HAITI :: Food crisis at St. Vincent's escalates

Have you ever tried to write something but the message is so upsetting that you can't get the words out adequately? That's the way we feel now as we share the severity of the food shortage at St Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children, our partner in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Ever since a large international agency stopped supplying food to the Center without explanation, St. Vincent's administration has been working diligently to find a sustainable solution. Expenses have been drastically reduced and all available funds used toward food. 

This critical shortage has even forced them to restructure who they feed and when. (Author’s note: I can NOT even fathom having to make these kind of decisions.) The current situation only provides food for 76 residential students and 10 residential staff on a rotating schedule. Loosely translated, that means they don’t get 3 simple meals of beans and rice every day – some days they do, but many times they do not.

Tragically, the Center's electricity was recently cutoff as they are unable to pay the growing debt. Instead, they have diverted those funds to buy beans and rice to feed the students.

In a recent correspondence, Father Sadoni, Director of St. Vincent's, stated:

Occasionally an agency gives us some rice and beans, but it is not enough to operate the Center. We have re-approached other agencies but without success. We are now truly breathless. All St. Vincent's input is spending in the food program. At the time I wrote this report to you, there is no electricity at St. Vincent's. We don't have enough money to pay the current debt. This is the first time since my ascent to the management of the Center that I find myself in such a situation. Despite these problems, I keep hoping that one day St. Vincent's will meet its needs and that there will be no debt to pay. And we could easily feed our children.

Our hearts are broken to hear this. Our compassion brings us to action. So we are going to DO SOMETHING. 

We are asking 2 things of each and every Red Thread supporter:

1. SHARE this message. Tell others of the need. Show them the pictures of St. Vincent’s kids from our blog / website / Facebook / Instagram. If each of us shared this message with 10 friends / co-workers, what a difference we could make!!!
2. GIVE something. Donations of any size help! It costs approximately $6000 to feed all residential staff and students for 1 full month, 3 meals per day. That breaks down as such: $2.50 feeds 1 person 3 meals per day. (Author’s note: you can’t even go to McDonald’s for ONE meal for $2.50!) 

NO ONE should go without sufficient food – ever. Let’s do our part to feed the kids and start 2014 on a positive note for our brothers and sisters at St. Vincent’s.

Donations can be made via PayPal through our website or via check. Checks may be sent to:
The Red Thread Promise
249 N Belfield Ave
Havertown, PA 19083
Attn: Kathy Korge Albergate

Thank you!

Haiti Happenings, part 7 - CHANGE IS GOOD!

Colorful Haitian public transportation vehicles
called TapTaps bustling through the city

Take a quick look at the progress we observed in Port-au-Prince in April 2013. Change may not be at the rate we are accustomed to, but it was wonderful to finally see some notable progress.

Setting foot on the ground at the Toussaint Louverture Airport was a pleasant surprise:

• After deplaning, we were guided into an air conditioned (!!!) walkway on the 2nd level that is now complete with well-lit immigration stations, a big step up from the dark, dingy wooden booths of previous trips 
• The bathroom facilities were modern, a refreshing change from years past when we warned every Red Thread traveler to use the bathroom on the plane BEFORE deplaning (amusingly enough, a red-eyed Sonya walked right into the men’s room!)
• The baggage area held the most profound changes, now boasting not 1... not 2... but 3 fully-functioning baggage carousels in a clean air conditioned space

Old immigration stations
(and irritated-looking immigration officers!)

Previously, baggage was tossed in a heap on the concrete
in a dark warehouse area where everyone sifted through the pile
 in sweaty pursuit of their personal belongings

The new and much improved baggage claim area

Three carousels! 

The crisp clean duty free shop

Outside the airport were other significant changes:

• There were open spaces that were previously filled with 1,000s of tents and 10s of 1,000s of people and lines of port-a-johns; there wasn’t a tent to be found
• Fences have been erected to keep people from creating new encampments
• We saw sculptures and artwork that had previously been hidden behind temporary structures, tent cities and scores of displaced people
• There were more open shops 
• Less people asked for handouts on the streets
• Two recognizable landmarks—the Presidential Palace and Ministry of Finance—have been leveled and cleared, preparing for rebuilding

Tall cranes and other large equipment dotted the downtown area,
showing signs of rebuilding efforts

Life in Port-au-Prince

Cleaner streets with fewer piles of burning trash
and fewer animals sifting through the rubbish

The road to St. Vincent's Center for Handicapped Children

The once stunning Catholic Cathedral still stands behind tall fences;
all of the stained glass has been removed and we assume
they are preparing to demolish what remains of the structure
(photo reposted from BBC News) 

We are encouraged by these signs of progress in the city. We are hopeful that the Haitian people will renew themselves as well.

New All Terrain Wheelchair video

Remember those beautiful bright red All Terrain Wheelchairs that we delivered in June / July, 2011? We've put together a video that tells a bit of the story and shows some of the distribution.

For more details about the assembly and distribution of the chairs, check out:

Back in Haiti again (June 2011)

The gift of mobility (July 2011)

Please share this link with friends and family and let them know what The Red Thread Promise is doing in Haiti and other countries!

Kathy & Sally Meet the Bishop of Haiti

The remainder of the recent Haiti trip (mid May) was a whirlwind of activity for Kathy, Tom and the team. After spending 2 days in Gramothe, Petionville and Thomassin visiting the villages, school, clinic and orphange, most of the team traveled to Port au Prince for a few days.

