My Welcome Back

May 12th, 2010

My welcome back
I chuckle as I think of my first day back to Haiti. First, I really couldn’t believe that I was moving back. I didn’t anticipate that I would do this again, even for just a summer. But, as I was on the plane I found myself getting excited to get back and “get my hands dirty.” Well, Haiti welcomed me back in all her glory. As I stepped out of the terminal into the blazing heat, I was greeted first by Jimmy. He was allowed to come past the guards to find me. We hugged and proceeded to make our way to the street. Once out of the gate, I saw Michelet and Bony. We were truly happy to see each other. To get to the street is no small feat. You have to shout at and swat all of the men that are trying to get a tip by putting their hands on your luggage cart. And then, there are large holes that you are trying to navigate you cart over and through. The temporary terminal area is directly next to the street and there is absolutely no room. Wall to wall
people and cars make it difficult to move. I tried to suggest that instead of pushing the cart, it may easier for the 3 boys to each carry a bag to the truck. All looked at me with blank stares. It just is not done that way was the silent message. So, I trailed behind as they pushed the cart on the rocky dirt side and in between cars in the road. They pushed several hundred yards down the street to where the truck was parked. Tips were paid and greetings to Patrick were said. The luggage was loaded in the back of the truck. As I was preparing to get into the truck, Patrick explained to me that the Truck was broken down. The Alternator was falling out and loose. He showed me where a bolt had fallen out and all of the belts were loose. He said the mechanic was on the way. Well, I know what that means, so I said that I would get a tap-tap to the house. We were only able to get a Van tap-tap. (Which was always the worst!) I climbed in over the people and
sat on a small ledge with my back up against the driver staring at the van full of people. I smiled and greeted those in front of me. Bony, Jimmy and I chatted as we caught up. My recurring thoughts were “I love this!” and “Welcome Home”.

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Thank you!

April 27th, 2010

Dear Readers, Volunteers and Contributors,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your generous donations to our efforts in Haiti. It has been a hectic 3 months! During the months after the earthquake I have been busy with

1st: Responding to the immediate needs of the orphanages that we serve as well as homeless youth. Then, we completed a security wall for the Infants of Jesus orphanage, delivered much needed food and supplies and are employing several of the homeless youth that we know of.

2nd: We have paid for a years rent of a “Mission House”, and are in the process of buying beds and furniture so that mission groups can have a safe and comfortable place to stay while serving the people of Haiti.

Now, after a short visit back here in the States, I am leaving for Haiti for the summer. My time there will be spent giving consistant support to several orphanages. I will assess their food and supply needs and the general conditions that they are living with. In addition, I will be setting up a teaching program for our volunteers to participate in. We will be concentrating on teaching English, health issues and gardening. I am also setting up a highschool program for the group of homeless boys that are now living and working with me.

I would like to invite each and every one of you to come visit us in Haiti! We would love to have you come and participate in our Haiti efforts! Check out our trip dates. I have found that once you make a decision and commit, God opens all kinds of doors for getting the funds and the time.

Once I am in Haiti, I am going to take a few minutes to write about my experiences right after the earthquake. I hope that my experiences will inspire each of you because let me tell you, the good in people is alive and well!

Thank you again!
Love,
Rebecca

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Still working out the kinks

April 3rd, 2010

Hello all! Some of you may have noticed that there are a few things not functioning on our new website. We are in the process of working out all the kinks and updating some of the content. It should all be resolved shortly. Also, if you have any suggestions or complaints about the new design please let me know so we can make the site as user friendly as possible.

Thank you!

Leah Hullinger
FFCIN

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The Security Wall is Finished!

March 3rd, 2010

First, a BIG THANK YOU to the construction crew that worked so hard. You guys are so awesome!

Here’s the latest email update from Jack with some interesting details about the past week:

“Almost right up to the last moment when the U.S. workers and their local volunteers quit working at four o’clock on Saturday, we were never without the logistical nightmare of getting materials to the men so they would not be delayed in their progress. Somehow, however, we managed it with the help of many people and especially Leslie (the Director of the Orphanage) who would jump in at the last minute with some magic solution if we did not have one. Some glaring examples included the drama with the concrete blocks we purchased from one vendor in the city. He told up up front when we ordered and paid for 3000 blocks from him that they were not his best blocks and he even gave us a significant discount for the purchase. I was leery from the first about this matter but I had one of the masons with me who physically inspected the blocks and said they were good, so we went ahead with the purchase. When the first 1000 of them arrived most of them broke and were completely unsuitable for use. We had already received blocks from another vendor that were very high quality, so when I learned about the broken ones, I had to rush into action to attempt to stop the vendor from shipping the last of the bad blocks and get out money back so we could buy more from the second vendor. Well, you can imagine how that cut into our day, with your mom running around with the only vehicle we had and me scrambling to get her back so we could go to the first vendor to get our money back and order some more blocks from the other manufacturer. We managed it just as the crews were about to run out of blocks.

