Thursday, February 18, 2010

Since arriving in Haiti on Tuesday, it has been a whirlwind of activity. I knew there were “tent cities” popping up everywhere, but actually seeing the masses of tents comprised of sheets, tarps, rope, sticks or anything else that people could find to provide a little privacy and shelter from the sun is altogether another thing. As we arrived into the outskirts of Haiti, I could see the poorly constructed tent cities, knowing full well that once the rains begin, the makeshift tents will do little to protect them from the elements. Fortunately, once in the heart of the city, proper tents are replacing the makeshift shelters.

As the heavy rain and wind storm woke me up last night, all I could think about were all the people in the outskirts of the city who, having lost everything, were now facing soaking rains. I could only imagine the condition of those “tents” this morning.

It is hard to see so much destruction and loss of life and limbs. While visiting the field hospital at the airport in PAP the first night, I saw a tiny little baby girl who couldn’t weigh more than 5 lbs, lying on a cot with both legs broken and in casts. I am told that when a mom is told that their injured child is ready for discharge that the mom panics as she doesn’t know where she is going to take her child. They have lost everything and have been living at the hospital since the earthquake.

There are many organizations here doing what they can to help the people of Haiti. It is just such a monumental task and unfortunately, many Haitians fall thru the cracks. I only pray that we don’t give up on Haiti. They need our help more than ever.

Today, I bought bread and raisons and passed them out to many of the kids hanging around the perimeter roads outside the orphanage where we volunteer. You’d think I’d just given them a meal fit for a king by the smiles on their faces.

Art and I are quickly acclimating to the rigors of the work here, but know that we must pace ourselves if we are going to be of any real service to others. Today is just another day of many to follow.

Cyndy in Haiti

Art's update from Haiti

February 4, 2010

As most of you know, the orphanage in Haiti where Cyndy and I have been volunteering for the past 3 years has been set up as a place for the injured to come and recuperate following the earthquake. We have set up a hospital in our church and have staffed it with volunteer nurses. We have a retired naval officer, Mike, trained as a field PA who keeps a close watch on the healing process. Tonight he was concerned about the pain that 17 year old Darlene was experiencing. She had broken her leg when the school building she occupied collapsed during the earthquake. She had a compound fracture of the tibia that had broken through the skin. She has a cast on her leg that was put on 10 days ago. The cast was applied 10 days after the earthquake.
We decided to take her back to the University of Miami Medishare hospital where the original cast was applied to take a look under her cast.
You will probably hear this story out of Haiti many times in the coming weeks and months. As they removed Darlene's cast, the smell of infection was overwhelming. I held Darlene's hand and tried to distract her as the medical staff reacted to the discovery of infection. Infections like this will certainly cause a second wave of terror in Haiti. There will be more amputations and more deaths following this earthquake.
Darlene is one of the fortunate; she has people around her who care and have medical knowledge. PA, Mike said as we got back to the compound tonight. "Thank you Jesus, I think we saved her leg tonight." Pray for Darlene and pray for her leg to heal.