Beginning stages of the Presidential palace demolition

Sadly, the conditions are no better there than what we observed during our trip back in March. There appears to be little progress in demolition (with the exception of the palace), rebuilding and general living conditions. The tent cities are still filled to the brim with homeless people and the tents themselves are barely weathering the rainy season. The heat and pollution were, as Tom put it, "unbearable". Electricity was spotty at best, thus our lack of blog posts during the actual trip.

Church of the Three Crosses

They visited the sites of several heavily damaged churches as well. The team dubbed the one pictured above "Church of the Three Crosses" since all signage identifying the building was destroyed. The woman in the foreground was begging for food, water and money, a common occurrence in Haiti.

The Rt. Rev. J. Zaché Duraçin

Bishop Duraçin speaking with the Diocese Task Force

During their stay in Port au Prince, Kathy and Sally were privileged to meet the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, the Rt. Rev. J. Zaché Duraçin. They met at his office in Petionville and shared information about The Red Thread Promise, the Diocese of Olympia (WA), the Diocese of Louisiana (LA) and St. Paul's Episcopal Church-Lakeview (LA). They also discussed the desire of both of the American diocese to partner with their Haitian counterparts on a project in Haiti.

The remains of Holy Trinity Cathedral

Kathy in front of the cathedral entrance

The brightly colored stones in the background are what remains

of the cathedral's once famous murals

Church rubble with temporary open air worship space

Church bells recovered from the rubble

Bishop Duraçin talked about the destruction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, which Kathy and Sally were able to visit, and Holy Trinity's Complex, which includes elementary, music and trade schools. The cathedral, once known for its' beautiful murals, has been reduced to ruins. Thankfully, the schools have resumed classes in temporary buildings while plans are made for a more permanent site.

Rubble that was once Holy Trinity's School Complex

Temporary classrooms at Holy Trinity

Following their meeting, beautiful young voices filled the room from a boy's choir that was practicing behind the crushed church in a tiny building that survived the earthquake. A sole cellist from the music school practiced in the temporary outdoor school area. According to Kathy, "it was very moving to hear these children singing and playing music in the midst of everything they have endured."

Cellist practicing

Following further tours of the city, Kathy and Sally returned to the states and re-acclimate to their lives in Louisiana and Washington state while Tom, Randa and Noor remained in Haiti for 4 additional days.

Please read our next post to hear about the architectural team's trip to the port city of Jacmel and the exciting project over the horizon.

Wade's Journal - Week 3 in Haiti

The TRTP team was able to visit Wade during their trip to Port au Prince earlier this month. He has been working tirelessly at the hospital and day clinic in PAP ever since his arrival.

The daily grind

The work in the hospital is intense. Days are long, 10 - 12 hours each. No breaks. Power bars and other "on the go" foods are eaten while working. On a rare occasion, a step outside to get a breath of "fresh" air. Temperatures in the mid to high 90s. At the end of each day: exhaustion.

Regardless, Wade was in good spirits during the two evening meals he shared with the TRTP team. But as soon as the meals were over, he collapsed on the bed, trying to cool off and get whatever rest he could before the bus picked him up the next morning to start all over again.

Thankfully, two other TRTP volunteers, Shawn and Annelies, were able to join him to work at the hospital for awhile. It was refreshing for Wade to work with friends.

But one of the benefits of this type of work is the contacts that are made. Our team has met medical professionals from around the world in every area of expertise imaginable. And, to keep it interesting, they even rubbed elbows with some movie stars who support the effort in Haiti. They have made great contacts that will be beneficial for future medical treatment requests by The Red Thread Promise.

According to Wade, some of the babies in the hospital were "dressed to the Ts by their mothers. It was very touching to see them doing whatever they could for their children."

An unexplained broken femur

Sadly, violent crime is a big reality downtown. In one afternoon he:

• Saw a 12 year old girl with a gunshot wound through the chest and out the back. Unfortunately, they were ill equipped to help her and sent her to a better facility for treatment.
• Treated 2 murderers that the police caught in unrelated incidences. One shot his girlfriend and the police shot him 3 times during his capture. The other killed his mother. His neighbors caught him and nearly beat him to death.

Anneleis in the ER treating one of the murderers

Prisoner chained to the bed

One of the many rats that can be found in the hospital

A family friend cleaning up in the street right outside the hospital

Please keep Wade, all medical personnel and volunteers (whether Haitian or foreign) in your thoughts and prayers. There is a long road ahead.

Wade's Journal - Week 2 in Haiti

The Day Clinic

Wade working in the clinic with a patient

The 2nd floor of the clinic shows visible signs of heavy damage from the earthquake

The Hospital

Hospital Grounds

The hospital grounds still have some usable buildings but are supplemented with tents

Ambulance

Arrival at the hospital, waiting to get in

People have waited outside as long as 3 days trying to get in

ER waiting room

When there isn't space, people lie on the floor to wait

Emergency room

Post Op

The post op area for patients lucky enough to go there after surgery

Most are sent home directly after surgery

Pediatric tent

Parent and child with a make shift leg support

Tent wards where patients stay

Tap tap bus (public transportation) that flipped over while carrying 15 people