Relief Teams from CT in Haiti

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A slide show from the photos and blog entries from the website of Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Bloomfield, CT www.oldstandrews.net and the website of Ecole Le Bon Samaritan www.ecolelbs.com

Good Samaritan School before the 2010 Earthquake : 

The mission of Ecole le Bon Samaritain is to provide a K-5 education a hot meal basic healthcare and hygiene to children in Waney, a community in Carrefour, Haiti, where most children are at risk. Good Samaritan School before the 2010 Earthquake

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with people largely living in hastily structured lean-tos of wooden stakes and sheets or scraps of building material for walls and roof. The living conditions in Haiti were sub-standard before the earthquake, now they are nearly inhumane . . .

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Sleeping on the streets only protected by sheets.  The people need tents ASAP and platforms to raise their bedding off the floor. We may see a resurgence of all types of disease. Most people are homeless

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the list of damaged or destroyed schools is lengthy including École le Bon Samaritain in Carrefour The devastation to the infrastructure of Haiti and to the people cannot be overstated.

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DESPERATION The Haitian people in and around the neighborhood of École le Bon Samaritain (Waney) in Carrefour are becoming more and more desperate.

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Port-au-Prince has received the bulk of foreign and NGO aid and Carrefour has been left the poor cousin so we established a temporary medical clinic and food distribution station at Ecole le Bon Samaritain NO RELIEF

we found there are mountains of red tape and paper work to get supplies from them. : 

we found there are mountains of red tape and paper work to get supplies from them. So, if we can't get help in country, we'll do it ourselves. Thank God we were able to be on the ground with Clinic and humanitarian aid eight days after the quake and for most of the past four weeks. We brought 61 suitcases of medical/sanitary and food supplies with us After trying to contact the UN and Red Cross,

We were able to serve the medical needs of approximately 175-250 patients each day suffering from . . . : 

physical injury from the earthquake chronic medical conditions due to lack of access to health care extensive psychological stress and trauma from the experiences they had suffered through We were able to serve the medical needs of approximately 175-250 patients each day suffering from . . .

We were often the first medical staff any of the children had ever seen. : 

We were often the first medical staff any of the children had ever seen.

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That is very hard. We saw an eight year old boy today that is about the size of a four or five year old. He had growths on his joints and his head, very deformed. He has an umbilical hernia the size of a softball. The nurses worked together to try to treat his head which was covered in sores that were pussing. Nothing like I have ever seen in my life." “We see some patients that there just isn't anything that we can do for them.

90% of the people who come to the Clinic need food. : 

90% of the people who come to the Clinic need food.

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We gave priority to those who appeared ill, wounded, with small children, pregnant and the elderly. Medical Team 2 saw an average of at least 175 patients per day Even though we opened at 9 a.m., people started lining up at the door at 6 a.m.

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Many of the children appeared malnourished and dehydrated Most also suffered from chronic intestinal parasites We provided all pregnant women and lactating mothers with prenatal vitamins We gave them formula and they returned for follow up with much improvement We also provided them with food, blankets, and diapers We saw at least 6 newborns who had lost their mothers during the earthquake

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Some people arrive seeking medical care who can barely stand they're so weak. Unfortunately, we have no beds so people need to lie on the floor before seeing the doctor or nurse. The need to continue the Clinic is great.

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and we struggled to spend a few minutes with each, attending to the spiritual as well as the physical needs, in a system vastly overburdened by patients needing care. The depth of the sadness in many of the stories was untouchable . . .

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From our hotel 2nd story patio, You can look on your right and see a landfill. Trash, pigs and everything in between inhabits that landfill. She lives on that lot, behind all the trash. Her home is made of sheets and boxes and is held by a couple of sticks. She's an orphan and has been since the earthquake. Now her home is destroyed. What's to come of her? - Gaelle Louisgenes , 18 years old I made a friend early last week, she showed me where she lives.

From bad to worse . . . : 

From bad to worse . . . If the earthquake and its aftermath were bad, and they were, what's to come is equally wicked.

Why we worry about rain in Haiti : 

With the rainy season come mosquito born diseases and all the other problems associated with living in close quarters with little, if any, sanitary conditions. Why we worry about rain in Haiti

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who now have no where to go who are homeless and live and sleep on these streets turned freshets This is the next disaster for the people of Haiti

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Imagine, all of the people laying on the streets, on boxes, or simply on rocks and are now drenched. there's no hiding from it. All the buildings are destroyed. To make matters worst, the very few things people managed to recover are now gone. I only know of two tents in the area that are waterproof, Papa's and the other is a tent we gave away to a family who lives nearby, on the street. This is the most depressing thing I've ever experienced.

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The diocese, known locally as L'Eglise Episcopale d'Haiti, is now caring for about 25,000 Haitians in roughly 20 makeshift camps around the country. “The earthquake did not diminish our worship, though it altered the places where it takes place.” The Episcopal Church in Haiti

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After climbing over the ruins of the diocese's Cathédrale Sainte Trinité (Holy Trinity Cathedral), the Presiding Bishop turned to Bishop Duracin and said, "You should skip Lent this year; you have already had your Good Friday." Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori visits Haiti

Life must continue . . . : 

Life must continue . . . "I look at this as baptism.  We who are still alive have had the blessing of survival, but in many ways we have died to the ways of the past. We have the opportunity to rise up and start anew. In this moment of grief and mourning, life must continue.” - Bishop Duracin

We want our children back. : 

We want our children back. President René Garcia Preval has declared that Haitian schools will reopen on March 31st.

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This, of course, presents a challenge to us because École le Bon Samaritain is so badly damaged. The President said, however, that schools should do all they can even if it means having classrooms in the streets or under awnings.

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The needs are so great, it is hard to feel that we made more than a small difference, but "pitti a pitti" as the Haitians say, “little by little . . .”

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1. Provide immediate medical relief and support to the community by setting up a clinic and feeding our children and others at EBS. 2. Assess the damage to the School; make the necessary repairs or rebuild to include a permanent clinic. 3. Recover our students and reopen the school and clinic. We are developing our plans with three distinct goals.

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Volunteer to travel to Haiti and serve on one of the work teams (builders, cleaners, cooks, well-being care, medical workers). Donate Frequent Flier Miles or American Express Points to pay for the air fare of the volunteers. Donate money. All funds given to this effort will go directly to the needed projects. There will be NO administrative overhead. Volunteers will arrange for or pay for their own expenses (or be paid for by donated miles, etc.). HOW YOU CAN HELP

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Tax exempt donations may be sent to the address to the right. Please put Haiti, EBS or Good Samaritan on the memo line. A PayPal account is also available at the OSA’s website: DONATIONS : Good Samaritan Rebuilding Fund Old St. Andrew's Church 59 Tariffville Road Bloomfield, CT 06002 www.oldstandrews.net

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Mesi! (Thank you!)