Based on a True Story » Haiti Relief 2010

Haiti: Becoming Part of the Problem, not the Solution

Nathan Colquhoun — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:14:54 +0000

I wrote this for a new magazine starting up on the West Coast called Loaf. The title was borrowed from Rollins and his post about his new tour coming up.

Haiti. Two months ago I could not have pointed to it on a map. Today, I’ve had a complete overload of history lessons, French/Creole, foreign aid logistics and rice. A few weeks after the recent earthquake, a good friend of mine who works with Emmanuel International got a call to go back to Haiti to help them with their food distributions. Emmanuel was connected to ten different sites where there was about fifteen thousand people that were part of them. He didn’t want to go into the middle of a crisis alone, so I was the fortunate friend who got to go with him. Now I am back home, sitting in front of my 22″ LCD monitor, with a full stomach, car parked out front, a fridge of rotting leftovers, surrounded by commercial businesses and the ground is covered in white snow. There is no way to properly explain the culture shock going from one culture to the next and then back home in such little time. The only feeling it leaves me with is hope and humility.

We showed up in Haiti, with our main objective being to try and get our hands on some of the hundreds of millions of dollars of food aid that was pouring into the country. We wanted to load up the food into our trucks and ship it to our sites so the people could eat. This one goal turned out to be harder than suggested. After filling out multiple paper forms, calling people, sending e-mails, randomly showing up in important people’s offices and waving our Canadian passports around like they were the golden ticket, we left after two weeks without even getting a drop of grain from the World Food Program. We were able to get shelter from an organization called ShetlerBox. That was our biggest accomplishment in terms of putting aid into people’s hands. In terms of actually distributing food and supplies to the people that needed it most, we felt like we were failing miserably. Then there was the added stress of trying to buy all the food locally. It was well known that with the amount of free non-Haitian food coming into the country we had to be careful that we didn’t put extra pressure on what was left of the feeble economy by purchasing outside of the country.

If you are feeling hopeless about our efforts there, then I think I’ve accurately explained how we felt. It was a country in turmoil and then a few white guys walk in there and try to help.

However, throughout the trip, there was moments where I just didn’t know what to think. As I was sitting in the home we stayed at I could hear singing. There was an all day fasting and prayer church service going on right outside our gate. Here I was, with a belly full of rice, wandering through hundreds of people singing and dancing, with intentional empty stomachs and gratitude towards God. It was a moment I will never forget. The contrast of realities that was all around me was hard to understand. It was then I realized that my feeble attempts to accomplish anything worthwhile were all at the mercy of something a lot larger than myself. I was trying to get them food to eat. They were giving up that food to worship God.

Constantly changing my perspective is my only known defense against such encounters. It is way too easy not to change. I could easily get mad at the fasting tent city, that they weren’t out trying to find work and feed their children. I could easily get frustrated that they were worshiping a God that seemingly doesn’t care about them. However, I’m left wondering if the way I see the world and disaster isn’t the right way. At the very least, it isn’t the only way. So I’m forced to try and see the world through their eyes. I don’t think I can do that very well. I find myself getting frustrated at their uncaring attitude towards productivity and efficiency. I find myself feeling like I’m the only one who cares or who is doing anything.

As I shift perspective I start to see everything differently. I start to see that I am part of the reason they are the way they are what they are. I have oppressed them. Maybe not directly, but my culture, my lifestyle, my consumption, my politics and my religion have all played a part in creating societies that are rendered unable to be free. If I walk into their culture and expect them to be freed from oppression the way I want it to happen, it does nothing but perpetuate the system that I’m trying to free them from. It was easy to see Haiti as the problem, and me as the solution, all it would take was to bring my solutions to their problems.

I feel humbled because the only way Haiti will be free is that Haiti will realize they are oppressed, and they will seek to be free from oppression so they can be more truly human. If their oppressors walk into the country and start demanding they act and live a specific kind of way so they can be free, it will help no one. So my trip to Haiti very quickly evolved from being me going over there to help them, to me being there and living with them. We waited for direction from their pastor. We worked on their schedules. We drove their cars. We asked permission before we did anything. We tried to completely serve and submit to the Haitians. This was very difficult; yet absolutely necessary. Many times I thought my way was better. Many times I knew my way was better. This didn’t matter. I was not there to change them and show them how to be better. I was there to work and live alongside of them as they struggled for freedom.

