Haiti 1/28/10

MEDICAL - We continue to make great progress at Double Harvest, but the work is still difficult. We are getting glimpses of hope and we are getting some stunning pictures. We are tending to 100s of people daily at the hospital by both people coming , and we are going to pick people up with the help of the U.S. military. We have had a peak of 700 patients in one day. Thank you also for the x ray machine and the autoclave that was donated…..they have been a much needed help. . As you will see in the pictures we had a visit from the US Marines and they found our hospital “one of the best they have seen so far”. People are coming so far as Leogane which is about 3 hours away in normal traffic circumstances.

GOOD NEWS – Some glimpses……..The doctors were able to do surgery to a lady who refused for three days. A little boy who was feared to die due to head injury and leg and arm breaks is getting much better to the point that one of the doctors cried for joy! Our third transition of doctors comes in today, so the teams are transitioning during the day so we have an orderly transition from one group to the next so they patient information is kept intact. Thanks to Diane Cable for keeping up with all of the medical staff coming in and out of the country. Also, thanks to the doctors who came off of the first rotation who have sent me their pictures. They are incredible and will be on the facebook site and doubleharvest.org soon.

Moral is still very good at Double Harvest as the medical teams are working very well together. Sterilization is still an issue today and we are dealing with some power problems Uncle Joe is looking into that as the Operating Room needs air conditioning to make things easier for doctors. This has not stopped them…….they performed great.

FOOD SUPPLIES- Aunt Maryka, Uncle Willem, (my parents) and Uncle Arie went around from village to village distributing food to friends of Double Harvest. We have to consider about 15,000 people that are within our reach. We will be feeding the kids from our school as early as Friday morning making sure they get a good meal as we can understand the parents will not be able to provide for some time. Tomorrow we are planning to give them some fish from the farm, a meal that seems to become very popular at Double Harvest as the fish can be dried and saved without cooling.

Your donations are also going to buy a truckload of beans and rice each day from the Dominican Republic to help feed the hungry and mix with the tilapia.

FACEBOOK – 2,050 fans and counting with over 100 added just yesterday. More pictures and updates are being posted there and now some of our returning staff are sharing their stories on Facebook as well.

FUNDRAISING – Unreal stories of giving and raising of cash via events. A group of doctors from Kansas State University had a wonderful event last night raising $35,130 for Double Harvest. These doctors has been to Double Harvest in the past and they auctioned 155 items all donated by local businesses. The local newspaper had a videographer there for the event and we will get that online soon.

MEDIA COVERAGE – we continue to receive positive media coverage to help support our cause:

Newspaper Article in the Charlotte Observer - http://www.charlotteobserver.com/850/story/1197933.html
Uncle John Interview on AM Station in Cleveland – http://weol.northcoastnow.com/audio/weol/012710JohnVanWinderGarden.mp3
Art VanWingerden Interview on FM Station in Charlotte – On Facebook (File too big)
Joe Gibbs Racing Videographer – a team from Joe Gibbs racing is at Double Harvest TODAY in Haiti shooting video to help share the news.

HOW YOU CAN HELP – money is still the best option by far. It costs $6,000 in shipping alone to get a container to Double Harvest. Additionally, it can take up to 3 months for a container to get into the country. We can buy supplies and the mission’s needs much cheaper locally for now.

For those who are/will collect goods for shipment later, there are some big Dos and Don’ts. For example, bags of rice or beans are needed as opposed to canned goods.

PRIORITY 1 – Shelter the season for light rains begins in less than 10 days, with heavy rains beginning in earnest in May.
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Enclosed Camping Tents – 2, 4, 6 or 8 man
Sleeping Cots
Lightweight Sleeping Bags / Ground Pad (not air mattress)
Tarps
Cooking oil Bags of dry rice Bags of dry beans (no canned goods)
Hard Plastic dishes for orphanages (no soft plastic)
Medical supplies – bandages, antibiotics, Neosporin etc

More to come on this as well as defined drop points in major US cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington DC to help assure the needs of Double Harvest are met. Thanks to everyone for their continued thoughts, prayers, and support. The media coverage will die down, but our work at Double Harvest will continue strong just as it has for the last 29 years.