Day 6 (last day, but I'll be back hopefully very soon to continue my work)
Today Kevin and I went to look at land for us and also talk to the Landlord. We saw a huge plot of land (I would guess 50+ Acres) in Croix-des-Bouquets (Wycleff's home town), and it would be perfect for us. It is flat with great soil, water, city power and about 8 Km from the airport. It is in the same city as Love a Child. I could see us there and then we could also farm and grow our own food and be really self sufficient. The drawback is that it is not close to where we are now (about 17 km from current location), but if we started with the staff housing, school and a clinic I think we would retain our staff, but we would have to get new school kids. He is asking about $250k USD but I am sure we can get him down, hopefully a lot!
I also met with Mr. Flambert, and let him know the building is not livable. He wants his engineer to look at it and he will email me the cost next week. I also let him know that we won't pay what we were in rent since we no longer can live in the orphanage and that we are running a FREE clinic for the community, I said a couple hundred; he will also let me know. I know what he is doing is a tactic but let's see what he comes back with. I did tell him we were looking at other areas also, so I do believe we have the leverage. The land behind us is not for sale. He did show me some off of Delmas 48 that was at least twice the size of ours and it is an empty lot. It does slop so we would need to fill but it would keep us in the area, he will also get back to me next week on the cost.
When I get back to the states I will send video and pictures of both. We could also keep looking around I am sure that the area will have many lots for sale we just need to really get a real estate agent who knows the area to help.
Six days goes by very fast and it does stink that I was in FL for 3 days that I could have been here if MFI had more planes, so it is with a heavy heart that I am leaving but Andrise did say she will pray for me to come back very soon!
--
Regards -
Eric Schweig
Three Angels Children's Relief
Delmas 91, #19
Petionville, Haiti
USA Phone: 602-697-3052
Haiti Phone: 34525051 or 38561574
eric@threeangelshaiti.org
www.threeangelshaiti.org
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Day 5
Today Jack and I went to a couple UN cluster meetings and they were very informative, and we did make a couple connections. We met some people from the Peace Core and USAID, they are going to check on getting us vaccines and maybe some medical help. We also met the Relief Coordinator for World Concern, they are one of the NGO's distributing the food for the area and said that he may be able to help us if we become overwhelmed.
The first meeting was on shelter and basically they want to have family in the affected areas with at least plastic tarps and then start to build temp shelters for them by 5/1 (before the rains come) that is phase 1, phase 2 is still in the works, but in involves the rebuilding of the houses.
The second was for child services. Basically all "safe zones" are full right now but they are going to be opening 5 more. Save the Children will be heading up the plan to trace, research and place children with their families. There is a lot more info that I have but I am typing by flashlight and it is hard to read my notes and type so I will give you a better report tomorrow, I have 2 pages of notes. I think the important thing is that we continue our networking at these events and also keeping up with the contacts and use them to network also. I can do that part and I am also thinking about coming back sooner than later to stay for a longer period of time. Networking is what I do for a living and I feel that I am being pulled to continue that, Michele and I need to talk and pray about the timing. I feel that for now at least we know where, when and how to get info and contacts, and it would not hurt our progress in any way if we didn't go to the meetings for a while. I am on the listserv for the ones we have been to and get copied on all the minutes, plus I have a list of the contacts for the NGO's for the clusters.
We also went to say hi to Megan and checkout Heartline. That one was tough! I know that there are serious injuries from the quake but it doesn't hit home till you see a little kid missing an arm or leg, or one with a brace on her foot to keep all the bones in place from being crushed; to top it off her dad was with her holding her hand. I was praying that the rest of the family was OK, but I didn't want to ask.
