Haiti Earthquake Update

I want to post a further update for those of you who are sponsoring children in Haiti and continue to contact us for information regarding our orphanges there.  Food For The Poor has been working around the clock on its relief efforts in Haiti.  We have shipped over 350 containers of food, water, and other supplies.  The response from our donor base has been incredible and we are working each day to provide the much needed relief to the people of Haiti.  For more information, stories, and images go to our Food For The Poor Blog http://officialfoodforthepoor.blogspot.com/. 

Our children's homes have always been and continue to be a priority for Food For The Poor.  Therefore, rest assured, that with all the food, water, medical supplies, tents, tarps, building supplies, clothes, shoes, etc that we are mass shipping into Haiti, our children are receiving each and every one of these items as a priority.  Unfortunately, the children are still living primarily outdoors, but due to the continued aftershocks the home directors and administrators do not feel comfortable moving all the children back indoors.  We have been able to address all the urgent basic needs and satefy concerns for the homes.  The security walls have been rebuilt and the water systems have been repaired.  We are currently working on repairing and rebulding the physical structures of three of the five centers.  The children, despite, the circumstances, always remain in high spirits and continue to find new ways to keep themselves entertained in their new living conditions.

In the last update we had not yet been able to visit our older boys home (003H) in Gressier (near Carrefour).  Since then we have been to the site several times.  Given that the facility is located very near the epicenter of the initial earthquake, they suffered severe damage.  The entire facility is destroyed and has crumbled to the ground.  The first story of the main buildling is completely gone and the second story of the building seems to have been shifted about one foot horizontally and dropped on top of the rubble of the first.  Praise God that all of our boys are ok.  They all ran out of the buildings and no one was severly injured.  We sent out nice brand new camping tents and the boys are living in a little cluster of bright red tents until we can complete plans for a new structure on site. 

One of our girls from the Maison d'Amour (002H) had suffered a severe injury to her right leg and was being treated at the US military hospital at the airport.  She was selected for medical evacuation to the United States and is being treated at a hospital in St Petersburg.  Her sponsors have been contacted and we are keeping them up to date with her progress.  She was at high risk of needing an amputation and now with the excellent medical attention she is receiving, that risk has been eliminated. 

Keep all of our children and the staff of the orphanages in your prayers.  As we continue to make progress with the rebuilding of the centers I will keep you updated via this blog.  If you would like to donate to the Haiti Earthquake Relief fund please go to http://www.foodforthepoor.org/. Thank you for your continued generosity towards the children of our Angels of Hope program and for all of those in Haiti who are suffering through this devastating tragedy.

Honduras 02/2010

This month's trip to Honduras was very hot and rainy.  The hot temperatures mixed with the daily rain created an environment that felt like an open air sauna.  We were able to visit nearly all of the AOH sponsored homes in Honduras.  Time did not permit me to visit two that are located far from San Pedro Sula and require a day's travel just for the one home visit.

I was able to see some of the Computer Labs that were already installed and operating in the orphanages.  The home directors were extremely grateful to our sponsors for the donations of computers and they expressed how important the labs are for the children and their academic development. 

I was also working all week on evaluating the furniture needs of all of the homes.  In 2009 we were able to provide tractor trailors of cafeteria tables, bunk beds, dressers, tables, chairs, desks, and other furniture items to the homes. 

I created a report from this recent visit to document all the progress we made in improving the furnishings of the facilities and to compile the list of items that are still needed.  I hope to be able to send more bunk beds and dressers this  year.  These items are in great need and they are oftentimes needs that are not urgent.  The children will store their clothes in dressers that have fallen apart to the point where the drawers are missing and shelves are collapsed. 

We started discussions to plan the Day of Celebration event for 2010.  We are looking at dates in May.  The children were already asking us about details of the day's activities and whether or not we will be hosting a Drawing Contest again this year.  This Day of Celebration event truly creates a bond and a strong relationship between all of the orphanages in the program and you can easily see that it is the highlight of the year for most of the children. 

One of the homes had just returned from the warehouse with their monthly goods distribution from Angels of Hope.  These bags contain rice, beans, and corn for two months.

Given that it was the weekend of Valentines Day, we gathered a youth group together on Saturday morning and created handmade Valentines Day cards for the children.  We then split into groups and brought a Valentines day party to each of the homes complete with cards and bookmarks for each child, ice cream, and candies.  It was a special activity for the homes as well as a good opportunity for the local youth group to do a service project and gain awareness about the many orphanages in their local community. 

Haiti Earthquake

I would like to post for you updated information on our Angels of Hope program and centers in Haiti .

Last Tuesday's earthquake caused damage at all of our orphanages and centers in Haiti. Sadly we regretfully have to report that there was one fatality at our House of the Future (004H). The child's sponsor has been contacted in person and informed of her death. Some other children suffered injuries, but they have been treated and are healing at this time. The children are all shaken and this tragedy touches their lives in many different ways. Please continue to pray for them and keep them in your thoughts. They will need all the support they can get to recover physcially and emotionally from this tragedy.

Physcially the structures have been damaged at all of our centers and as of Monday January 18th workers and engineers are on site to assesss the damages and begin to repair. All of the children are currently sleeping outside under tents and tarps until the engineers give clearance to return to the buildings and living spaces. In our Little Children of Jesus Home (005H) two dormitories were damaged along with the dining area and multipurpose recreational space. At Maison d'Amour Girls Home the exterior wall has been destroyed and we have security in place to ensure the safety of the girls until the wall can be rebuilt. Water is an issue for them as their water system was also damaged. We are focusing on their water system as a priority at this time. At the House of the Future (004H) significant damage was found. There are some cracks that are pending evaluation by the engineers, and the structure may not be salvagable. Some of the girls have gone to stay at the Sister's convent in Les Cayes for the time being. The child who died from this home was in the street at the time of the earthquake and was killed immediately. At Notre Dame de L'Espoir (002H) the water tank collapsed as well as portions of the exterior security wall. Once again both of these items are a priority for our teams on the ground right now. The home for our older boys Salesian Gressier (003H) is located in an area apart from the center of Port Au Prince. Our teams have not been able to visit the site yet due to poor and unpassable roadways. We have also not been able to communicate with the director or administration of the home due to lack of telephone land lines. We are continuing to attempt to contact them and access them by car.

We have evaluated each of the centers' food and water capacity and we are ensuring to stock and store adequate amounts of food to secure the well-being of the children and staff for the upcoming weeks. All the structural, water, and security needs should be addressed and repaired in the upcoming week(s).

Please pray for all of these children, the staff and so many others who are suffering through this unimaginable disaster. We will continue to do our best and work to ensure their well-being and safety during this time of chaos in Haiti. Your support and prayers are so important at this time of need.