Haiti Double Harvest 2.8.10 update
via cousin Abe van Wingerden
While the media coverage of Haiti might have slowed, the need is still great, and the team at Double Harvest continues to work hard to restore the health and spirit of Haitian people in need. Businesses, banks, supermarkets, factories are opening up again, but there is much work to be done with so many displaced people.
SCHOOL – School was back in session for the first time today since the quake. See the attached pictures of some of the gatherings of students.
MEDICAL – Our team on the ground estimates in-hospital patients requiring surgery and/or casting is over 500 now since the earthquake. This does not count the hundreds of others that are seen daily with other illnesses not requiring immediate surgery. There have also been at least 4 births.
We just had 28 doctors from Miami arrive as a new rotation (included a much-needed OBGYN) and we are now more focused on recovery and rehabilitation. This is vital as the typical injuries are broken bones, and this requires specific rehabilitation to assure proper healing. Our doctors have transitioned the temporary triage unit into more of a rehabilitation center and thanks to the donation of a Dominican organization we got 4 nice size tents, we were able to open a 4th post op room.
FOOD - the bigger problem recently is food, but our team is working a new plan. We have been distributing food, and our kids, employees, patients and family members are still getting their daily plates of rice, beans, chicken and fish. This past week, we have cooked over 6,000 plates of food for the people at Double harvest and our guests. As we move into our five surrounding villages, it becomes a more difficult task as we need to make sure food is given in a humane way and not the degrading way of just throwing the food overboard a truck and letting the Haitians fight over it. Around Double Harvest, we have been doing a census in villages, forming committees of community leaders. We have a list of people in those villages and will be distributing food in each community to assure those most in need receive food.
FUNDRAISING – we continue to hear great stories of random fundraisers. A group of kids in New Jersey have sold hot chocolate on the streets on weekends and have raise over $1,400. We had a group of employees at Metrolina run daily raffles of local goods to raise money. In total, Double Harvest continues to exceed every goal we have set for fundraising which is allowing us to continue to meet the needs.
ONLINE- We are adding new thing to the website over the next weeks. We will add a .ppt file you can download to help you tell the Double Harvest store to others. We will also announce additional drop-off options for goods.
VOLUNTEER GROUPS – we are starting to gather the longer-term volunteer needs for electricians, plumbers, maintenance, etc and we will publish that need (groups of 10-12 people at a time are most manageable) in the next letter or two. If you want to go, we will develop a process for you to volunteer.
GIVING LOCATIONS – Money is still the #1 need, but if you are collecting, we have sites as follows to drop off goods:
Hartford, CT - Grower Direct Farms
Nashville, TN - South Central Growers
Cleveland, OH – Agrinomix
Chicago, IL - Mid-American Growers
Baltimore, MD - Catoctin Mountain Growers
Needs (Complied list from the folks on-site) – MUST BE NEW ITEMS, NOT USED PLEASE
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.
If you donate, pack in a medium size box and deliver to one of the six the drop off location along with $5 per box to help with the $6,000 cost of delivery. If you have a question about an item that you want to donate, please contact Vernon Giesbrecht (vernon@doubleharvest.org) for clarification. We will get a list on the website soon.
Thanks again to our volunteers like Dr. J.L. Williams who has secured many items for us, and to the current board members on the ground this week in Haiti (Uncle Willem, Aunt Maryke (my parents), Uncle Joe, Uncle Arie, and my brother & sister-in-law - Tim & Maria). Again, check out our facebook page (keyword Double Harvest) where we have nearly 3,000 friends, and check out doubleharvest.org. 5 pictures attached.
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