This took a little getting used to. However, when you are working and submitting to the authority of someone you don’t see eye to eye with you are forced to see things that you never would have seen before. You see the world differently. In many ways, you’re able to see the world. You allow for your convictions to be put aside about the way things work and trust in something bigger and outside of yourself. Only by doing this, will Haiti ever become free. I cannot fight, steal, convince and manipulate Haitians into being free. They will only achieve freedom if they do it and want it and it will only happen if it happens their way, not ours. I have to serve them. I have to work alongside of them and be led by them. Overtime you start to see people that you respect and trust pop up all over the place. You see people’s hearts and passion and hospitality. My respect for the other has grown tremendously.

If we truly want to help overseas and not oppress those we are there to help, then we must submit, serve and live with the people we are going to help. We have to work by their agenda. We have to empower them to take control of their own future and not imagine one for them and convince them that they want it. I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised at what the human heart and brain is capable of. It gives me hope.

So I leave you with this: go on trips, work with those that are less fortunate, help the marginalized and fight for the oppressed. These are all good and noble things. Do it with the knowledge that you can’t save them and you can’t change them and you can’t free them. The only thing you can do is be like them; be with them. So if you really want to help, then you must put down your solutions and become part of the problem.

Haiti Day 3 and 4: Rachel’s Version

Nathan Colquhoun — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:17:20 +0000

Before I jump into Rachel’s post, here is a good story about the pastor that Chris sent me.

Pastor and I went to the bank today and we bypassed the lineup outside and went straight in- pastor saying that we’re just going to ‘information’. Then inside the bank there’s about 15 people lined up and pastor, after going to information…. goes up and stands beside someone already at a teller and waits for them to finish. Then he starts doing his own banking. Just went in front of 15 people… classic. I asked him about it after and he said ‘the people in line have longer to live than me, they can wait.’

And now I pass you on to Rachel…

The rooster always wakes me up. Early. Earlier than I get up, ever! Even for work at 7am.

Lucky I brought ear plugs because I remembered that a rooster liked to crow in Swaziland as well. Right outside my window it seems, but I’m sure everyone feels that way. The dogs bark too, but they don’t bother me as much.

I am usually one of the first ones up and decide to get a bit of reading for school. Pretty soon the house was bustling with people and the tent city outside my window was singing as they make breakfast.

The past two days we have sorted medications to get ready for distribution at our medical clinic. Outside the music is blaring and Justin Timberlake is bringing sexy back. The children are singing along serenading us as we sort.

The tent city outside has no latrine, so there are current problems with illness as a result of that, no clean water, cooking over fires and a variety of other disaster related problems. It is not easy for the people. And yet, they are strong and resilient.

We went with Emma’s sister, Olange to go check on the mom and her newborn living in the backyard. The baby is so small. I’ve never seen a baby 2 days old before. We were able to do some health teaching with the mom and ask her how the breastfeeding is going. She seems to be doing well. It helps that Emma’s sister is also a nurse in Miami (and speaks Creole!). It made me realize how versatile/flexible nursing is…health teaching in a tent with mom and baby in Port au Prince. Amazing.

The past two days have been Shelter Box setup days. Shelter boxes are these huge plastic containers that hold a 6 person tent, water jugs, cooking utensils (sometimes a stove), tools, sleeping bags, toys for children, etc. We were able to get a substantial donation. Our team was pretty upset to still see over 3000 Shelter boxes sitting in the warehouse waiting for families. They were donated to World Vision. I hope they get out of that warehouse soon!

Once we get word that a Shelter Box needs to be set up and so we jump up and hop into the TapTap to get on our way. (This being said, transportation is a huge issue here. So this is based on the assumption that a TapTap is available.)
It is amazing driving through Port au Prince. Today it seemed to be laundry day for the women and an afternoon of checkers for the older men. Children would wave to us as we drove by and we yell “Bonju” (Creole hello, similar to Bonjour in French). We passed by one house where they are starting to rebuild out of the rubble.

Soon after driving down many dirt streets full of potholes and bumps, we arrive at the intended destination. We jump out and greet the family and ask them where they would like their new tent. One friend of the family who spoke pretty good English told us that their last tent wasn’t that great and that they are so happy to have this one. These two adorable girls come up to me and say in perfect English, you are beautiful. I think they were practicing in the corner and working up courage to talk to me.

