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(I started this letter while I was still in Haiti...)
News from Haiti.
There is a sense of calm this afternoon that is unusually pleasant.
I have been living in love and trust. I feel so grateful about what has been accomplished thanks to all of the loving support from so many of my friends and family. The experience of being here has confirmed that helping one another is one of the greatest joys in life.
Among some who are in Haiti, there is a belief that some people take advantage of volunteers and their willingness to help. However, I recently heard my attitude expressed best, "People do not take advantage of me. I came here to give my (our) advantage away freely."
Our advantage in life has touched the lives of many.
We (you and I) have provided enough food for 20-plus orphans to eat for four to six weeks.
We have built two small wooden buildings so that these children now have a dry place to sleep at night and a school to study in during the day.
A volunteer teacher now has books, paper, and pencils for her class.
Many beautiful children have new, clean clothes and shoes to wear – very proudly I might add.
We have helped Manoonoo, an adorable three-year-old little girl with malaria get the medical attention and medication she needed. She is now fine.
We have helped two homeless young men, Raphael and James, 17 and 22 years old, acquire birth certificates and the documentation necessary to have a legal identity – an obvious requirement to having any hope of finding decent employment. We have provided the guys with at least one month of work as translators and assistants for volunteers, which will give them dry living quarters, food, and, hopefully, enough time to help them work out some sort of long-term solution.
James never knew his father and his mother died when he was five years old. He has been alone since he was a child.I cannot begin to understand nor comprehend how he has survived. He has been living with a large mass or cyst in his groin since he was twelve. You and I have helped him see a doctor and have the necessary tests for a diagnosis, a huge and unaffordable task for most of the people here in Haiti. He is scheduled to have surgery next Tuesday, the day before I leave Haiti. (This did not happen, but will hopefully happen on my next trip to Haiti or before). This is monumental help to James, as I feel certain it would not be happening without our support and encouragement.
Raphael was abandoned by his parents. They left the country without telling him. We have helped him to aquire his birth certificate and application for a passport – which will help him to come to the United States. He lived here with his parents as a young child and has residential status – he just didn’t have a clue what to do or the funds to make it happen.
There is still a dream of being able to help both of them complete their education.
All together, close to $3,500 was raised for this effort. About $3,000 was spent at the orphanage – the buildings ended up costing over $1,000 each; the rest was spent on food, clothes, and school supplies for 20 children. The remaining money was spent helping James and Raphael with their needs.
I was fortunate enough to be present to witness their joy and gratitude for all they received. On behalf of them - and from my own heart – I express my deepest thanks to all of you for sharing financial contributions, prayers and love.
These are just the highlights of some of the physical accomplishments. However, I am convinced that it is simple love and respect that makes the largest difference.
I hope to return to Haiti in the next several weeks. There is still much to be done there and many children who need loving support. Sadly, the children at the orphanage where I lived for two weeks are still sleeping without mattresses or bedding and have neither chairs nor tables for school and meals. An estimated $250 could supply them with mattresses and bedding. Approximately $200 would provide chairs, benches and tables.
I spoke with them yesterday on the phone and a two-month-old little baby had just arrived. His name is Samuel and like many of the children in Haiti, he had no one to care for him. The caretakers of the orphanage were very excited and full of joy to have him come to live with them.
Just before I left I came in contact with another orphanage that was out of food and in need of help. It was a very small concrete building that had 30 children before the earthquake; 40 more had arrived after the quake. Now with 70 children, they were overwhelmed on every level. They need immediate help, but have hopes for long-term help in finding more adequate care for all of the children. A week's supply of food was organized by a few volunteer friends the week I left.
I also heard that another orphanage has just been started on several acres of land in a rural area outside of Port-au-Prince. It is run by a husband-and-wife team who are currently caring for five children. They have plans to raise animals and create gardens for sustainability and educational/fun opportunities for the children.
One plan is that some or all of the 70 children from the over-crowded, urban orphanage could be moved to the country. This would require temporary housing, possibly army size tents and then a plan for permanent housing plus bedding, food and other basic necessities. This is a wonderful dream that is shared by both of the orphanages but it would require a large and sustained effort on those willing to help make it happen. This project would require a minimum of several thousand dollars just to relocate the children and provide temporary shelter.
An organization called RU4CHILDREN has offered to help and I know several other volunteers in Haiti who are eager to help. It is appealing because it would so obviously make a huge difference in the lives of these children. It would allow them to be able to grow up in an environment that is not only caring and loving, but also provides a future for them, whereas in Port-au-Prince, no such future is discernible. One of my goals is to become involved in this project when I return to Haiti.
Fortunately, right now, an effort by one or two people in trying to organize projects like this can actually make a huge difference in seeing them come to fruition.
If anyone is interested in being a part of this project via the internet, a person is needed to research and organize a network of groups and organizations that say they are willing to help children in Haiti. A collection of information has already been started but at this point it is still in a notebook.
There is much sadness in Haiti right now but there are also many opportunities to experience joy simply by helping other people in need, one person reaching out to help another.
I have added many new people to this email list. Many of you have already made contributions and many of you have asked that I include you to the list so that you would know how and where to send one-time and recurring donations and receive news from Haiti.
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit www.heartwoodsanctuary.com/donate.html or mail a check to: Heartwood, 341 County Road 633, Mentone, AL 35984. Checks should be made payable to Heartwood with "Children of Haiti" in the memo line. This is a 501c3 tax-deductible organization - all money will be administered by me (and hopefully help from others) and will go directly to this effort.
If the tax-deductible status is not an issue to you, you may mail it directly to: Kregg Wilhite c/o Tammy Guthery, 494 County Road 1381, Falkville, AL 35622. Add "Children of Haiti" in the memo line.
If you would like to recieve updates on this project, please include your email address.
Please, please forward this email on to anyone who might be interested.
I had a dream where I saw some of you going to Haiti for a week or so at a time and living with the children we are helping. The joy of living, loving and sharing with them face-to-face is heart-warming beyond my ability to express in words. However, this comes with a warning: Once you get to know and love these children, you will most likely want to help them for the rest of your life. I know I and other volunteers have been affected in this way.
If you are interested let me know.
Many Many Thanks
Kregg
PS
My friends Kelly and Steve are making plans to accompany me to Haiti. They have posted photos of the orphanage where I stayed at www.eggonalimb.net/haiti_kola.html |
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