Art, reporting from Haiti

Art's insights from Haiti-January 30, 2010

I have been in Haiti since Wednesday, Jan 27th. I had no idea what I was going to be doing down here when I left Bellingham, but given the fact I have lived here for 17 of the last 24 months, I have been able to plug in quite easily.
The last two days I have been involved in transporting injured kids that have been operated on at the University of Miami Medishare compound and bringing them back to our orphanage where we have set up the church to do post op care.
We have about 25 now. Lots of burn victims, broken legs, amputees, and head injuries. Most of them are around 10 years of age.
It is very interesting to go through security at the airport and basically go on the runway to get to the hospital. The hospital, if you watched the news is a series of tents. When we go inside the tents it seems like total chaos, but once you find the right person they are really helpful. No one ever seems to be flustered given the circumstances. The doctors and nurses are amazing people. Being white, everyone thinks that I'm a doctor. I have been concurring on a lot of diagnosis. Standing waiting for the kids that I need to transport, I do interpreting for the doctors and nurses and sometimes just talk to patients that are lying on cots. Lots of kids and babies in the hospital. There is no security, I could wander into the operating room and start to operate. The sign above the OR just says to wear caps and shoes. If I had any ambition to try operating on someone, this would be my chance. I would probably pass out though.
Lots of media come through the hospital and do interviews with anyone willing to talk. The Haitian president stopped by today and a Haitian NBA player. Unfortunately, their presence just adds to the confusion in a very congested field hospital.
Things are smoothing out at the orphanage (New Life). We have about 60 relief workers living on the compound. Two the groups provide their own food and camp in tents. We had power issues when I got here, but I've been able to switch things around, charge inverter batteries and keep the water pump going at the same time. It is a challenge because we have to rely totally on the 17 KW generator and I can't get people to turn off the lights and fans when they leave a room.
We have plenty of food for now and our cook is able to go out and find food in the local outdoor markets. Delimart is still not open nor Megamart and of course the Carribean Market was completely destroyed. We did see that the Eagle market is open at the top of Delmas.
If you have been to Haiti during mango season, you know the sound of a mango falling through the trees. The kids recognize this sound and sprint to the location of the sound to try and be the first on the scene of the fallen fruit. There is usually a lot of pushing and shoving to get the prize. Anyway, as the earthquake was happening it shook the mango trees and the mangoes started to drop. Three of our little 8 year old girls, crying from the shock of the earthquake, still ran out and started gathering mangos in the folds of their dresses. The story goes that they were bawling loudly as they picked up every mango that fell. The older kids were too scared to move.
All of our buildings are in good shape. Sam has an engineer friend here that has gone around and certified that any visible cracks are minor and not life threatening. We will need to replace our east and west walls, but they dug down along the foundation and it is solid and won't need to be replaced. So we will be able to build right on top of the old foundation, but with better columns holding up the block walls.
Our kids here at the orphanage are healthy and happy, but I'm sure they are going to get bored really soon since there is no school, and we have no idea if school will even start up again this year. Our kids’ school was not destroyed, but a lot of schools were. And who knows how many of the kids' teachers were killed. The kids are still too scared to sleep indoors and have been on their mattresses outside since the quake.
I haven't been downtown Port au Prince to see where the most severe damage occurred, but I hope to venture down there very soon. My understanding is that the smell is really bad down there with decaying bodies still trapped in fallen buildings.

Reporting from Haiti, Art Berry

LIFE IN HAITI

Art and I are utterly amazed that, so far, we do not personally know anyone that has died following the earthquake, but many have lost everything. We continually get updated from people on the ground in Haiti. They will need our help for years to come. Please give what you can to the relief. Donate to our ministry: HUNGER FOR CHRIST 426 BOULEVARD ST. BELLINGHAM, WA 98225. We will be going to Haiti soon to help. 100% of the dollars that you donate will be taken to Haiti. So many people have lost their homes, their jobs, and all their belongings. We will use the dollars to help families all over Haiti rebuild their lives.

Here ia another email that we've received describing their experiences in Haiti:

January 18-Email from Bernie at Starfish Ministries regarding Mickenson:
Mickenson is a young man from Tricotte who interpreted and led worship for many of our teams. Everyone who met Mickenson immediately became his friend. Mickenson is currently in his second year of STEP seminary in Port-au-Prince .
Glenn received a phone call from Mickenson this morning and reported the following.
Mickenson was in class in seminary when the earthquake hit. He, along with his classmates, ran from the shaking building as it was coming down and most of them made it out. Two didn't. All of the buildings at the seminary have suffered severe damage. Mickenson's home is about 45 minutes by tap-tap (Haitian taxi) away from school. The roads were now blocked with rubble so Mickenson began to walk. Several hours later he arrived at home. Glenn said that Mickenson is really hurting -- he walked through the broken down city, he heard the sounds of the desperate, and he saw the bodies of many.
Please pray for Mickenson. He will recover but never be the same. He has experienced more than one should ever have to endure. But we do trust that God will use this in Mickenson's life for His purpose.

