Ken and I returned from our recent trip to Haiti. We flew in by Cessna so that we could reach remote areas of Haiti within a short time frame. We flew into PAP (Port Au Prince) initially and flew to Jacmel the next day. There we visited our Jacmel orphanage partner, Marlaine, and we were able to view her current building projects which include finishing the river retention wall that borders her property. This project is necessary to complete as the rains are wearing away at the banks bordering the girls home. She estimates they are still needing more than $5,000 of donations to complete this work. We pray that this money comes in as it will be donated directly to that effort if you designate that project.
Morale is very high there and the kids are excited that adoptions have reopened in Haiti. Although only 300+ adoptions were accomplished in Haiti during 2009, we are hopeful that our efforts will help to increase those numbers in 2010. We are joining hands with Marlaine to trust that God will make the way to allow adoptions to be processed in an orderly and efficient manner in 2010.
We also travelled to Grassier, and met with officials from the Government there. We are currently in discussions to build a community relief center there. The exact specifications of the project are not final, but we trust that in God's timing we will be able to make a positive impact upon that city. We have been granted property there upon which to build, and we have a detailed project already on paper with cost to build and cost to carry. The project is approximately $1.4 million dollars and consists of an orphanage and work center. The mayor of Grassier has personally guaranteed us the property needed to build this center. We are just waiting on the funds to start the project. We need your help as God may lead.
In the next few days we travelled to Gonaives and went into the mountains to see the work of our good friend and Christian brother, Djumy. Djumy has grown up in Haiti and has family in the United States. But his roots have taken him back to Haiti where he runs an orphanage there and a clinic in St Marc. Among that work are many small churches in the area that he sponsors and over 500 children make it down out of the mountains each day to attend the school that he operates. There is so much good going on there. We have put some video on our www.hopeforhaitisorphans.org site to show some of all the kids while in school. Some of them walk over 2 hours each way - each day to attend school. Djumy pays the teachers and provides one meal daily. The entire operation runs about $12,000 each month to keep operating. He has given his life and all of his income in the U.S. to provide for these children. We are working a long side him to help provide for the children and will be doing some adoptions from his orphanage. We desperately need funds to help pay for the operation of this work.
In addition, Djumy runs a clinic up in St Marc, that serves hundreds of local Haitian people each week. All of their supplies, medicines and overhead is paid for through donations. If you feel you may have connections with a pharma company in the U.S. or abroad that can help with medicines - it is greatly needed. The folks in Gonaives have 1 medical care giver per 100,000 people - and that individual is not a doctor, but a first year medical school intern. So the needs are great. We are looking to partner with Djumy to build a hospital in St Marc and have that area become a hub for medical care in the Northern part of Haiti.
May God speak to you as you read these words and if you can help, come along side us to make a positive difference in the world! Our trip was amazing and we look forward to building a positive ministry to the children and folks in Haiti!
Blessings, Paul Munsie
Hope For Families Haiti Relief Effort is Underway!
Update from the ground April 9, 2010
We have just returned from a short trip to Haiti! In most outlying areas of PAP, the local Haitian people complain of not receiving aid or food through the UN or World relief organizations. We are not sure where the problem lays, as World relief supplies are arriving and are seemingly disappearing or simply not reaching their intended recipients. At the airport, we hear of major stockpiles of supplies that are under guard so as to avoid looting. At the north end of the island, an area not affected directly by the actual earthquake damage, secondary effects of shortages of food and fuel are being felt. There appears to be little moving in or out of PAP and most roads around that area are still greatly damaged. As a result, we have made plans to get our own relief delivered to Haiti in person.
So, with the help of Marlaine and friends in Haiti - she travelled to the Dominican where we purchased rice and shipped it under our watch to Haiti where it arrived in Jacmel.
Last week, Hope For Families wrote a check for $5,000 for rice shipped to Haiti through the Dominican Republic via our orphanage workers. Plans were to take the money to buy over 100, 100 pound bags of rice to directly distribute to the Haitians in Jacmel and the surrounding orphanage areas. The workers flew to the Dominican Republic, purchased the rice, loaded it on a Navy ship and sailed around Haiti to Jacmel. We are happy to report the supplies went through and the kids have food as of today!
