An update from David Campbell, HODR Executive Director:
Friends,
I have just finished my second trip to Haiti since the Jan. 12th earthquake, and am moved by both the breadth of the devastation and the enormity of the response effort. The challenge of providing an appropriate human response, in a poor island nation with weak infrastructure, after an event that hit the major urban area and seat of government, has been overwhelming.
Supplies of water, food, and fuel seem stable, and the port is now receiving container shipments. The airport has reopened to the first commercial flights since Jan 12th. Schools, hospitals, homes in the hundreds of thousands, have been destroyed. The official death toll is now reported at 230,000.
But the people are moving forward. In spite of the media reports I see busy streets, people working together to cope, initial steps to rebuild lives.
We’ve opened our HODR Project Leogane, in a large abandoned concrete building that sustained minimal damage; we’ve added water, kitchen, bunk beds, hired cooks and drivers, and opened for volunteers a week ago.
We’ve already cleared rubble from several homes to allow the families to start on the path back, and have a clear, safe place for tents and transitional shelter. In the future we’re planning to clear many more homesites, help build transitional shelters (normally about a 12 x 18 sq ft space), temporary classrooms, and help in every way we can. We expect 60 volunteers on site this weekend, and will ramp up to our full capacity of 100 volunteers each day in March.
Our expectation of an initial 6 month project cost is $500,000, our largest effort since Hurricane Katrina. Your support is essential by volunteering and monetary donations. The IRS has allowed any donations made by Feb 28th to qualify as 2009 deductions, so please use that extra incentive to send a donation to help now. Click here for details from the IRS.
To make a contribution today or volunteer with us in Haiti, use the buttons to the right.
Thanks,
David Campbell