The United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has called for a “massive response” to help Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Matthew as local aid officials struggled to get food, medicine and water to increasingly desperate communities still isolated almost a week after the blow from the deadly storm.
“Some towns and villages have been almost wiped off the map,” Ban told reporters. “Tensions are already mounting as people await help. A massive response is required. UN teams are working with local officials to assess needs.”
Airline Ambassadors Humanitarian Missions Coordinator, Martine Longchamp, who took responsibility for 17 orphans near Port au Prince, oordinated a humanitarian response team. See below Martine’s report on her mission Oct. 18 – 26 2016.
“Assist the poor & fatherless. Advocate for the rights of the afflicted and those in need. Rescue the poor and needy from the powerful hands of heartless people”(Psalms 82:3-4)
Dear Nancy and AAI,
I just got back from Haiti after spending a week working in the South of Haiti. The situation is crucial and I would venture to say as a catastrophic devastation of the magnitude the earthquake in the Western part of Ayiti in 2010, this time hurricane Mathew unleashed its rage in the Southern part of Haiti. From Miragoane/Fonds des Negres, where we have our land to Jerermie with all the cities in between have been devastated with thousands of homes destroyed, crops lost, people literally dying of hunger because they are in remote places where aid is not reaching them. Hundreds more children are now orphaned. Misery has set in even more and it has left a big hole in my heart. The death toll cannot even be counted accurately as they are still finding dead bodies from the flooding. We all need to cry out to the Divine and most High God for mercy for Haiti.
On October 18, 2016 we led a very small team to Haiti to bring aid and help build a couple of shelter homes in the South of Haiti.
Day 1 Tuesday – We arrived in Haiti and went to orphanage where volunteers, Martee Henri and Yui Young got to spend time with the children at Kominote Ti Fanmi Nou de Diakonos.
Day 2 Wednesday – We prepared kits filled with toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, toiletries, adult and children cold medicine, antibiotics, sanitizer, dry milk, oatmeal, rice, beans, canned tuna, oil and spaghetti. We took the town to purchase needed materials for our trip, and we also went on a little excursion to Petion-Ville where we ate at Muncheez and took a short tour of Port-au-Prince.
Day 3 Thursday – Yui and I traveled to Fonds des Negres while Martee went back to the States. We arrived in Fonds des Negres and were met by Pastor Jean-Claude Laborde. Upon our arrival, we immediately started assessing the conditions of the area and identified one family in our immediate proximity who needed a new home. A family of 4 comprising of an elderly man, his wife and 2 grandchildren. We purchased the materials to include wood, aluminum tins, cement and sand to help them build a new sheltered home.
Day 4 Friday –We got on the road to Cazeau a little village in the mountainside of Arniquet, Port-Salut. As we passed Cavaillon, a small village in Aquin we witnessed homes and businesses destroyed, crops lost due to flooding from torrential rain on Thursday night which made the flooding worse and ravaged the area. We saw a man swim in the filthy water and when he was closer to us he said that he had been trying to get out of the water since 2am his house being way out in the village. See the picture attached separately.
Day 5 Saturday –With the help of Pastor Laborde and his church family, we distributed the kits, along with clothes, shoes and stuffed animals to 20 families in the small village of Cazeau a little village in the mountainside of Arniquet, Port-Salut. We helped remove the water from the church’s sanctuary, and with purchase of the aluminum tins, cement and sand we helped rebuild 1 sheltered home for a family of 4 whose makeshift shack was severely damaged by hurricane Mathew.
Day 6 Sunday – We also donated some of the needed materials to include wood, aluminum tins, cement and sand to help start rebuild the home of a family of 6 comprising of 2 other families whose homes were destroyed during hurricane Mathew.
We will be going back sometime in November to visit the finished properties
I heard from Wayne and Helen this afternoon and they are wanting to donate 4 water filters pictured below to our orphanage. So we will use 2 for the orphanage and bring one to Fonds des Negres and the other one to one of the families in Cazeau. We are so humbled by this generous donation.First let me express my gratitude to each of you for volunteering your time and resources to help out the people in Ayiti.