I checked out some land in the countryside, but it was to small and too far from where we are now. I am going to look at some more tomorrow morning but it is by the airport which is also far, so doing that would take us away from the the area and kids that come to the school now. I feel we may be a better service to the community if we stay and buy land closer by or buy what we are currently on and then a few other pieces in the same area. We can split up TACR; one can be the school, and the other the clinic, etc.... I will see our landlord tomorrow so let's see what he will say, I pray that the earthquake has softened his heart too. We can always use other land we find even if it is far away as bargaining power, which is why I am going to look tomorrow.
The clinic saw about 30 patients today, which as always, grows a little each day.
The staff continues to be great and it is awesome to have them here especially with their kids, it makes the place more like a home. Today I was throwing some around and it reminded me of how things were, it is great and amazing too, that all the kids are home, but sad when you see their name on a bunk and they are not in it.
Eric
The first meeting was on shelter and basically they want to have family in the affected areas with at least plastic tarps and then start to build temp shelters for them by 5/1 (before the rains come) that is phase 1, phase 2 is still in the works, but in involves the rebuilding of the houses.
The second was for child services. Basically all "safe zones" are full right now but they are going to be opening 5 more. Save the Children will be heading up the plan to trace, research and place children with their families. There is a lot more info that I have but I am typing by flashlight and it is hard to read my notes and type so I will give you a better report tomorrow, I have 2 pages of notes. I think the important thing is that we continue our networking at these events and also keeping up with the contacts and use them to network also. I can do that part and I am also thinking about coming back sooner than later to stay for a longer period of time. Networking is what I do for a living and I feel that I am being pulled to continue that, Michele and I need to talk and pray about the timing. I feel that for now at least we know where, when and how to get info and contacts, and it would not hurt our progress in any way if we didn't go to the meetings for a while. I am on the listserv for the ones we have been to and get copied on all the minutes, plus I have a list of the contacts for the NGO's for the clusters.
We also went to say hi to Megan and checkout Heartline. That one was tough! I know that there are serious injuries from the quake but it doesn't hit home till you see a little kid missing an arm or leg, or one with a brace on her foot to keep all the bones in place from being crushed; to top it off her dad was with her holding her hand. I was praying that the rest of the family was OK, but I didn't want to ask.
I checked out some land in the countryside, but it was to small and too far from where we are now. I am going to look at some more tomorrow morning but it is by the airport which is also far, so doing that would take us away from the the area and kids that come to the school now. I feel we may be a better service to the community if we stay and buy land closer by or buy what we are currently on and then a few other pieces in the same area. We can split up TACR; one can be the school, and the other the clinic, etc.... I will see our landlord tomorrow so let's see what he will say, I pray that the earthquake has softened his heart too. We can always use other land we find even if it is far away as bargaining power, which is why I am going to look tomorrow.
The clinic saw about 30 patients today, which as always, grows a little each day.
The staff continues to be great and it is awesome to have them here especially with their kids, it makes the place more like a home. Today I was throwing some around and it reminded me of how things were, it is great and amazing too, that all the kids are home, but sad when you see their name on a bunk and they are not in it.
Eric
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Day 4
Today Mike and Jack saw about 20 patients at the clinic and then they worked with Kevin to set up the shower area. Tomorrow they will have even more patients, the word is getting out. We also bought a new truck for Three Angels. I drove for the first time in Haiti, which surprisingly was a lot like driving in Chicago. :)
Tomorrow Jack and I are going to the UN for the Child Safety and the Food Distribution Cluster meetings, hopefully we make some good contacts.
I am not going to sugar coat anything..... there is gunfire tonight outside the gate, which is not unusual. The reason I say this is to pass on to others that think about coming here. Although Haiti is a great place and needs help, people should come with the expectation and knowledge that it is also, as always, still dangerous, and anything can happen. We are not worried or have any fear it is just the reality of the situation.
More tomorrow,
Eric
Tomorrow Jack and I are going to the UN for the Child Safety and the Food Distribution Cluster meetings, hopefully we make some good contacts.
