stay overnight. Today a large tent will be put up and equipped to examine and treat the sick. Our group is consisting of Haitians, Americans, French and Germans. Every morning we have a prayer meeting and review the situation.

One group is working in a hospital, another one is going into camps, trying to take care of the sick and injured, another one is going “from door to door” and one group is trying to transport the seriously ill to the hospital. Yesterday we have put together 6000 $ US to buy a suitable vehicle, but they were either too expensive or in need of repair. So for now we have rented a car. The sick and injured people are so seriuosly ill, that they can not wait another day, but need medical help right away. In the meantime our partner church in the USA shared our urgent need for a pick-up truck and God heared our prayer. Somebody donated a 2006 Nissan King Cab, which is to be used for transporting the injured.

In Port-au-Prince there is an international organisation with enough physicians to help us. But everyone is frightened of Carrefour (security problems). A group of the German television station ZDF promised to join us and report on it, but today we are still waiting for them. We have called them a few times, but they preferred to stay in Gonaives.

People here are very thankful when we visit them. The fear of violence that many organisations have is understandable yet not very helpful – when the Haitians are treated decent, the great majority of them responds very friendly. Off course there are many criminals who went free from the prisons after the earthquake and now terrorise the people.

When we have to take the seriously injured to the hospital, one of us foreigners has to be present, otherwise they are not admitted to the clinic. Some had been waiting up to 3 hours only to return home without any treatment. It is hard to describe what we are expieriencing here. Sometimes we move around till late at night.

Right now we are trying to provide food to the needy. A lot of food is coming into the country and we are trying to get some before we have to buy it at high prices. Arche Nova, a German Aid Organisation from Dresden will pass by - to see whether they can give us a water purification system for the people here. The GTZ, also a German Aid Organisation, is providing food for the people. A Dutsch Organisation will supply us with a truck, so that we can transport food to Carrefour maybe on Monday.

From another organisation we can get tarps, so that the people are better protected against the rain. Yesterday evening we prayed for a man who had lost so much weight that he is only skin and bones.

Since we have still problems with our internet-connection and Jonas has not been able to send pictures we have posted two pictures from Beth McHoul. She and her husband John - and many others do an incredible work in Haiti. We bless them!

Prayer requests:

most urgent:

prayer for strength, courage, wisdom, comfort

we still need another vehicle for transportation of food

physicians, nurses etc.

for the long term:

work teams

earthquake-proof housing

housing for orphans

schools

healing for spirit, soul and body

finances

Lots of love - Jonas