We set up a few more tents. But it takes so long to navigate through the traffic that we only get a few up today. But the families are so grateful it makes it worthwhile. The second house we visited is the house of a pastor. The church is still standing and actually one of the biggest (and nicest) we have seen. Then we walk around back and see where the family is living. It’s a house made out of rubble and remains. There is a large cement cistern where they are collecting water. I think it is their drinking water because they ask us for some. We don’t have any to give. I feel awful. Despite the shelter, there is always another important need. I wish we could fill them all.

The next place we visit is a tent community near a ravine. There is garbage everywhere and pigs sleeping in the garbage. There are people everywhere. This young girl with a cast on her leg and arm comes out of a tent. She has no crutches and no follow up appointment. She asks us to take a look at her foot. She has some concerns. We assess her and everything seems okay at the moment, but she really needs to be seen and get that cast off. We do some more health teaching in the tent. I love nursing!

This tent was a bit more frustrating. I guess the manufacturers are having trouble keeping up with the demand so it’s a few different types of tent. I am not a camper, but give me a tent and I could set it up. We’re experts.

When we get back to Pastor’s house, we go upstairs to rest (it is like 95 degrees outside!) We are informed that a family living with Pastor has been trying to set up at tent since we left to go help the others. We quickly run to their aid and get that tent up faster than any other we have set up. You should have seen their children running and jumping through the tent. It was such a little thing but they were so happy to have a sturdy shelter. It almost made me cry.

The UN flights out of Haiti at the Canadian embassy are no longer on a daily basis and Nathan was unable to get a flight until Friday. So that means he is taking a bus to Dominican in the morning to catch a cheap flight home. Which is sad for me, since I just got here. We dropped him off at the “bus station” near the American Embassy and the UN compound. The line at the American Embassy is triple the size at the Canadian one!
It was so weird leaving Nathan in the middle of nowhere (it seemed) to fend for himself. I know he’s fine. But it was still an awful feeling. I may or may not have cried.

We spend most afternoons chatting and getting to know one another a bit better, showing pictures, sharing stories, and helping out in any way we can.

One thing that I have been thinking about is that in Haiti, I sleep on a mattress, wherever they tell me to, eat whatever is in front of me (and am always grateful), “shower” or wash with whatever cold water is available…I don’t care about my appearance, fashion, what’s on nightly tv, etc. I am not trying to compare, just wondering why life is not more like that in North America?! Why are we so spoiled and selfish? I think everyone should try to feel hungry for a day (or two) or sleep on the ground outside (in the rain) and see what it is like for the people. I’ve barely put myself in their shoes…I can’t even begin to imagine.

Sidebar- I’m really thinking and wresting with the social determinants of health this weeks. I might post about this separately when I can collect my thoughts. I want to believe that they should be human rights, but everything seems so political. I’m beginning to understand why people are starting to refer to them as the political determinants of health.

After dinner more visitors arrive and we sit to chat until we’re too sleepy to continue. It has been a hot and sticky day so there is a line up for the showers (trickle of cold water out of a tap in the ceiling, but hey I’m not complaining! It’s the most refreshing shower I’ve ever had!) Then we pile into bed to get ready for the next.

The dogs howl at the rain. I hope the tents we set up with hold up to the elements and I pray for those without. For them, it will be a long night…I think about the Shelterboxes in the warehouse.

Pastor Martinez Jovin from Haiti

Nathan Colquhoun — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:13:15 +0000

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the man behind the stories, and his wonderful, caring wife. Martinez and Emma Jovin.

Haiti Day 1 and 2: Rachel’s Version

Rachel Colquhoun — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:00:52 +0000

The last two days we have pulled ourselves out of bed at 3am to continue the journey to Haiti. No delays with flights and we arrived in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic around 3:30 Monday afternoon. Pastor Lopez met us at the airport and drove us back to his home in the city. We were so happy to get rid of carrying the 12 huge hockey bags we were toting full of medical supplies. It was such a blessing to not have to pay all the extra money to take the supplies on the plane. It was going to be as much as another plane ticket! Upon arrival at Pastor Lopez’s house, most of us fell asleep on the couch and woke up to a delicious meal. The hospitality is unreal.