I am not going to sugar coat anything..... there is gunfire tonight outside the gate, which is not unusual. The reason I say this is to pass on to others that think about coming here. Although Haiti is a great place and needs help, people should come with the expectation and knowledge that it is also, as always, still dangerous, and anything can happen. We are not worried or have any fear it is just the reality of the situation.
More tomorrow,
Eric
Day 3 con't
From Eric:
Today we made some more headway.
Jack and Mike opened the clinic and saw about 8 patients, but each day should get larger. They had some broken bones and a few other injuries. LourdeMula's(one of the nanny's) son has a broken wrist from the quake and they will fix it up tomorrow.
Kevin, Francois and I were out all day. We got food in the street market because the open market building is gone. We waded through a few inches of sludge and worked our way through hundreds of people to get what we needed, but we got everything. It was an experience to be the only white guy in a sea of Haitian's, but they leave me alone; must be the tattoo's. They say "blah" and then when I look they look away. We went to the Methodist Guest House and Donnette came running down to give me a big hug, they are all OK. The house next to them is gone and their side walls too, the MGH is good. They will let small teams 6-8 people stay there for now so we can use them for medical teams if needed. She asked if we can send a team for a day to one of the tent cities that she has friends in, I think that would go a long way for her to help us with lodging.
We bought a car today, it is a Nissan extended cab pick-up and we should have it tomorrow.
We also went to the Health Care cluster meeting at the UN. We got there late so we need to go back on Wednesday to really get more info but we did get the email addresses of the people to contact to get us on the list for supplies and help, plus learn about partnering and registering with the Minister of Health in Haiti. The big thing there is they want organizations that are truly free and are here for a while. They told a group that was only here for a month that basically they should not have come. They do not want groups that just come and then leave, it is harder for them to pick up the slack that is left. We will also go to the food one Wednesday to make contacts. There are also a lot of medical supplies that are going to be destroyed due to them sitting too long and no longer being good.
On the way to the meeting we had to take shortcuts, so it was very interesting off-roading in a Tap Tap, and also we got to see even more of the devastation that is here. There were a lot of tent cities and some had hundreds of tents and sheets. The Vice President of Haiti I would guess had at least 500 tents on his property. It is very sad that some only have a sheet to cover them.
Some of the staff and their kids are sleeping here now in the school house and they are very grateful for that.
We also went buy the Caribbean market and that was the first time I have smelled death, it was bad. I can still smell it when I think about it. There is a backhoe there now digging through the rubble and that is why it is so bad. The worst part are the people waiting outside hoping to see someone they lost!
Also, carnival is this Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but instead of that all the Haitian's are going to the streets to pray for the 3 days.
Eric
Today we made some more headway.
Jack and Mike opened the clinic and saw about 8 patients, but each day should get larger. They had some broken bones and a few other injuries. LourdeMula's(one of the nanny's) son has a broken wrist from the quake and they will fix it up tomorrow.
Kevin, Francois and I were out all day. We got food in the street market because the open market building is gone. We waded through a few inches of sludge and worked our way through hundreds of people to get what we needed, but we got everything. It was an experience to be the only white guy in a sea of Haitian's, but they leave me alone; must be the tattoo's. They say "blah" and then when I look they look away. We went to the Methodist Guest House and Donnette came running down to give me a big hug, they are all OK. The house next to them is gone and their side walls too, the MGH is good. They will let small teams 6-8 people stay there for now so we can use them for medical teams if needed. She asked if we can send a team for a day to one of the tent cities that she has friends in, I think that would go a long way for her to help us with lodging.
We bought a car today, it is a Nissan extended cab pick-up and we should have it tomorrow.
We also went to the Health Care cluster meeting at the UN. We got there late so we need to go back on Wednesday to really get more info but we did get the email addresses of the people to contact to get us on the list for supplies and help, plus learn about partnering and registering with the Minister of Health in Haiti. The big thing there is they want organizations that are truly free and are here for a while. They told a group that was only here for a month that basically they should not have come. They do not want groups that just come and then leave, it is harder for them to pick up the slack that is left. We will also go to the food one Wednesday to make contacts. There are also a lot of medical supplies that are going to be destroyed due to them sitting too long and no longer being good.
