Updates
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Updates |
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Earthquake Update from Hope House
the following are emails from Debbie Berquist, VOH Director, for the week of March 7 - 12, 2010
Mar 12 TGIF......is everyone else uttering these letters as well? I can't believe another Friday has rolled around. Today was pretty quiet as I remained at Hope House and did paper /computer work all day long. I did take a few breaks to check out the work going on at the back of the property. The floor of the new depot is now poured and the wall at the side nearly finished. Probably two -three more days of work and it will be done. That is good timing as next week Christophe will work at the school with the Mason on the Mission team to repair the wall in the Dining Room. Part of the morning was also taken up with my meeting with Clovis discussing various issues that need taking care of.
I have had the radio on all day and the big talk of the day was the earthquake that took place in the North of the country, the day before yesterday. It seems more prisoners escaped from a Prison in Ouanamenthe (where the earthquake was) so the police have been busy chasing them down. It seems there was not a lot of great infrastructure damage....just personal articles being shaken about. Of course it caused a great panic with everyone..so now there will be more people sleeping outside I am sure.
That is about it for today....I don't think you want to be bored with all the detail of my work, so I will say tira for today and wish you all a good weekend.
I will write a combined weekend report on Sunday evening.
Debbie
Mar 11 Good afternoon: Not too much to report for today. Ron and I had our final meeting after breakfast today and then he got a good taste of Haiti traffic jams as we headed to the airport. Despite the crawling along I still managed to get him there 2 hours ahead of his departure....good thing we left an hour ahead of time. Coming home there were several steps along the way.....at the bank, my apt and Little Children of Jesus. I delivered a tarp for Gladys who was VERY appreciative of this gift to use at her house. While exiting Santo 17 I stopped at the camp site that is being prepared just before the main road. I learned it is for the people living in the Santo area and that it is the dept of Civil Protection from the DR that is preparing the site and the Dept of Civil Protection - Haiti will select the folks to live at the site. It seems as if it will be quite organized...it is divided into sections, with gravel laid down, a water distribution site prepared and some sort of showers. The latrines are yet to be placed at the site. The water distribution is a huge bladder sitting on top of a huge pile of dirt. I've included a photo but it is a bit hard to see.   The rest of the day was taken up with correspondence and going through old files while cleaning up the file drawers so I can get my files out of the milk carton that is doubling as a file drawer for me. Below is another update from a friend of mine.
General Updates
Statistics...The latest data released shows a stabilizing of the casualties to around 222,000 but I am sure more will be discovered as the rubble is cleared.
The national plan for displaced persons is five-pronged: "Return to safe homes; return to safe plot and erection of transitional shelter [two types have been proposed]; resettlement in proximity to destroyed houses; support to host families; and resettlement in new neighborhoods." Although over 600,000 persons have left PAP for the rural areas, it is expected that a significant number will return to look for work. Thus the figures for displaced persons in PAP may actually climb.
There is a real push to send people from the camps back to their homes (after being inspected); but to do this, the rubble must first be cleared so they can reach them. Président Préval has estimated that it will take 1,000 trucks working 1,000 days to remove the rubble, and the experts have said he's probably not very off target. The Prime Minister has approved five plots of land for transitional settlements and another eight for rubble disposal. These are on the outskirts of PAP. The Ministry of Environment is presently negotiating with private landowners for more plots. The transitional shelter kits are expected to begin to arrive by the end of April.
The registration that took place in the largest camp at Champs de Mars (the heart of downtown PAP) showed that 77% of the people came from one area closeby. So efforts have begun to make their quartier a priority for house inspection and rubble removal. Similar registrations are being carried out in the other camps that will likewise interpret where the removal efforts will be focused. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, David Holmes, suggests that the emergency phase is not over. In fact it will continue for several months yet as reconstruction begins. About 285,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in PAP, and about 80,000 persons are now being employed through cash for work to remove rubble.