Early in the morning we awoke (2:45ish) to get ready to get on the road to Haiti and to our surprise there was breakfast on the table. We received word from Nathan that the earliest UN flight available was not until Tuesday morning and we would not be able to bring our supplies on that flight. So, we decided to take the bus. But that didn’t pan out either. So Pastor hired a fellow to drive us all the way to Haiti. Carlos spoke both Spanish and French (not Creole) and drove us for the 5 hours. I could understand him pretty well. He told me he was proud that he can get there in 5 hours when the bus takes 9 hours. Nathan took the bus. We waited at a Total gas station and slept until Nathan and Daniel picked us up to take us into Port au Prince. Driving into Haiti was interesting. The border was complete chaos. People were everywhere! Motorcycles flying by with too many people on them. Cabs (called Tap Taps here) going way to fast with too many people on board. We realized that using your horn here is not asking for permission, it’s telling other drivers that you are coming and to go faster or get out of the way. It was difficult to tell at the border what was for sale and what was aid. There were people in boats rowing food back to somewhere…hungry bellies I’m guessing. Living on a border-town in Sarnia, I’m so used to customs. However, we just drove right on through, I can completely understand how those people could traffic children easily. There were two gates we passed through and it seemed like there were just average people holding the doors open. There were not many armed or uniformed men patrolling.

Driving into Haiti we noticed a large UN compound present at the top of the hill. We continued on to the gas station without problem, just a few stares

It was so nice to give Nate a huge hug and he helped us load all our luggage onto Pastor Martinez’s Land Rover. The streets here are worse than Swaziland. It’s a wonder these vehicles survive! A fellow here told us there are not a lot of North American made trucks because they simply don’t last. I can understand why. There are more potholes and road bumps than actual road it seems. We traveled through Port au Prince. At first it was difficult to see the devastation until you got into the core of the city. But as you continued on, it was more and more obvious, more CNN style stuff.

It’s hard to truly express and I’m sure a lot of you have seen it on TV, but it’s different in person.

I don’t really have words just yet.

We got to meet the rest of the people living here. It’s kind of a mish-mash of everyone and anyone willing to help out. Nurses mostly, which makes me smile. We ate lunch together (peanut butter sandwiches) and then the 4 of us (Andrew, Connie, Perry and myself, crashed hard for a quick nap).

Nathan and Chris were on their way out the door to collect the Shelter Boxes Nathan has been blogging about. We unloaded 18 large tents with supplies included which is awesome! We are going to be setting one (or two) up today. I can’t imagine how you would decide who gets one and who doesn’t. I’m glad it’s not me making those kind of decisions.

After that, Nathan and I walked to the Canadian Embassy (don’t worry Mom, it’s just around the corner) and I’m glad I went because Nathan doesn’t speak ANY languages. Most everyone here (even NGO or UN/Aid workers are primarily French or Creole) and I’m lucky that my comprehension is much better than my conversation. We quickly met two children, ages 11 and 13 who spoke broken English and we started chatting.

The first thing he says to me is “my father died, in the earthquake.”

I’m speechless. Then he chatters on, asking me all sorts of questions: who am I, where did I come from, how old am I, what do I do for a living? We converse in “franglais” until we get to the Embassy. Nathan is trying to figure out how to get home. I ask the guard there if there is any information and he tells us to come back in the morning. I guess Nathan could survive without me as long as he had his phone and his app to translate from English to French. So our escorts wait for us and we chat all the way back. They are very nice young boys. I ask them where they live and they point down the road, I’m guessing the tent city, but I’m not certain.

It’s hot outside and we come in Pastor’s house to cool down.

Pretty soon, we get word that there is a family that needs a shelter. The mom has just had a baby and there is a bit of confusion as to when and where, but we know it’s recent and guessing she was discharged from the hospital today, the baby is 1-2 days old. Pastor comes upstairs to ask us if we can go set up one of the Shelter box tents for them in his backyard. So outside we go in the dusk (6pm) and start setting up this large tent. The family moved right in.

After reading about healthy breastfeeding and mother/baby issues this week for my classes I am wondering about how this new mother is managing. My heart goes out to her and the family. I want to help and then realize that we kind of just did? But it doesn’t seem enough. Dinner is rice and beans. Pretty delicious. And for dessert, mango! Super delicious. The boys sat with Pastor to ask him about priorities. He looks worn out. After dinner it’s dark and the day is mostly over. We email, read, chat and go off to bed one by one. I am early to bed because I’m still sleepy from travel. I shove in my ear plugs and get ready for barking dogs and crowing roosters to sing me to sleep.