News from Operation Love The Children of Hait

I just received this email from a friend of Jasmine and Greg Martinson, who run the orphanage Operation Love The Children of Haiti (OLTCH). She has had limited contact with Jasmine via text phone. They are located in Gracie near Leogane. Here is what she had to say:

Hi, this is Lisa. I am writing on behalf of Jasmine and Greg as they are unable to find internet or a reliable phone connection to give updates. I am a nurse and volunteered at the orphanage the month of August as well as in December. I arrived back in the states just one week before the earthquake. Jasmine and Greg are alive and unharmed as well as are all the children. The orphanage is still standing but was severely damaged in the earthquake. The support beams are cracking so there is no telling how long the building will remain standing. Right now all of the children have been evacuated from the building and are at the nursing school in Leogane, which has turned into a refugee camp for the community. 5,000 people currently inhabit the school grounds seeking medical attention and safety. They are quickly running out of food and water/juice for the kids to drink. There is a lot of sickness, infection, injury and death in Leogane. The town was hit harder than Port au Prince yet has not received any relief to date. Any donations can be made directly on the website and are tax-deductibe. The obejctive right now is to find a place for them to live. There is a team from MN going down on Saturday who hopes to bring down desperately needed tents. Pray and send support. Communication with Jasmine has been limited to text messaging. The phone calls sometimes connect, and we can hear them but they cannot hear us on the line. Pray for their safety and health and for quick help to come.

GOOD NEWS re: NEW LIFE CHILDREN'S HOME

Art talked with Sam this morning. They are all fine. Everyone at the orphanage is unharmed. We have heard from some of our older kids (Marilee, Nadge, Naomi, Jean Kelly) that were living off compound and they are ok. The orphanage has food and good water. They were able to buy generator fuel yesterday and Manette has been able to go out and buy some food. They have a container that just arrived last week but had not been cleared. It may have food and supplies in it. They have beefed up security since some of the walls are down. Sam specifically told Art to stay in the US until the airport opens. Anyone going to Haiti right now will be a burden on the already taxed food and water supply, unless they have medical training or bring their own supplies. We've also been told that it is difficult getting into Haiti via the Dominican Republic because the borders are jammed and it is unsafe at this time.

The orphanage compound suffered some damage to the walls surrounding the compound. The front gate and wall are still standing. The wall behind the guesthouse have sections down and the rest is leaning. The wall behind the depot storage building is down. The buildings are usable except the church which lost 1/4 of its roof and there is some damage to one of the boys dorm buildings.

Sam and Patty's attitude is good. They are handling things well. Miriam is getting ready to send supplies and nurses and doctors to Haiti and set up temporary housing for new orphans. She is working with several organizations that may be using the compound grounds to house a rotation of doctors and nurses coming to Haiti.

Where are Art and Cyndy Berry

We, Art and Cyndy Berry, are in the United States at this time. Art was scheduled to fly to Haiti on January 19th before the earthquake struck. At this point, Art's flight from Miami to PAP has been cancelled so we have made alternative plans for Art to fly to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and meet up with people that we know who will travel from Haiti to the DR to pick up Art, supplies and fuel. They will then drive back to Haiti on Wed or Thursday. Art is taking money and medical supplies with him to help meet the immediate needs of those that we know in Haiti. Art will also be able to better assess the needs of the orphanage that we volunteer at and then let me know what I can bring to Haiti. I will not go to Haiti until the airport opens up in PAP. If anyone would like to help, cash donations can be made to "Hunger For Christ" and mailed to 426 Boulevard Street, Bellingham, WA 98225. All donations are tax deductable and 100% of the funds will go directly to Haiti relief efforts. We are committed to helping the people of Haiti for the long run. Keep praying for safety, supplies, and salvation for these desperately poor people. Cyndy and Art