AFF was able to make our first food deliveries to the orphanage and the J Nissi School in Cite Soleil just two days after Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Haiti.
Jackson, our man on the ground in Haiti, was able to make his way around Port-au-Prince to deliver these much needed supplies. Here is a picture that he sent us today!
The American Friendship Foundation is eager to join in the recovery efforts in Haiti following Hurricane Matthew. One of the beautiful things about being a nimble non-profit organization is that we can mobilize quickly and make things happen thousands of miles away. The food will continue to be delivered as the communities around Port-au-Prince regain their footing.
In three weeks, AFF will have a team of people on the ground to assess our project sites, provide any assistance needed, and bring back stories to share with all of our supporters here in the U.S. and Canada.
Haiti Ap Dekole!
We were fortunate today to hear some updates on how people around Port-au-Prince are doing in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. The reports came from Jackson, our man on the ground in Haiti who handles food deliveries and other special assignments at to our projects. Our thanks go out to Jackson and Hubermann Alcean (here in Washington) for sharing this news with us.
Here is a summary of what we know as of the evening of October 4th.
- During the night, it was very windy, but there wasn’t too much rainfall. Jackson headed to his Aunt’s house for safety because the wind was so intense.
- In the morning (October 4th), the rain began to fall. There is a lot of water on the streets, but he hasn’t witnessed any major flooding. The word on the street is that things are much worse in areas like Les Cayes and Jérémie.
- All of Pastor Silar’s kids (60+ of them!) are safe at the Ororaedh Orphanage. There is still plenty of water and wind in the area and he has asked for our prayers.
- Jean Philippe with J Nissi School in Cité Soleil reports that he and his students are safe. There was damage to the roof of the school, power lines are down around the city, and the streets are flooded. He’ll send us more information as soon as he can.
- Dr. Bordes and Saul at the Canaan medical clinic report that the community and clinic are faring well so far. Canaan sits on the outskirts of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
Our hearts are filled with gratitude that all of our contacts in Haiti are safe and accounted for. We will continue monitoring the situation and sending out updates as they arrive.
We were deeply saddened to learn that on Tuesday, October 4th, Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The hurricane is a category 4 storm that is expected to deliver 140 mph winds and massive amounts of rainfall.
As we get updates from our local project leaders we will post them to https://www.facebook.com/affhopehaiti/ and send them out to people on our AFF Email List. We are anxious to learn about the condition of our current projects and to line up whatever help is needed.
If traveled with us to Haiti, you’ve seen the state of the country’s infrastructure first-hand and know that it is not designed to withstand this kind of event.
- Housing typically consists of cinder blocks, salvaged materials, and tarps. People’s homes and belongings are going to be exposed to the brunt of the winds on Monday night.
- The storm drain system around Port-au-Prince consists of 3′ deep canals on the sides of some roads. The water is going to have a very difficult time escaping this metropolitan area of 2.6 million people that is shaped like a giant amphitheater.
- The trees in the surrounding hillsides have been stripped away over the years, which makes the region very susceptible to landslides.
- And, our J Nissi School resides in Cité Soleil, a city built below sea level on an old marsh at edge of the sea.
It’s hard not to feel helpless as we think about the impact this storm is going to have on Silar, Doctor Bordes, Jean Philippe, and all of our other partners and friends in Haiti.
Thank you for being a part of this story in the days, weeks, and months to come.
