Today was a little bit of everything. Marie’s house with the girls, destruction site, Marie’s house, destruction site, Port au Prince looking for a few items which we never found, airport to pick up a TV camera crew of two from Canada, traffic jams everywhere, home about an hour after dark. It was a busy day but I feel like I didn’t really accomplish anything.
The work crew continued with the destruction of the church/orphanage and they are still making progress one hammer blow at a time. I am still amazed at their determination. It is hard, hot work, and they are there every morning at 7:00 AM with hammers in their hands. There is another crew finishing the inside of the temporary orphanage building…smoothing out the concrete ceiling and walls, getting it ready to paint. Another crew began rebuilding the outhouses out of salvaged block from the wall that fell. There are so many projects going and Marie is directing traffic and doing a good job of it.
As we drove around we still see tent cities everywhere and the government is telling everyone to sleep outside for fear of another earthquake…and they are, millions of the Haitian people sleeping in their makeshift tents for over three weeks now. We see more military vehicles and US troops on the ground now as well. The airport looks like a military base with US Army barracks/tents all around the airfield. Then the Haitian tent cities start were the airfield ends. Other countries are here as well. China, Canada, many others, helping people in whatever ways they can.
Debbie, the missionary that I am staying with at Hope House, got a call from someone who knew someone who had given them her phone number. Debbie is Canadian and the TV crew from her home town news station is here and arrived in PAP airport late this afternoon. Debbie agreed to put them up for the night or two or more. They came from a different area of Haiti Jackmel and are filming several of the Canadian mission organizations work efforts. I will be sharing a room with them for a few days. Good guys with quite an adventure behind them and more in front of them as the face the destruction of PAP. They came in from Jamaica by a Canadian Navy ship, helicopters and pontoon boats…quite a story in itself.
I went to the airport with Debbie to pick them up and inquired about my leaving and how that may work on Saturday. They say first come first serve…but the first guy in line at 8 AM has not entered the airport yet. The military wants to get out of the civilian transportation business as their main job was rescue and injured and has become people (like me) who are looking for a way home. I found out that they are chartering flight out each day to the DR, Santo Domingo, so I bought a ticket for Saturday morning back to the DR and I will find my way back from there, which should be relatively easy. So I may be home by late Saturday or sometime Sunday. Pizza and a shower and about 12 hours of sleep and I will be good.
Tomorrow will be difficult because I will be saying goodbye to the girls and Marie and that is never easy. I am glad I came and would not have changed anything.
2.04.2010
Photo of the Hero!!
Jeanna had the girls crawling on their bellies because they could not walk with the quake shaking the building. She had them crawl down the stairs on their bellies too. fast. She was the last one out of the building. It was her quick thinking that saved them.
2.03.2010
Jim's Day in Haiti Wed Feb 3
I had a good day in Haiti today and much was accomplished. I saw the girls for a few minutes in the morning and then went to the destruction site. They were working away with sledge hammers, banging on concrete, saving what rebar they could. Marie was able to secure a truck and bulldozer for the day—which is not easy in this post earthquake environment. All heavy equipment in this part of the country is being used at least 18 hours a day if not longer. The dozer broke a U joint and I had a chance to talk to the owner for a few minutes while it was being fixed. He is Haitian, but also a US citizen, who moved back to Haiti many years ago—tired of the US and loves Haiti. Harold is his name. I hope to see him again because there will be another pile of rubble fairly soon that needs to be removed. They took ten truck loads out today which is a huge amount of rubble and dust.
The dozer driver tried to break up some of the concrete roof/floor with his bucket but did not budge any of it. The Haitian workers with the hammers just laughed—they knew when he pulled in that he couldn’t do it and they never stopped working for a second—even when he came in. I would have dropped my hammer thinking he could take the rest of the building down and I would have the day off. Not these guys—they never missed a beat.