We are planning a flight this week via Jamaica to Jacmel where we will fly in 2,200 pounds of food directly to Jacmel. Through the generosity of Parachute Jamaica and Tru News and Hope For Families Adoption , we will pay to purchase 2,000 pounds of supplies and fly them into Jacmel. We will be visiting the orphanage that morning and fly out later in the day. We will be taking many pictures while there and will personally oversee the distribution of the relief supplies to make sure the people in need get them.
Hope For Families has a charity which is pending IRS approval for 501C3 tax status as a non profit. We expect that approval any day now. In the meantime, if you can help us feed these Haitian children directly where we know it is getting through - please send us a donation as you feel led. Right now, we are covering all these expenses out of our own adoption budget and agency and it is putting a real strain on our finances as we are spending thousands. If we obtain IRS approval as a non profit, we will get you a donation receipt if your donation is received after approval.
You may make your donation here and please type Haiti Donation in the details.
Below are some pictures of recent shipments this past week into parts of Haiti and pictures of our orphanage workers sailing into Jacmel with the rice on the local Navy ship from the Dominican. Please enjoy and give as your heart leads.
Praise God, our efforts of our own people got through to the Haitian orphans and area in and around Jacmel! Here is yesterdays' communication from Marlaine our orphanage director that we are affiliated with in Jacmel.
"Hello! Our internet connection is very bad right now in Haiti but we have finally gotten a chance to send some pictures and updates.
We left Pedernales, DR on Sunday at midnight and arrived in Jacmel by 7 AM. It took about 4 hours to unload the ship and it was safe at the port with the presence of the Sri Lankan military who helped get the trucks in and out of the port. We started delivering some foods to families in the community since Monday and we still provide a meal to some people in the community at our place.
Thursday we worked on packaging food for distribution. We distributed food to Cayes Jacmel where no help has been arrived. We visited the general hospital in Jacmel where most of the buildings collapsed or are severely damaged. Many of the hospital's patients were killed in the earthquake. Patients are now under tents in the yard and street. We focused on the 2 pediatric tents where we delivered baby formulas to many sick young ones. We found a brand new baby boy, Paterson, who was abandoned. It was a blessing to hold and feed him and we pray and believe that God has a great plan for him. We will continue to visit and provide aid to these living in tents and figure out ways to help these children.
Our biggest distribution will be in Marbial tomorrow (Friday). No help at all has been reaching these people and they badly need it. Their homes are gone and many have lost family members. We prepare to distribute food to 600-700 hundred families up there for a first distribution and will see how much more food and supplies can reach them again. It is not going to be easy because of the road conditions and then how far vehicles can go in the riverbed. A group from the Sri Lankan military will accompany us to assess the conditions and try to help bringing more food soon.
Our school up in Marbial and the church buildings are damaged and we don't know yet how we are going to continue providing education to the 340 children.
We have relocated the children that we support at the orphanage in Carrefour to La Plaine area because their former buildings are severely damaged. Yesterday morning, Daniel traveled to Port au Prince to visit them and to deliver food and supplies to them.
Les Cayes is in southwest of the country and it takes 5 hour drive from Jacmel, and we are praying to find a way for transportation so we can reach the people with our help as well. Transportation is our greatest obstacle when it comes to reaching the people who are far. Bob and I are speaking with the Canadian military to see if they could be of some help with transportation.
Rose, the Head House Mother at the Girl's Home lost her mother and we made arrangements to have the funeral in Jacmel on Wednesday.
The Haitian government has declared Friday-Sunday 3 days of national prayer; everyone is very motivated to seek God by prayer and fasting.
We will continue to send more updates!
Thank you so much for your support and prayers! None of this could be done without your aid!
God Bless,
~Marlaine & Daniel"
Picture 1: Truckload of bags of rice paid for by Hope For Families for distribution (picture taken in the Dominican)
Picture 2: Smaller bags of rice being brought to Marbial. These will be much easier for families to carry through the mountains and we are planning on giving each family enough for 5-7 days.
Supplies loaded onto the Navy vessel in the Dominican to transport to Port of Jacmel
Supplies moving off the Navy Ship to Jacmel and Marbial
Streets in Jacmel
Supplies making it to the folks in the town
Refugees in Marbial
One of the Orphanage schools in Marbial damaged as of today (Feb 15th)
You can make your donation here if you feel led to help. Your donations go directly, under our observation to the Haiti relief effort in Jacmel and surrounding orphanage ministries.
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