On the way to the meeting we had to take shortcuts, so it was very interesting off-roading in a Tap Tap, and also we got to see even more of the devastation that is here. There were a lot of tent cities and some had hundreds of tents and sheets. The Vice President of Haiti I would guess had at least 500 tents on his property. It is very sad that some only have a sheet to cover them.
Some of the staff and their kids are sleeping here now in the school house and they are very grateful for that.
We also went buy the Caribbean market and that was the first time I have smelled death, it was bad. I can still smell it when I think about it. There is a backhoe there now digging through the rubble and that is why it is so bad. The worst part are the people waiting outside hoping to see someone they lost!
Also, carnival is this Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but instead of that all the Haitian's are going to the streets to pray for the 3 days.
Eric
Monday, February 8, 2010
Day 3
I didn't get much from Eric today...but I do know that they found a car to purchase and will go pick it up tomorrow.
They went to the UN again and need to jump through a few more hoops to get registered and do what they need to do there.
They are confirmed to fly out on Friday, which is good because beginning on Saturday, is their yearly Carnival. This year, they have decided instead of a carnival, to spend 3 days praying in the streets. Some of the staff has asked for time off to participate in this.
Eric said that it's been amazing to see their hope, in the midst of all this pain and suffering. They spoke to a woman who had lost her 2 children in the quake and she was stil positive.
The Haitian people are resiliant and it's incredible to see how they are reacting to this tragedy.
Eric said that some businesses are beginning to come back and they actually went to eat at a restaurant today that had reopened.
There are people selling their things again on the street and they are definitely trying to come back from this.
Tomorrow, they will also try and find some jacks to lift the orphanage walls up a little, where people are walking so it is safer.
They are also trying to find some of the adopted kids biological parents.
Please continue to pray for their safety and that they are productive this week.
Until tomorrow....
They went to the UN again and need to jump through a few more hoops to get registered and do what they need to do there.
They are confirmed to fly out on Friday, which is good because beginning on Saturday, is their yearly Carnival. This year, they have decided instead of a carnival, to spend 3 days praying in the streets. Some of the staff has asked for time off to participate in this.
Eric said that it's been amazing to see their hope, in the midst of all this pain and suffering. They spoke to a woman who had lost her 2 children in the quake and she was stil positive.
The Haitian people are resiliant and it's incredible to see how they are reacting to this tragedy.
Eric said that some businesses are beginning to come back and they actually went to eat at a restaurant today that had reopened.
There are people selling their things again on the street and they are definitely trying to come back from this.
Tomorrow, they will also try and find some jacks to lift the orphanage walls up a little, where people are walking so it is safer.
They are also trying to find some of the adopted kids biological parents.
Please continue to pray for their safety and that they are productive this week.
Until tomorrow....
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Day 2
Great day!
My friend from Food for the Hungry suggested we go to the UN sign up Three Angels as an NGO for health services, and get the schedule for the "cluster meetings", which we did today. That means we will be able to go to the meetings for the various clusters (food, health, shelter, etc...) that is where all the big NGO's go to stratagize and we will make good contacts there. I am looking forward to it.
We walked A LOT today, but it was good exercise!
We set up half the school for women and children, and separated the other half for us to sleep. We figure we will have school outside for a while, that way any of the staff that stays can have a safe place to sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day; the clinic opens and Kevin and I will go look for a car, and scout out future property, plus see the landlord. I am sure there is more but can't think right now.
Eric
My friend from Food for the Hungry suggested we go to the UN sign up Three Angels as an NGO for health services, and get the schedule for the "cluster meetings", which we did today. That means we will be able to go to the meetings for the various clusters (food, health, shelter, etc...) that is where all the big NGO's go to stratagize and we will make good contacts there. I am looking forward to it.