The area surrounding the church/orphanage is now fairly clear and there is an open pathway along one side. There are several other workers finishing the temporary orphanage building in the back of the property. It was the building that Patty found the orphans living in two or three years ago—it was awful. It is now taking shape and will not be bad living quarters. Probably all of the girls in one room again just like the “old days.” Eventually that building is to be classrooms. The minister of education (I think) says that school will go on but that all school are required to conduct school in a tent and not in a building—that will be interesting to pull off. First getting tents to every school will be a challenge and many schools have no place to put them anyway. Good idea but it will be interesting to see if he can pull it off.
Anouse and Jeanna worked inside Marie’s home today along with all of their other responsibilities of caring for the girls, feeding them, bathing them, doing their hair, etc. Jeanna is the one who got the girls out of the orphanage before it collapsed. The building was shaking and no one could walk so she had them crawl on their bellies down the hall and down the stairs and then run from the building—Jeanna was the last one out of the building making sure that the girls were out first. I kiss her every time I see her. She doesn’t speak English and I hope she knows how grateful we all are for her quick thinking and taking action to save the girls. I don’t know how old Jeanna is but she was Marie’s first orphan to take care of when she returned to Haiti. She is probably in her mid twenties.
I am not sure when I will be leaving Haiti. Shawn made it home but it was pretty big challenge—mostly just waiting. He was at the airport for 16 hours—not inside but outside on the tarmac with all the military and relief planes coming and going. He will need his hearing tested. Glad he is back safely. His recommendation for me is to bring two days food, water, and ear plugs to the airport. I may be better off here for several more days. I also hear that Mission Aviation is flying out of a smaller airport here. I’m not concerned about getting out but more concerned about making sure Marie and the girls know we are with them, standing side by side during this tragedy, and that we are doing what we can back home to raise funds and fill containers with useful items for the future. Marie felt good about that and she does not know how to thank everyone. So her behalf—THANK YOU all!
The dozer driver tried to break up some of the concrete roof/floor with his bucket but did not budge any of it. The Haitian workers with the hammers just laughed—they knew when he pulled in that he couldn’t do it and they never stopped working for a second—even when he came in. I would have dropped my hammer thinking he could take the rest of the building down and I would have the day off. Not these guys—they never missed a beat.
The area surrounding the church/orphanage is now fairly clear and there is an open pathway along one side. There are several other workers finishing the temporary orphanage building in the back of the property. It was the building that Patty found the orphans living in two or three years ago—it was awful. It is now taking shape and will not be bad living quarters. Probably all of the girls in one room again just like the “old days.” Eventually that building is to be classrooms. The minister of education (I think) says that school will go on but that all school are required to conduct school in a tent and not in a building—that will be interesting to pull off. First getting tents to every school will be a challenge and many schools have no place to put them anyway. Good idea but it will be interesting to see if he can pull it off.
Anouse and Jeanna worked inside Marie’s home today along with all of their other responsibilities of caring for the girls, feeding them, bathing them, doing their hair, etc. Jeanna is the one who got the girls out of the orphanage before it collapsed. The building was shaking and no one could walk so she had them crawl on their bellies down the hall and down the stairs and then run from the building—Jeanna was the last one out of the building making sure that the girls were out first. I kiss her every time I see her. She doesn’t speak English and I hope she knows how grateful we all are for her quick thinking and taking action to save the girls. I don’t know how old Jeanna is but she was Marie’s first orphan to take care of when she returned to Haiti. She is probably in her mid twenties.
I am not sure when I will be leaving Haiti. Shawn made it home but it was pretty big challenge—mostly just waiting. He was at the airport for 16 hours—not inside but outside on the tarmac with all the military and relief planes coming and going. He will need his hearing tested. Glad he is back safely. His recommendation for me is to bring two days food, water, and ear plugs to the airport. I may be better off here for several more days. I also hear that Mission Aviation is flying out of a smaller airport here. I’m not concerned about getting out but more concerned about making sure Marie and the girls know we are with them, standing side by side during this tragedy, and that we are doing what we can back home to raise funds and fill containers with useful items for the future. Marie felt good about that and she does not know how to thank everyone. So her behalf—THANK YOU all!
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