Presently close to 50% of the displaced families have received either two tarps or a tent to shelter them from the rains--and rain we have had! Friday and Saturday we did not see the sun---it only began to poke out Sunday afternoon. And boy, was it ever cold! All tarps and tents needed are now in the pipeline and expected to be distributed before 1 May.
A second food surge is in process to help cover all the displaced persons in PAP. There are more and more accounts of families sharing food and communal meals. Surveyors have been impressed with how effectively the Haitian people are helping their neighbors and working to keep their neighborhoods safe by forming 'brigades', etc. By the way, Odelin would like to thank all of you that prayed for protection for him and those he's hosting at his house--now about 30 persons nightly. The thief that had terrorized their neighborhood was probably killed in a shoot-out with police. He had been one of the many that escaped when the national penitentiary fell during the earthquake.
There is a continued push to return children to at least some organized activities if not true schooling by the end of March. This is a little easier said than done, but efforts have begun. The first tent 'school' has begun in the Carrefour area of PAP with the help of a few large organizations. It will be able to serve up to 400 children daily.
The figures suggest that about 30,000 businesses were destroyed in the earthquake. That along with other losses has led to a 35-50% drop in the gross domestic product. A recent economic survey revealed that family income has decreased by 60-70%. That coupled with inflated food prices has caused families to now spend 85% of their income on food rather than the 35% customary pre-earthquake. Thus it is not surprising that those living on borderline food supplies have increased by about 50% (from 17% in the SE and 25% in the West Departments to an average of 30% in both).
If you are planning on registering with the government or bringing goods into Haïti, be forewarned that the situation is a little complex. Customs is not functioning well, and the Ministry of Planification that normally handles non-profit registrations is not operational. If you have customs or registration issues, you can contact the UN Logistics Cluster for help. Information on customs clearance procedures and contact information can be found at their website, www.logcluster.org/hti10a
Finally, some friends sent an interesting UTube link. I don't necessarily agree with the Partners in Health's representative's comments, but the rest is quite good. If you could understand the French and Créole, it'd even be more impressive. The persons interviewed in these languages were particularly articulate! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuUt12usDVs
For those of you that are pray-ers, here are a few requests:
That those who have lost family, homes and jobs may find the Lord's comfort and hope. Jeremiah 29:11
That those who are becoming distraught, impatient, even suicidal, may find His peace. John 14:27 That those who are frazzled by a constant lack of food, dry shelter, and a place to call home, that they may find God's contentment in the midst. Philippians 4:11-12 That those who are lost may find Him. Matthew 11:28-30 It really is easy and light, I am awed. With these prayer requests from Judith, I will leave you.
Have a good evening.
Debbie
Mar 10 Good evening:Another busy day which started by my serving up a fried egg for Ron...which was probably the freshest egg I have ever served up in my life. I had Joel run across the street at 7 AM this morning to get me two dozen eggs from our neighbour who has his own chicken coop. This is one benefit of the earthquake...I only learned of this little gold mine because of the walls falling down, I was able to see the chicken coop and the eggs laying their just waiting to be picked up. A great benefit for us and I am glad we help the truly "local" economy. After breakfast we headed to the school for meetings with the parents comittee and the university students. Both were very touching and informative.The parents committee expressed feelings from the community that they did not feel the presence of VOH after the earthquake in assisting with disaster relief, although they were very appreciative of the efforts that were made for the staff and providing the food distribution for the students. The university students presented a very nice typed document to Ron which they had all signed. It basically thanked VOH for all of the help and support to date, expressed their despair and feelings of hopelessness with so many universities lost and they see no future in site and also asking us to see how we could help the continue their education. Ron did a great job of supporting and encouraging them . After one hears such stories you just wish you could wave a magic wand over all to heal all of the wounds whatever they may be and to cure all the problems. Sadly that is not the case, so we just pray for patience and courage and that a " new day" will come along never the less.
Before leaving the school we looked at the repairs made by the "D' team and what other items need to be taken care of. Then it was off for a short tour of PAP, stopping for a bite to eat along the way. Coming back late in the afternoon we passed by Little Children of Jesus and Grace Mission. Both Gladys and Marie were so happy to see Ron and we had short, but pleasant visits with each of them.
