Haiti Update 2.2.10

via cousin Abe van Wingerden

Friends of Double Harvest,

The tough daily work continues for the team at Double Harvest in Haiti.  We are now on our third rotation of doctors already and our volunteer doctors are helping to train the on-staff folks at Double Harvest, but the need is greater today than it was 15 days ago as more and more Haitians in need find out about Double Harvest.

SCHOOL – Great news.  The school will re-open on Monday well ahead of schedule (it was thought that it would be closed the rest of the year).    One of the main reasons is that we NEED to feed the kids and this is an orderly way to do it.  Also, the curriculum will be a little different as there will be some counselors and we will have some interaction activities with them so the children begin to deal with reality.  The situations they are living in are still very stressful as the houses are still very fragile and many families are scared to sleep in their homes due to aftershocks and just general fear.

ON-SITE – One of the frustrations the doctors and other on-site staff has been the old generator that has been used to run power at the site. When we finally got enough fuel to run the generator, we found it was not prepared for the immense needs on site.    We now have a new generator being installed which will greatly increase our ability to generate enough power to do all of the surgeries and run the other needs of Double Harvest.

NEW WORK -  Prosthetics and wheelchairs will be a big need now and we are working with an organization that is helping us meet that need.

BOARD MEETING - the Double Harvest board will be meeting this week to begin the process of working a “re-building “ plan including additional plans for how you can help and for those whom want to visit Double Harvest on-site on a non-medical volunteer work basis for a weekend, week, etc.  Much work in planning to be done, but the long-term need is great and our team is up to the challenge.

MEDIA – We continue to receive great coverage including on-air mentions at local radio stations, more coverage on various local business and websites who are collecting money, and local business running raffles and other contest to make money for Double Harvest.   The outpouring of supports continues even after the base media coverage has slowed. We also had a film crew from Joe Gibbs Racing at Double Harvest last Thursday and Friday and we should have some good video to share soon.

HOW YOU CAN HELP – money is still the best option by far.  As mentioned before, 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 those familiar with Haiti, you know that the seasonal light rains begins in less than 10 days, with heavy rains beginning in earnest in May.

Needs (Complied list from the folks on-site)
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SHELTER -  Tarps

SHELTER -  Enclosed Camping Tents – 2, 4, 6 or 8 man
SHELTER -  Sleeping Cots and Lightweight Sleeping Bags / Ground Pad (not air mattress)

SHELTER -  Sheets for Single Beds
FOOD - Cooking Oil, Bags of dry rice Bags of dry beans (no canned goods)
FOOD – Ziploc Bags (all sizes for storage) and Hard Plastic dishes for orphanages (no soft plastic)
MEDICAL -  Ace bandages, Sterile Pads, antibiotics, Neosporin, Tylenol and Ibuprofen

SCHOOL – Notebook Paper, Construction Paper, Pencils, Crayons, Toothbrush/Toothpaste sets

CLOTHING – New Clothing and Shoes If Possible, but all tags need to be removed, and no hangers please.

SIZING – Nothing larger than Large for Adults.    The need for XL and XXL is not great.

SHOES – Tennis Shoes, Crocks, Flip Flops, no shoes with heels.

SHORTS – The mesh gym shorts are very popular for kids, but no shorts for Adults please.

To drop off items at Metrolina Greenhouses (other sites will be mentioned soon), please pack everything in medium size boxes and mark what is in it, and bring to the old race shop.  Contact Todd or Vickie (tjohnson@metrolinagreenhouses.com or Vickie@metrolinagreenhouses.com) with specific questions on this.    Remember, money is still the biggest need, but if you cannot do money, these are the items above where the biggest need is right now.

More to come and I promise on the next email at the end of the week that we will have defined drop points in major US cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington DC to help assure the needs of Double Harvest are met.

Lastly, we now have over 2,500 members on Facebook now on the Double Harvest page and we are still adding over 50-100 people a day. Please check there for additional videos and links.     Also check new pictures on Doubleharvest.org.

Thanks to everyone for their continued thoughts, prayers, and support.