CHILDREN'S HOPE OF THE AMERICAS: 2016

Friday, October 14, 2016

A Little Rain, Haiti Hurricane Journal #1

Dear Friends and Family,

We jumped up half asleep, then woke Luke up to help. It rained! Our "summer bed," oblivious to my distress, slopped oak-stained water onto my cold tile floor the full length of its rescue from the autumn shower it had on our new deck. I heaved it over against the sliding glass door to rest and drain with swim towels packed neatly around.

What a mess.

Then, my sleep warn off. I remembered the forecast for Petit Goave. Non-stop thunderstorms and rain from now until we land in Haiti next week, then continuing thunderstorms through the days we set up and run the mobile medical clinic.

And I was worried about my day-bed. What a luxury. Swim-towels, clean floors and sliding glass...just a dry bed, what a luxury.

On the advice of our Haitian doctor, we delayed our flight to Haiti until this Thursday to save $1,000 on airfare. I eagerly spent that and more on my first order of pharmaceuticals yesterday. Then, I went shopping again at the dollar store. Triple-antibiotic, one dollar. Fungus cream, one dollar. Tippy-cups to serve rehydration pedialyte to cholera babies, one dollar. Dr. Joey will be so pleased. Such small luxuries, if you can call them that.

Monday, Paul left to pick up the 100 tarps I ordered and came back with 200, then told me he ordered 100 more to pick up this Monday. He too had spent well over a thousand dollars. How can we not, when we see the photos that remind us so very much of the scenes of devastation we witnessed after the 2010 earthquake, only now drenched in cholera water?

We have so much more we want to buy, even with boxes of supplies circling us already. Donated vitamins piled around me, I know there is an endless need for still more. I have to remind myself, we have to save money for luggage fees and to buy the 100 lb. bags of rice when we get there.

Its heart-wrenching to make choices on what to buy when I know the chances of it having life-saving consequences. Infant tylenol liquid, 2 for $20...but it saved a baby's life on day in Cite Soleil because I carried some in my bag. Got to have it.

Even if you cannot donate, please share the site our student, Hannah Rea opened for us online, https://www.gofundme.com/2t2pg258 . I will try to keep you posted when we get in-country, as internet allows.

Hurricane Matthew Haiti Fund by Hannah Rea - GoFundMe

www.gofundme.com

Hurricane Matthew Haiti Fund by Hannah Rea - Children's Hope is a non-profit organization based out of Sacramento that serves Haiti's most vulnerable children. Our ...

peace, all ways and always, Leisa

Prof. Leisa Faulkner, Folsom Lake College
Executive Director, Children's Hope
3025 Cambridge Road #A
Cameron Park, CA 95682 USA
916.801.4184

Children's Hope
Port au Prince, Haiti

email: faulknl@flc.losrios.edu; childrenshope@live.com

blog: http://coalitionfordemocracyinhaiti.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Hurricane Matthew

Dear Friends,

Hurricane Matthew has caused the worst humanitarian
crisis since the 2010 earthquake. We are very concerned
for all those at risk in Haiti, especially those who live at sea level in
Cite Soleil, where the Lamp clinic, and SAKALA are located.
Not only are families in these low lying areas most at risk,
least likely to have access to food and clean water, they are also those least able to afford to evacuate.

Now, a resurgence of cholera seems likely.

While we very much appreciate those who were able to
come out to any of our "Haiti Solidarity Week" events last week,
we feel compelled to ask for your support again.

Thankfully, and because of you, we just sent Maco, our orphanage director back to Haiti with a power inverter and a generator for MABEorphanage; hopefully he can get through to Haiti from Florida.

However, if the Lamp Clinic and SAKALA survive this
assault, they will also need our help more than ever as they serve the poorest of the poor and hardest hit.

If you possibly can send, even a little, to "Children's Hope" - it could mean so much.

I just can't stand to think of any child there tonight,
hunkered down in the cold and pouring rain,
fearful in the dark, with the storm stalled and swirling
around them. Won't you please help, even just a dollar?

Peace,
All ways and always, Leisa

Checks can be made out to:

Children's Hope
3025A Cambridge Road
Cameron Park, CA 95682

Below, is some of the news from the handicapped
orphanage "Children's Hope" supports and Renee who manages
"Wings."

Renee was able to send out a very short message around 1:50pm today. We have not heard from her or any of our other loved ones in Haiti since, most likely due to lack of power and internet.

Cell phone service only working in about 20 second bursts very infrequently. Wind and rain is still bad in Jacmel. The wind was really wicked for a few hours mid morning to about 1PM. We are still holding out own at Wings, but wish this was over. It seems like it will be a long day followed by another long night.

The New York Times reports that one of the bridges on the road to Jacmel collapsed, cutting off transportation. Reports also indicate that Les Cayes, Guichard's home town, was hit particularly hard.

Plantains, were unable to be harvested in time before the storm, which will undoubtedly contribute to a food shortage. Additionally, the storm destroyed avocado and banana trees, another major source of food and nutrition.

Prof. Leisa Faulkner, Folsom Lake College
Executive Director, Children's Hope
3025 Cambridge Road #A
Cameron Park, CA 95682 USA
916.801.4184