Haiti Day 11 and 12

Nathan Colquhoun — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:35:07 +0000

I will keep this collection of photos updated constantly here.

A nurse here was telling a story of when she went grocery shopping with pastor, and how she was going from aisle to aisle picking out things she needed. He was standing at the edge, talking to employees, pointing at his watch and bored out of his mind.
Nurse: It was so funny.
Pastor: Funny? It’s funny? I don’t understand. When I need peanut butter, I go to the aisle with peanut butter and I walk to the cashier and then I leave.

Me: You did a good thing, giving that newborn a safe place to stay tonight
Pastor: The baby was born yesterday, how could I not?
Me: That was very pastoral of you
Pastor: I know pastors, I don’t want to do what they do, they would not do these things. If Jesus was here though, he would help them. So I will do what Jesus would do not pastors.

Sunday was a true sabbath. I did nothing but sleep, eat and read books. It was excellent. Chris is trying to recover from some sickness on Saturday and I just did what he did by lying in bed and enjoying the rest.

Today was a pretty busy day and I’m exhausted. We woke up early and went and picked up Rachel and the team. So for all you readers who really care nothing about me but love my wife; she is here, safe and sound and already making people like her more than me. As soon as we brought her back, Chris and I jumped in a Tap Tap (what they call their taxis) and drove to the airport. We got a release form from ShelterBox, left the airport and went to a massive UN warehouse where there was craploads of supplies there and loaded up a bunch of ShelterBoxes into our truck. The warehouse was a bit much. There were so many supplies and things that we needed and we had to just leave when we got what we were allowed to take. Every part of me wanted to grab the blankets, and food, and medical supplies and bring them to our sites so people would be taken care of. This picture is only one of many, many warehouses that are all over full of supplies and aid that is ready to go out.

We have to go back tomorrow to pick up the rest of the ShelterBoxes because our truck could only pick up 18 of them. If it is too noticeable that you are carrying something of value then there is a good chance you will get looted (do you really blame them?). So we took what we could bring and cover up and we will get the rest tomorrow.

The first ShelterBox from our batch was setup tonight, in the dark. A lady who lives in the tent city out front of Martinez’s house had a baby yesterday and she had no safe/dry place to be with her child. So we setup a tent and she moved right in. Some nurses tried to bring her some stuff tonight to make sure she was comfortable but were told they could not come in the tent. It turns out that there is a Haitian tradition that you can’t see newborns at night because it will give them stomach cramps. So they left the supplies and came inside. The newborn and their mother are outside in their tent sleeping right now. To all you hippie moms out there, how does this fit into your understanding of being born into familiar surroundings? Crazy right?

Rachel is planning on keeping track of the trip from her point of view also, so I will post her posts on here. She also brought her own camera, so she’ll be able to take some shots also.

Haiti Day 8

Nathan Colquhoun — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:29:15 +0000

nurse: we have a conference call with an organization tonight, is that ok for you to talk to them tonight?
pastor: i still have my mouth, so i will talk to them.

aid worker: what if we built the new houses with wood?
pastor: wood houses eat trees, we will build them with stronger cement and we could use machines to clear them if you wanted, but the the Haitians will die, they need to work.

Today was a bit slower of a day. We went and dropped off the food from Brazil at a storage place to get divided up into bags. Then we got dropped off at the airport again to see what other kind of connections we could build. The main connection we made was with the UN Communications Organizer and he got us a driver and took us to find the chief of staff for the Canadian Military. This was kinda cool and was the first air conditioning I have felt since being here in the car that drove us there. When we got there we talked to a man named Mike who graciously explained how this entire operation is working and where not to get caught in the system. He was a military man of some sort, I don’t think he was the chief of staff (who’s extension we now have) but he certainly knew what was going on.

Basically everything is being operated by the UN, so if we need escorting, security, equipment or basically anything that aid workers need we simply put in a request and within 24 hours they can get it for us. It’s that simple. There is an entire new organization that is only 5 days old that is joining all the logistics of all the operations and making things happen. So we left the airport with that information and don’t think we need to go back for anymore logistical type stuff.

We spent the rest of the day booking flights and getting ready for the next team that is coming (yah Rachel!) The UN is giving free flights from Santo Dominfo to Port Au Prince so we applied for the team to get on one of those flights.

