We just received word that the 48 boxes and 25 buckets of supplies that we purchased/collected over the past several months have arrived in Haiti and are currently making their way through Haiti Customs. Cross your fingers.
Please join us at the Skate4Haiti event on Saturday, November 13th, 6pm to 9pm, at the newly renovated Purcellville Roller Rink (now called the Bush Tabernacle) at 250 South Nursery Avenue..JPG)
This past weekend, with help from Jim Wishmyer, Kim Kadesch, Ray Ginman and several other volunteers, the 48 large boxes and 25 buckets of tents, supplies and tools we purchased and collected over the past several months were put on one of two trucks bound for Miami, Florida, courtesy of Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH). From there the trucks will be put into a shipping container and shipped directly to Haiti. As soon as our truck navigants its way through Haiti Customs, it will be driven directly to Jacmel, Haiti. And once the truck reaches Jacmel, I hope to return with several volunteers to distribute our collected supplies to our Haitian neighbors. More details to follow.
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On 9/27, we dropped off 48 large boxes and 25 buckets of supplies at a local storage unit, which is being rented by the Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH). Here is a photo of some of our packers. The items we dropped off included tents, tarps, tools, musical instruments, shoes, clothes, toiletries, school supplies, soccer balls, toys and more. CCH is in the process of trying to secure a shipping container to deliver our (and CCH's) supplies to Jacmel, Haiti. I haven't heard any details about the shipping container yet, but we should know soon. Unfortunately, it could take months for the supplies to reach Jacmel. UGH! Once we have more details, we can start kicking around dates for a return trip to Haiti.
There is currently a big push in Haiti to try to move people displaced by January's 7.0 earthquake from tents to more permanent forms of shelter. Many homes are damaged beyond repair, but some are fixable. That's where Homer comes in. No, not Homer Simpson, but rather Homer from Home Depot. Jerry Michaels, the manager of Leesburg's Home Depot and his staff helped us assemble Shelter Repair Kits for some of Haiti's homeless. Each Kit, which costs about $300, includes dozens of basic tools and supplies that can be used to repair existing homes. Home Depot also provided us with a generous discount on the tools and supplies, which was much appreciated. These Kits will be on there way to Haiti soon.
Here is one of the tents that we ordered for the St. Charles Community in Jacmel, Haiti. This photo was taken without the fly. We bought these tents from REI during an end-of-the-season sale. The tents regularly sell for $349 each, but we were able to purchase them for only $249 a piece. The tents will sleep 4 people and are fairly durable with four metal poles. We also purchased footprints for the tents for $30 each, which should help reduce groundwater infiltration during heavy rainfalls.
Here is a recent Meet the Press interview of Bill Clinton regarding the status of reconstruction in Haiti. It doesn't sound to good to me.- Only 2 percent of debris cleared.
- $1.5 million Haitians still living in tents.
- Only $5 billion of $11 billion pledged by foreign donors has been distributed.