There were unnumbered other cases like that then we were about to run out of sand and another time when our cement was running low. Late yesterday (Saturday) when I thought we had everything covered, the men who were mixing the mortar for the blocks had been using Lemon Joy dish soap as a stabilizer for the mix (they had brought along a large container from the U.S.) when the man handling that operation announced to me that he needed some more and that nothing else but Lemon Joy in his opinion would do. So with a second car that your mom had rented so I could get around while she ran other errands, I took off down town for the needed dish soap. Three hours later after battling traffic and searching a variety of small and large grocery stores and convenience shops along with a few street vendors, I finally returned with a bottle of dish soap (not Lemon Joy), worried that it wouldn’t be good enough quality, and the guy accepted it just as his supply was about to run out. It worked fine, he told me later–a new lesson for him that all dish soaps may be the same after all.

The workers continued to press on through the week with that one goal in mind of completing the wall before 4PM on Saturday, as that was the time the Director of the Orphanage announced that he wanted to start with a “Thank-you” celebration that would include all of us properly clean and dressed up. Late afternoon Friday, looking at that deadline, Matt Ray, the appointed leader of the U.S. work group announced that they were going to work until dark. They did that and by Saturday morning the project looked very positive for being complete by the four o’clock deadline. As the group wound up things at 4:30 on Saturday and passed out their give-away tools to the local workers, three sides of this massive eight foot high wall was completed and there remained what the workers claimed, was only two more hours work for the local masons to do to complete the last wall. I had only one course of blocks to lay in a section about 75 feet long. Those men really cranked those last few hours, and when we loaded into the two vehicles to get ready to return to the hotel so the men could clean up and return to the celebration, their spirits were higher than I had seen them all week.

I didn’t do much real physical labor or help the men on their jobs, other than running for this or that to keep them supplied with goods, so I had a lot of time to observe the U.S. workers on the job and when they took their frequent water breaks. It was impressive alone watching them work, but more so was their interaction with the children. Not one of them would return to the water dispenser without picking up their favorite child and playing for a few moments before they went back to work. It was obvious they were loving every moment of these not so frequent breaks, and were especially slow getting into the vehicles when we returned to the hotel at night. These guys were magnificent giants as they held and loved these tiny children and played toss ball or succor with the older ones. I can say how admirable it was to watch these interactions, and to in some way be a part of the process.

I’m sure it was good for the children too, as I heard some of the stories of their various demises, I was feeling that same compassion I believe the men were feeling as they loved and hugged these infants. I choked up myself on more than one occasion when I heard the stories of why some of these children were at the orphanage, and I am sure most of the workers felt the same at times. I was curious, for example, about one little 11 year old girl that especially bonded with me during the days I was there. So I got one of the boys who spoke English to ask her about her family. She it turned out was a new-comer to the orphanage, having been delivered there by an American who found her wandering alone in one of the Tent Cities. Both her parents had died in the quake and somehow she had gotten out or had been rescued unscathed from the rubble. I could hardly believe this story as I saw her smiling as she told her story, and the details were related to me. Her dimpled face and perfect bright teeth showed no signs of what she had gone through only a little over a month ago.”

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Progress on the wall and more exciting news!

February 24th, 2010

Jack Williams sent this message today:

“The crew got the wall up to 7’4″ today on the front 120 feet of the wall, and started more on the left side. More concrete came today, so the crew can continue tomorrow. The volunteers from the states (masons and general contractors) are a wonderful bunch of guys that are really pouring their hearts into this project.

Another part of the good news for the orphanage. This morning early, a group showed up from the Brazilian Embassy with a truck load of tents and mattresses for the children. There were about ten men with the two embassy people who were from the Brazilian Navy who spent most of the day putting up the tents (ten of them). They said they also brought a lot of food, but I didn’t see what they brought.
We’ve had the normal logistical problems that you know well from all developing countries, but we’ve done marvelous considering.”

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