We had a meeting tonight with Humedica, a german organization, who is willing to help rebuild Marbial (the village Rachel will be going to) and getting their school back up and running, boys home and hopefully some houses.

We also went on a hunt for Bishop Keith Elford of the Free Methodist Church in Canada who is in Haiti right now. We had missed where he was at the Free Methodist land here in Haiti (not too far from where we are staying) . We did get a tour by another pastor there who was pointing at buildings that still had people under them, including some missionaries that were there from the USA. It was the first time we looked at a building that we knew someone was still under; it was heartbreaking. They have a community of about 100 that are living on their land that they are trying to get food for and take care of also.

Rachel comes Sunday, so I’m excited about that. We are hoping to get a helicopter over to Marbial to look at the village there; it would be nice to see it since I won’t be staying there at all. I am starting to stay up too late, and am getting tired. I also have bed bug bites all over my arms, you gotta love it.

Haiti Day 7 – Brazil Just Gave Us A Truckload of Food

Nathan Colquhoun — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:16:13 +0000

us: we have to be to the airport for 10pm (it is currently 9:30 and takes 30 minutes to get there)
pastor: (he calls over a third party) Bob, did we get these guys to the airport on time yesterday?
bob: yes
pastor: then why are they asking? we will get them on time today.

We missed our meeting, because he thought it was an hour earlier.

pastor: i’m feel bad about this morning, sorry for not getting you to your meeting
us: it’s ok, it happens, we should have been more clear
pastor: not more clear, more pushy

So today we missed going to the airport to the meetings that we were expecting to go to. We wanted to get into the Water/Sanitation meeting and the Food Aid meeting. So instead we stayed back and started calling and e-mailing people. We got on the Shelter Box agenda for tonight, so we will know tomorrow if we will get the 30-50 boxes that we asked for. We found out a bunch of information for humanitarian aid workers getting free flights around the island. We finally got the internet working and stable. Teams can call home, we can call contacts and internet is working fast enough.

Rachel is now confirmed to come, she will be leaving Sat or Sun. We’ll be using our information to get her and the team with her free flights from Dominican into Port Au Prince. I got to call home tonight and talk to Rachel, Joe and Ron and just catch up. It was good to hear their voices. The Canadian military is giving free flights home for humanitarian workers that are Canadian, so I will be coming home on the 11th via military plane into Montreal. That is the current plan anyway, and then Rachel will stay an extra week and come home with Chris.

Then, after all that. A man who came with the medical team is Brazilian, so he walked into their embassy, brought a letter from here, somehow got into a conversation with their head general or something like that. Then he ends up bringing home a truckload (and I mean a big huge truck) of food and medicine from their military. It was truly the coolest thing ever. Apparently he has military connections and Brazil were having a hard time finding organizations to unload food too. Not anymore. Awesome.

Haiti Day 5-6: Finally Some Communication with the UN and Getting Things Rolling

Nathan Colquhoun — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:39:58 +0000

us: so pastor, what is the plan for tomorrow
pastor: tomorrow? it’s today now. tomorrow will take care of itself.
it’s in the bible, i’m not going to add to that.

us: so should we spend all the money on tents?
pastor: well, you can, but then you will have dead people in the tents, we need food too, so half on tents and half on food.

pastor: i only go to homes where the pastor there says short prayers, i don’t understand why some have to do such long prayers for dinner, so when they do long prayers i teach them to do one word prayers, “Jesus” and do the rest in your heart so we can eat.

The pastor here has been making us laugh quite a bit.

The last two days have been remarkable. I really feel like I can serve in my gifts being here, or at least I absolutely love what I’m doing. So the last few days we have tried to look at the big picture; asking ourselves the questions, how is this going to keep going when we are gone? How do we tap into the World Food Program so we aren’t draining our funds on food when there is lots around right now for free? How do we find out what’s already being done so we aren’t working with the same people and overlapping? Where is everyone else and all these other aid companies who seem to be very quiet in on the ground? We found a website yesterday called logcluster, and made some phone calls, and realized that this was the central website for all the UN logistics for relief. Jackpot. This should have been our first step all along, but at least now we have a very good idea of what exactly the sites are like that we are giving food too.