We walked A LOT today, but it was good exercise!
We set up half the school for women and children, and separated the other half for us to sleep. We figure we will have school outside for a while, that way any of the staff that stays can have a safe place to sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day; the clinic opens and Kevin and I will go look for a car, and scout out future property, plus see the landlord. I am sure there is more but can't think right now.
Eric
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Day 1 in Haiti
Just talked to Eric. He called me from a satellite phone and we got disconnected about 3 times, but it was still so great to hear from him.
Here's today's update:
They got in to Haiti in the afternoon.First, they tried to confirm their flight back to FL since they had had such problems getting there in the first place and didn't want the same thing happening on the way home. They got confirmed for Saturday but will try again for Friday.
They went straight to the orphanage where they were met by very happy staff and nannies. They were overjoyed to see them and so thankful that they came.
They let the staff know that their jobs are secure but that there will be new roles since all the kids have gone to the states now.
There are new people in charge and it all seemed to go over well.
They were also told that if they are single, with kids, have nowhere to go, that they can stay on Three Angels property for the time being where it is safer.
The staff will help the team try and find the kids that go to Three Angels School and also to try and find the biological parents of the adopted children to see if they are ok.
They would like to get the kids back in school, at least an hour or two a day starting soon.
They met with a member of Christ's Church of the Valley from AZ to see if they can partner somehow with Three Angels.
They also met with Food for the Hungry, who they will be teaming up with. They will be trying to bring some tarps to put up and they will also be sending medical teams to help out.
Childrens Hope dropped off some medical supplies.
Eric, Jack, Kevin and Mike put up a large tarp in between the school and clinic so that people can stay without getting rained on.
The team set up a water purifier system.
They will be sleeping inside the schoolroom tonight, which is a single level with a tin roof , so much safer than the orphanage.
Mike has decided to camp outside.:)
Tomorrow, they plan to go to church, to the airport to see about getting out on Friday and also to the UN. The UN has meetings constantly with big organizations and they want to see if they can get some of them to help Three Angels.
Eric sounded in very good spirits and he is so happy to be there.
We miss them all at home, but know that they are doing God's work and that they wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
I will try and post every day they are there.
Thanks for your continued prayers.
Michele
Here's today's update:
They got in to Haiti in the afternoon.First, they tried to confirm their flight back to FL since they had had such problems getting there in the first place and didn't want the same thing happening on the way home. They got confirmed for Saturday but will try again for Friday.
They went straight to the orphanage where they were met by very happy staff and nannies. They were overjoyed to see them and so thankful that they came.
They let the staff know that their jobs are secure but that there will be new roles since all the kids have gone to the states now.
There are new people in charge and it all seemed to go over well.
They were also told that if they are single, with kids, have nowhere to go, that they can stay on Three Angels property for the time being where it is safer.
The staff will help the team try and find the kids that go to Three Angels School and also to try and find the biological parents of the adopted children to see if they are ok.
They would like to get the kids back in school, at least an hour or two a day starting soon.
They met with a member of Christ's Church of the Valley from AZ to see if they can partner somehow with Three Angels.
They also met with Food for the Hungry, who they will be teaming up with. They will be trying to bring some tarps to put up and they will also be sending medical teams to help out.
Childrens Hope dropped off some medical supplies.
Eric, Jack, Kevin and Mike put up a large tarp in between the school and clinic so that people can stay without getting rained on.
The team set up a water purifier system.
They will be sleeping inside the schoolroom tonight, which is a single level with a tin roof , so much safer than the orphanage.
Mike has decided to camp outside.:)
Tomorrow, they plan to go to church, to the airport to see about getting out on Friday and also to the UN. The UN has meetings constantly with big organizations and they want to see if they can get some of them to help Three Angels.
Eric sounded in very good spirits and he is so happy to be there.
We miss them all at home, but know that they are doing God's work and that they wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
I will try and post every day they are there.
Thanks for your continued prayers.
Michele
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