Tomorrow I will see Ron off....boy did those days fly by.....then it will be errand and computer time for me.
Along the way today we saw crews busily working away preparing several large tracks of land which I presume are going to be used for more "permanent" temporary housing. They were being laid out pretty nicely with gravel being put down and provisions for water distribution, sanitation and showers. I know they cannot be finished soon enough for all of those who will have to be moved into these sites. That in itself will be an interesting process.
and on that word, I will say good night......it's time to go and get some "beauty rest"
Debbie
Mar 9 Good evening: A very productive day is about to come to a conclusion, once I finish typing this brief update. Most of it has been spent in discussions with Ron covering all aspects of the Lazarus Project/Village of Hope Inc. We feel good about the items we have tackled and know that the next two Board meetings with be full and very interesting. I took a two hour break to attend the partner coord. meeting with the Dr in charge of our UCS (unite communautaire de sante). Although we are not actively doing anything since the school is closed and we do not yet have the health center it is good to attend to keep abreast of what is going on and it also helps with networking. Today a fellow came representinga an org'n called Mipros who are working in Ganthier in community health. One of their projects is building communal latrines. They will be working in the areas that a lot of our students comes from. I said we would be happy to collaborate in any way we can, and would welcome any health teaching for our students etc. You never know where some of these brief contacts can take you. I have made some donations of drugs and supplies I managed to get my hands on, to the coord. office for their maternity center and other sites. It is good PR for us and shows we are ready to work in collaboration with the Ministry which will stand us in good stead as we move ahead with the health center. Clovis joined us for lunch and following that had discussions with him about the school..where we are today and future activities. No official word yet on when school will start...still rumored to be April 5.
Faithful readers, that is it for the day..I'm keeping it short and sweet.
Have a good night,
Debbie
Mar 7 & 8 Hi All: Yesterday was a relatively peaceful day. We woke to cloudy skies again but by the late afternoon the sun was shining and there was a cloudless blue sky above. After dropping Wilner off at point of debarkation for the Artibonite Valley buses, I joined the church service at Marie’s Grace Mission church. The minister gave quite a rousing sermon and with the speakers on top of his voice, there was no way anyone would even have a little nap even if they wanted to. Patty Meyer was there as well along with 2 newcomers to Haiti that had accompanied her. They helped ensure that the girls were all settled in their new rooms at the orphanage and that all was in order for them. I am sure they are happy to get back to sleeping in their own beds and have their “space” once again. But back to Sunday….after a little chat at Marie’s I took the ladies on an excursion to the metal workers shops in Croix des Bouquets. I lucked out in one shop as I got a free gift for bringing in the business to one of the shop owners where two of them bought a number of articles. They sure enjoyed their stroll around. Once back at Hope House, I tended to some odd jobs but also found time to read a little and watch a video in the evening. I had intended to do some correspondence but the powers that be prevented that as the Internet was down, so I was really “forced” to take some time off. This morning passed quickly taking care of some paper work and also checking up on the two crews working in the yard….one on the back wall and the other on the depot. I met with the folks in the donated Food for the Poor houses at Santo 2 about rebuilding their brick wall which fell down in the earthquake. I received some discretionary funds to help with earthquake related work, outside of our project and I thought helping this group with their security wall was a good choice. They selected the person to co-ordinate things and went off with the first portion of payment to start getting the necessary materials. I also gave each of them one of the last pieces of plastic sheeting we had available, as I did for several of the neighborhood families that Margaret had befriended. Before I knew it , the time came to go to collect Ron from the airport. It was the least crazy it has been since it re-opened. I actually found a parking spot pretty close to the exit and just rolled right into it with no hassle at all. Of course I arrived well ahead of the plane’s arrival time but enjoyed reading several chapters of the book I have delved into while I waited. Ron and I have had a good chat before and after dinner and got some of the items checked off of our lists. That pretty much brings you up to date. Haven’t heard anything on the news the last two days, so can’t even share that with you. Until next time I wish you all a fond farewell. |
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