So we showed up at the airport this morning, that is currently being run by the American military and is occupied by the UN and NGOs. This place was absolutely amazing. Basically it is the hub for all operations happening all over Haiti, so if you have any questions, need any contacts, need any resources, this is where you go. So we walked in on a logistics meeting that was talking about transportation and getting aid to various places around the country. Everyone was extremely helpful, offering the use of their equipment and transportation to help the cause in anyway. The Canadian Forces were there and were saying the same things, however we needed their services we just had to ask. So how this would work is representatives from all the NGO’s (which there were hundreds at the airport) would show up to one of the 10 different meetings they had that day (shelter, food, water, security, medicine etc) then there would be a coordinator that would explain everything they know and then people would ask questions, give input and by the end of the meeting your organization should be fully briefed on the topics situation country wide and any questions you had answered. Wow.

We made a number of good contacts with different organizations that are hopefully going to play out including Global Aid Network (who happens to be one the organizations that sponsored our conference last yea for our conference) that is going to try to put is in contact with Convoy of Hope to help us transport our aid to the more remote areas. Shelter Box said they are looking for organizations like ours to partner with, which is excellent because most of the people we are working with are living with nothing but a tarp over their heads and a shelter box will give them a temporary shelter up to a year with a whole bunch of supplies. We also got us on a list for the World Food Program so we will become on the the NGO’s that distributes their food in their warehouses. We picked up maps and all the resources we need so we can successfully develop a plan to deploy everything that we have been working up to this point. And we ordered a hamburger and fries at the cafeteria. Emmanuel International (who I am here with) has been hard at work raising money and sending different shipments of supplies/food as we need it, they have been excellent and extremely supportive.

Right now, Chris described it as setting up the domino’s so that when we flick one everything falls into place. The frustrating part is that we don’t actually have anything that we have been working towards, but we think we have figured out all the right steps to make it happen. So tomorrow we are going back to the logistics base to sit in on a food aid logistics meeting and a water/sanitation meeting, which hopefully starts to give us some answers of how we can make safe environments for our communities who are going without water and proper sanitation.

Seriously, what a day. Being there at the UN base was a mind blowing experience. Nations from all over the world, Chile, Canada, States, India, Italy, Peru, Paraguay and tons more were all there working together to help keep Haiti as safe as possible and meet their needs. We live in a time where countries actually work together to help other countries, it’s a beautiful thing. I realize there is corruption and greed all intertwined into the system, but there is still much good happening and it really does bring hope. The camp was full of people who cared and were doing their best to respect the Haitians and meet their immediate needs. It was great.

Helpful Links on Haiti Aid

Nathan Colquhoun — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:21:59 +0000

Humanitarian aid is something that has been going on for a long time. Everyone seems to be involved with it for some reason or another. Many people are involved in it for selfish reasons, and many have pure motives but will stick hurt things and others still may actually be helping. The situation in Haiti is very unique because of the lack of infrastructure here to accommodate the type of aid that is available. Chris and I are running into walls left and right simply trying to get our hands on some of the craploads of food that we know is here and some trucks to get it to the right people. So we’ve been doing some reading and researching, here are some of the links and helpful resources I have found so far in helping better explain what is happening.

Aid Worker Daily Friendfeed – list of links and articles

Fight Hunger Twitter Feed

This article was excellent and perfectly explains all the problems we are running into The unique challenges of #Haiti’s emergency logistics. Her understanding of the whole process is great, here is how she starts.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and ranks 148th of 179 countries on the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index. Prior to the disaster, out of approximately 8.5 million Haitians, one million was already dependent on foreign aid.

and

The speed and scale of the US’s response to the disaster in terms of funds, goods and military support is unprecedented. This is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing as the US military will have the means to reestablish a safe and secure environment for humanitarian organizations to operate in and bridge the command and resource gap left behind by the Haitian government. It is a curse as with its huge resources it will dominate the relief effort, overshadowing others, and monopolize the use of the limited logistics assets as exemplified by the current ‘exclusive’ use of the Haitian airspace.

Dan linked to this article a few days ago, which speaks into a lot of the politics about while USA and other countries are getting so involved.

I don’t have much time on the internet here, mostly limited to my status updates occasionally, so if you have read anything else or have access to information that might be helpful for us, send it over, I’m sure there is lots I’m missing.

Haiti Day 4-5

Nathan Colquhoun — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:31:14 +0000

Chris is blogging occasionally here if you want to read some from his perspective, he’s much more eloquent than I.

