As of Wednesday, I just returned from leading a team to Haiti where our team focused on welding bed frames, welding rafters, unloading a container, and setting up solar panel frames…not to mention the non-stop plowing and planting of the tractor. Many things stuck out to me on this trip and I would like to share some of my observations with you. Haiti has much more sun action going on since many trees were blown over or lost quite a bit of foliage. Shade is in far less supply than it used to be…and you can see for longer distances than before for the same reason. I also realized how dependent on landmarks I was to know when to turn, and have more than once passed the turn off point, because the tree that marked the spot now looks completely different or the church with the wall around it now has a collapsed roof and rubble remaining as the wall. On the road to the Center I saw one church that wasn’t touched at all by the storm and then a few hundred yards away another church in a heap of blocks, rafters, and tin.
I know for a while that Haiti was all over the news during the storm and many people gave to the relief effort. Now, however, the elections and their results have taken the spotlight off of Haiti and the reality is that Haiti is still in need of help. The day before I was to return to the States, students were protesting by blocking the main road by the Torbeck bridge…because their schools were still being used as shelters for people who lost their homes. The national exams were taking place and these students had no teachers coming to give the tests since the schools were still full of people. Haiti’s election is coming up on the 20th and they also want to use the schools as voting locations…which may mean putting people out on the streets that still have no place to go. Their need is great, their desperation is high, and the time for us to act is now!
If you are interested in coming on a team please contact us! And as always keep Haiti in your prayers!
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