Haiti 1/25/10

via cousin Abe van Wingerden

Friends of Double Harvest,

Our new rotation of fresh Board members is now in-house at Double Harvest and our new rotation of doctors is in as well.   The new teams are giving us a renewed stark reminder of the death, disease, and destruction as they are exposed to it for the first time, but they are also giving us a fresh perspective and new energy.

MEDICAL CARE - We are taking more and more patients on a daily basis and we have now turned the gym at the school into a hospital ward. We had a wave of new orphan children come in today (so many of them that we could not get an accurate count), and the doctors and their teams did an amazing job.  We did lose one of the patients today and for that everyone was very sad, but the numbers that were helped yesterday and today was amazing.

SUPPLIES – We are starting to get some the urgent medical supplies we need.   The new rotation of doctors brought medical supplies with them, and we are starting to get the medical supplies from relief organizations and supplies donated by those coming into Haiti.  Attached is a picture of a box of supplies that flew on the Joe Gibbs Racing Team plane and was delivered to Double Harvest. Another group is headed to Double Harvest on Thursday with an x-ray machine, sterilizers, and some donated oxygen generators.

WEBSITE – Doubleharvest.org has been updated with streaming picture of both the destruction and the relief work going on in Haiti at Double Harvest.  Some of the pictures are difficult to view, but they are the reality of what is being dealt with.    The website is going to be continually updated with new pictures as we our first wave of our team comes back to the USA with new pictures that could not be emailed.

FACEBOOK -  1,600 fans of Double Harvest on Facebook and Going strong.  Thanks to everyone for forwarding this information out and getting the  word out on Double Harvest.  We are seeing it reflected in the comments and we see it in the creativity in which people of using to raise funds for the efforts at Double Harvest.    We also are getting numerous requests to use Double Harvest as a staging areas for other relief groups due to our running water, established facilities, access to medical relief, and our facebook “spreading of the word” that is getting out.  1,600 fans already on Facebook.

PRAYER SERVICE – Each morning, the team at Double Harvest is running a prayer service to mourn the dead, pray for the injured, and pray for peace during the relief/rebuilding efforts.   Even in the midst of the devastation, the prayer services are a positive moment in an otherwise hard and difficult day for our teams.

HOW CAN YOU HELP -  We continue to see all types of creative ways to raise funds.    Some doctors in Kansas who have been to Haiti are doing on online auction at www.purplewave.com for Double Harvest.  They have some great framed pictures taken at Double Harvest.  Also, we had a church raise $21,000 just yesterday for Double Harvest.  $200.12 worth of it was from 2 little girls who set up a “nail painting”  station at the church’s Saturday basketball league and gave manicures and asked for donations.    See attached picture.  You can give via Doubleharvest.org.    Also, if you have doctors/medical staff volunteers that you know of, please contact Diane Cable at cablefamily@aol.com to get scheduled.

Sometime this week, I hope to have a list of items we can donate and donations centers around the country (i.e. family greenhouse locations in major markets), but for now, monetary donations are still by far the best way to help.  Even the smallest donations are going 100% to the mission and work we are doing in Haiti.  Check out the website (doubleharvest.org) and facebook (key word Double Harvest) for the latest pictures.

I was able to personally talk to my parents (who are at Double Harvest Haiti) this afternoon.  They had traveled into PAP, and had gone to see what was left of the Hotel Montana.  They said it was overwhelming to see the devastation and the crews still searching.  My parents were able to use money donated from a family here in our town to buy rice and beans for a village that had no food.  Thank you for your continued prayers for them.  They had planned to return Wedn. but may stay on until Friday.