Haitian Needs

Many of you have waited patiently for an update on the well fundraising. I hope to have a current number by the first of October - I believe we are close. Also in October - our friend Leon Dorleans will be visiting the Triangle. Leon and others have been keeping us abreast of the situation in Haiti - it is desperate. As much as the well and other sources of clean water is needed, the food shortage is critical. Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike have wiped out at least 60% of this year's food harvest. Much of the soil has washed into the ocean with the torrential rains (the mountains cannot hold onto their topsoil because of the vast deforestation). 425 people were killed, many more injured, and malaria and other diseases are beginning to spread. The U.N. has asked for $108 million in aid and only about 2% has been raised. Please consider donating to a Haitian Relief effort. White Memorial (www.whitememorial.org) has several (see Mission and Outreach), as does Stop Hunger Now (http://www.stophungernow.org/).

God bless you all - you'll hear from me soon!

Update - good news!

We are half-way there, friends! $2,690 contributed! Nothing could make me happier today than to hear that we have raised 50% of what is needed to build a well for our friends in the Blanchard community of Port-au-Prince! Thanks to so many of you, all of this contributed in less than 2 months! I am praying that God will continue to bless this project - so please continue to help me share the word. I plan to give this effort a real push this month, emailing to lots of friends and acquaintances, with the hope that the well might be constructed in 2008!

Last evening I enjoyed a brief visit with Rolph and Sobie Richmere from Haiti. Rolph is a doctor who has practiced in P-A-P and Cap Haitian; Sobie is a resident physician continuing her studies in Cap Haitian. Sarah and I met them on our trip in December. Their work in the medical field, together with our contributions toward clean water, can make a real difference.

Again, thanks to so many of you who have so generously given to this cause. Blessings to you all!

WMPC Mission Trip

A group of youth from White Memorial is in Haiti this week on a mission trip. I hear that they hiked up (and down) a mountain to a village and learned how to grind coffee beans (without the benefit of a Krups machine!), iron with a charcoal iron, hand wash clothes, roast peanuts, cut and cook all kinds of fruits and vegetables, pick rocks out of rice, and sew on a treadle machine. They all reenacted Haitian history through a drama production with all kinds of props. Today they are traveling to Fondwa to work at the orphanage. Please hold them up in your prayers this week! Our director of missions is with them so the financial update will need to wait until her return! Keep those contributions flowing! God bless, Carol

We are on our way!

I am so happy to report we are well on our way to $5k for the HAITI WELL. While I don't have a dollar figure yet, I hope to next week. Many friends have reported mailing a check and I have delivered several checks personally and JOYFULLY!! Next week I hope White Memorial will be able to give me a "status" number and I'll share the good news!
Thanks to all you who have contributed. Contributions to White Memorial are confidential but if you tell me that you have sent a check, I can send you a thank you - so please share. Here or via email carol.vassey@gmail.com

Blessings to all!

Our first contribution!

I am happy to report we have our first check! Friend Trudy in Tampa was so passionate about my Haiti trip (she gave me one of those anti-bacterial light toothbrush cases to take with me) that she couldn't wait to be a part of the first well! Thank you Trudy!

A well for our friends in Haiti

(Photos explained in the text below)

Blessings and greetings to my friends who have waited so patiently for the well project to begin. Finally, here I am!

A little background is probably in order - so I'll bring everyone up to date. Last December 26th at 6 a.m., friend SJ and I accompanied two members of my church (Tom and Chris from White Memorial Presbyterian Church) and traveled to Port-Au-Prince (P-A-P) in Haiti for a week. We did some substantial construction on a new home in the Blanchard community (crew photo above), became acquainted with the residents of Hospice St. Joseph (the hospice/guest house where we stayed), visited Wings of Hope and Trinity House (two homes run by St. Joseph's School for Boys - not affiliated with Hospice St. Joseph), attended church services at Blanchard, Cite Soleil, and Sainte Trinite Episcopal, traveled over the deforested land that is much of Haiti (to Fondwa and Jacmel), and met many wonderful people including Leon and Jacky Dorleans, who have devoted their lives to Christ and the people of Haiti. That's their photo next to the crew. Leon serves as Head of Staff for the churches at Cite Soleil, Blanchard, Ibo Beach and Repatriote. Jacky runs the terrific schools at those churches, making a difference for hundreds of children. Haiti does not provide free public education for its children. Most of the 8 million people are illiterate but I can tell you they cherish knowledge. Seeing those schools – so immaculate and every book honored - was a joy! It was a life-changing experience for me.

One of my initial concerns as we began work on the house in Port-au-Prince was the absence of potable water. The water we used as we worked in the Blanchard community came from a “well” on the property – a hole about 2 feet deep, into which water seeped slowly, chalk-colored and full of debris – and I was reluctant to let my hands touch that “water.” Later during our stay I talked with Pastor Leon regarding decent water for that community and was appalled to learn that clean and safe water was not readily available for those families anywhere.

As we discussed the ramifications of the lack of clean and safe drinking water in Haiti, we also talked about the cost of drilling wells. We pondered the difference clean water makes in the life and health of a people. Realizing that many children born in Haiti do not live through childhood, learning that the average life expectancy is 52 years and that most Haitians survive on about a dollar a day, led me to tell Leon that I wanted to be personally responsible for finding a way to build a well for that community. He agreed that it would be a wonderful effort, so here I am.

Not surprisingly, as I have shared this vision with friends, they have wanted to help. The cost of a sustainable well for this community (which I believe is close to 100 families) is about $5,000. Not much money for us collectively but when you know that most Haitians survive on @ $1 a day, you can quickly figure that $5,000 would be a lifetime of earnings for them.

Since my return I have also talked with staff, members and committees at White Memorial about my 'vision.' I am happy to announce that our contributions for the well for Haiti can be written and directed through White Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Here is how you can help - first please learn more about Haiti. Imagine: A third world country, struggling to provide food and water for its 8 million people, is a mere 90 minutes from Miami. We need to care more about our neighbors.

Next considering sending a check for the well. Any amount you can give helps with the well. The estimate is that the best type of well for the Blanchard Community will cost $5,000. Checks should be written to White Memorial Presbyterian Church and clearly indicated that they are to be directed to the "Haiti well." You may send them to White Memorial c/o D. Morgan, Director of Missions, 1704 Oberlin Road, Raleigh, NC 27608. If you prefer you may send them to me, but the check must be written to White Memorial in order that your contribution be tax-deductible.

Finally you can help by forwarding this blogspot link to others you think may be interested. I plan to keep this blog even "post-well construction." Wouldn't it be wonderful to contribute to the effort to bring even more clean water to the people of Haiti?! It is my intention to return to Haiti soon and remain involved with their many needs. Also a group of youth from our church will be traveling to Haiti next month for a mission trip and it would be great if they would post some of their experiences. They will be staying at the St. Joseph's Home for Boys.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to keeping everyone posted as to our progress. God bless you! Carol