Nurse: “How is Johnny.” Pastor #1: “Johnny is dead.” Pastor #2: “God is good.” I don’t write that to be crass. We were sitting there at dinner with some new guests and they had just found out that one of their friends that they knew from the first time were here had died in the earth quake. We were all talking about the earthquake, and then Pastor Lopez responded with a story of his own and finished his statement with “God is good.” Horror, unfortunate circumstances, death….yet God is still good. I am baffled, yet it gives me hope. How else do you handle such a great tragedy? Haitians choose to put their faith in God, I am personally having a harder time doing this; and it’s not even me who is suffering.

Today started off like yesterday but ended much better. There is a tent city outside of the pastors house that we are living with, where there are quite a few hundred people living because it is unsafe to go into their homes or their homes are no longer there. So a number of bags were put together. As soon as the community got word there was food, they rushed to the gate and tried to start pushing their way through. It is a very sad thing to do to have to hold a gate back, trying not to hurt anyone, while they storm the gate, only allowing 5 in at a time, knowing that we are going to run out of food before they run out of hunger.

This was the most unorganized distribution of the two, because we were at the pastors house where a lot of people were making decisions. People had different ideas of what door they were going to come in and out of, how we were going to order them and how we were going to register them. Eventually it was done and over with, with a good hundred or so people that had to go without. The only positive thing that this session gave us was good insight on how to do the distribution from here on in.

The key for us is separating the people from the actual food. The more space between everyone, we think, the more opportunity we have to organize people before they can see the food. The second thing we did is hand pick a bunch of volunteers ahead of time, put their food aside and get them to run the show. So we explained the process to the volunteers ahead of time so they knew what to expect. This worked much better than us knowing what to do and explaining it to everyone on the go through a translator. The other part that worked great today was that we lined everyone up in a church building 50 yards away from the building that held the food. Everyone sat in the pews and we got five people at a time to move to the front, gave them cards and then sent them to get their food. It was a hundred times better than anything we did before and we were able to get food to around 1000 people this afternoon alone using this system and collecting the necessary information to record. It was extra special today because the site this afternoon was located at an orphanage, so I have some cute photos I’ll have to upload when I get home of some of the children there.

There is a team of 16 medical professionals coming tomorrow for 4 days. We found out that if we can get a truck, then we can probably get free food from the airport or the UN. So we also found out that we might be able to get a truck. Tomorrow is a day for church, rest and to get ready for Monday. Monday I think is going to be the start of a much bigger picture for us in what we can do while we were here. The first few days we looked into the eyes of the Haitians who were hungry and in need. The next little while will be doing the same, but this time hopefully be able to get all these same Hatians access to a continual flow of aid until it’s not needed anymore. Pray that we get this truck. The Canadian government is still doubling all donations, so if you can send some money to help with this truck or more supplies for this area, please click here and do that.

Going to sleep now, and onto day 5.

Day 5 was a day of church, and a brief drive-thru tour of downtown where the palace is. It was quite disheartening to see the thousands of people all in tents all waiting for something, anything really. Church services were great. Voices rang in my head all day as they belted out their songs in French. I recognized This is My Story, This is my Song and Great is thy Faithfulness. They sing so beautifully, it really makes you never want to use instruments again. In these churches, there is no such thing as a kids program. There are more children than adults, and they sit there quietly and listen, and sing as loudly as anyone else. We have so much to learn from others about how we pass along our faith to our children.

After the second service (I have been to two church services in one day in a long time) we went back to the house and Chris, Robert (the mechanic), Richard and Daniel (son of Pastor Martinez, but lives in Toronto currently) got into a great discussion about international development. I have a lot to learn about this field, and the stories they tell about the history of the practice along with the history of Haiti is fascinating. Bridges out of Poverty, a workshop I sat through in Sarnia is surprisingly a good tool for preparing me for what to expect. There is so much going on in a country like this. Everyone has their own ideas, and hopes and dreams. It is a fascinating area of study that I am watching first hand the positives and negatives of foreign aid, international political involvement and missionaries.

We are offering a temporary band-aid approach right now, but the goal is to create a sustainable system that will keep going once we leave. Pray that this happens.

Tomorrow we head to the Canadian Embassy to register, and also try to build relationships with the right people that can point us in the right direction to get more aid. We are hoping it is a productive trip to finding out a lot of information about the logistics about how everything is working here. We are also going to look for a new vehicle that Canadian donors are going to cover the expenses for, so we hope there is something in the country that we can purchase and get using quickly.