My Friends of Haiti

After almost 3 weeks, it's still hard to believe all the devastation that has befallen Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I've been there 4 times with medical missionary teams. I've spent a total of 5 weeks working with the people living in the outlying villages. We work with a wonderful organization, International Missions Outreach. It is a faith-based organization run by a husband and wife team from West Va. They have been in the country for over 35 years. They have built over 50 churches, schools and two medical clinics. When we're in Haiti, we always visit the village of Boutin, where one of their medical clinics is located. The clinic serves the people of 5 villages; Coutin, Bois Leger, and Drouillard Bel Bel to name a few.

Boutin has a church, a school, and a medical clinic. IMO also built several cinderblock homes in order to house the sick and elderly that have no one to care for them. It's IMO's version of an American assisted living home. However, Boutin sustained severe damage from the quake. Most people in the outlying villages live in mud huts with thatched roofs. A few of the people can afford to build a cinder block house. Every building in the country is built out of masonry.

IMO is trying to raise the money to buy 20 ft by 20 ft tents, and 30 ft. by 60 tents to house the homeless. I read on Facebook, they are going to house 1500 refugees at Boutin. If you are interested in learning more about the organization go to www.imohaiti.org. On Facebook, search for John or Joyce Hanson, or Faithe Hanson Claxton.

It was a miracle that John and Joyce, along with the IMO staff at the Compound survived the quake. The buildings on the compound are still standing, although some of them have foundational cracks that have worsened with the aftershocks. Almost all the IMO staff lost their homes. One teacher at the Delmas school died in the quake. She at home. A student at the Bible School (where students study for 3 years to become a pastor) also died. Paulette, one of the women that cook for us lost her teenage daughter when the school where she was attending collapsed.

I see places where I've been, and now it's totally destroyed. I have hundreds of pictures of street scenes (along with the Presidential Palace), the people at the clinics, the mud huts, etc. It breaks my heart to know that people that were already struggling to survive have yet another devastating blow. The quake has set the country back decades. They had little infastructure such as roads, bridges, schools or hospitals due to the widespread corruption of government officials. They have no social programs-period. If you don't work-you don't eat. It's a sad situation that's been magnified a thousand fold.

Pastor John and Joyce are desperately working to secure food, water, medicine and shelter for the homeless. The rainy season starts sometime in late April. The people need to have some type of temporary dwellings to protect them from the rain, mosquitos and disease.