Home Again

Dianne and I arrived back in the US late Friday evening, after a full week in Haiti. During that time, we were both able to spend time at our schools, which seem to be doing very well. The students were out of school for a week after Hurricane Matthew. They are now trickling back. This year, St. Joseph's expects about 500 students, and St. Phillippe and St. Jacques expects about 300 students. Both schools will run through the 10th grade this year. This is the second year for the 10th grade at St. Joseph's. Unfortunately, the  leadership decided not to expand to the 11th grade because of the extra cost involved with adding another grade. Perhaps we can do that in 2017-18. There are 12 students in the 10th grade, one of whom has been in our school since she started as a 3 year old. The community completed the additional school building for the 9th and 10th grades over the summer break.

We were able to add two more computers to the school's computer lab thanks to the skills of Ed Fair at Christ Church and the generosity of those donating the computers. The Haiti curriculum requires a computer lab for 10th grade.  We are so blessed to be able to provide this for the students. 

The leadership in Jasmin, Nicholas, and St. Joseph's School chose 28 families to receive direct aid from Christ Church to help them recover from the impact of Hurricane Matthew. These families suffered the most, including loss of their homes, livestock, and gardens. They each received about $125 US. They did not know they were receiving this money at the meeting, but only thought they were coming to discuss what could be done. They were overwhelmed and very grateful for the help. These were all people we have come to know and love through our clinics over the past several years. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this effort. 

Stay tuned for the dates for the 2017 trips. Terry

Haiti Post Matthew

Dianne and I (Terry) are in Haiti to check on our clinics and visit for a week. We wanted to see first hand the damage from Hurricane Matthew in our communities. As you would expect, the damage on the mountain where Jasmin is located is greater than that in Colin, which is lower and more protected. Many families on the mountain lost their roofs, gardens were destroyed, and trees were toppled. Amazingly, in just a few short days, much of the debris has been cleared, but the families whose homes were damaged, are living in temporary shelters. That does not mean what we think in the US. A temporary shelter in Haiti is usually a few palm leaves over some kind of structure made from whatever can be salvaged. Lower down the mountain, the primary damage was from flooding, which destroyed gardens. A destroyed garden means no food and nothing to sell at the market. So, here the loss of a garden, no matter its size, is catastrophic.

Haiti Companions collected funds from many friends and was able to quickly send funds to our Country Director, who bought food and clean water in Port au Prince, and delivered it to the affected communities, which we serve. Christ Church, Norcross, Jasmin's partner, collected funds, which we will give this week to families which the lay leaders identify as those most in need for roof repairs, and help replanting their gardens. We are so thankful for everyone's support, which is so appreciated here.

Yesterday, we received an amazing gift of two chlorine producing units from Hope Source International. This non-profit based in Les Cayes, in conjunction with SWIM (Safe Water International Ministry) produces and distributes these units for free. They are very simple, yet amazingly effective in producing chlorine which kills bacteria in the water. With the threat of cholera looming after Matthew, it is more important than ever to use clean water, which is not available in our communities. The units are powered by a car battery, which is charged by a solar panel. In 1 short hour, salt water made from "raw salt" readily available at the market, is transformed into chlorine. Then, it sits for 24 hours so the sediment can sink and the solution clarify, before bottling it. Five ounces will purify 40 gallons of water. Amazing! What an incredible difference this will make in the lives of those we serve.

Yesterday, we started the process and today, we are bottling. We will take the units and the bottled chlorine up to our communities later in the week.

Saturday, we held the monthly clinic in Jasmin. The change to monthly clinics has been well received in the communities and everything is very orderly. Each patient attending the clinic is given a card identifying him/herself as a patient of Haiti Companions and they make an appointment for the clinic so that the clinic is not overwhelmed. We have more than 300 patients at Jasmin, so far. And, many new patients came on Saturday. I do not know the number served in Colin yet, but will learn that later in the week. Between the two locations, we serve 150-200 patients monthly at this time, with thoughts of expansion dancing in our heads.