We arrive in Haiti early in the morning to unload the cargo plane and our gear as the compound starts to come to life. There are people scurrying everywhere. There are military planes flying in and out, helicopters buzzing all around, soldiers everywhere, and people helping other people just on the compound alone. It was like a scene out of a movie, but this was real and we were a part of it.
I can’t even begin to explain what I was seeing with my own eyes as we went out into Port-au-Prince. I can’t explain the screams, the sounds, the smell, the devastation, the lost feeling that I had inside of me. Our drive was long, as it was outside of Haiti, near the mountains of the mass graves. Our drive was very fast and dangerous, as we soon found out that you don’t drive slow in Haiti. Our driver told us of stories of being kidnapped or kidnapping attempts as he himself was kidnapped last year. We would zip in and out of cars on the wrong side of the road, nearly hitting everything in sight from people to animals to other cars. All the cars there had dents on the corners from where they had hit each other. This was a different world indeed.
The first system that we installed was at the Mission of Hope warehouse. They had armed security guards there to protect what goods and water they did have. The system immediately hydrated the workers at the warehouse, who were suffering from dehydration. They started filling plastic water containers, which will be distributed on a daily basis to over 6,500 people at the schools and orphanages throughout Haiti along with the surrounding tent cities filled with Haitians who are either homeless or too frightened to return to their homes.
So now we are off, back to base camp at the Port-au-Prince Airport. It is now much busier on the streets. We get back to MAF, Mission Aviation Foundation, which is the command center for all Mission Flights and Supplies arriving and set up for distribution. There are hundreds of Haitians at the front gate just lost, dazed and confused. We get checked back in through the military checkpoint. We are tired, hot, hungry, and thirsty. I can’t stop thinking about what I’ve seen, the smell, but I know we are making a difference. With God’s hand over us, we are making an impact.
We coordinate our second installation with Mike Clark of Convoy of Hope Ministries to install the second install at Adventist Hospital in Diquini province of Port-au-Prince. We are sadly informed that the original hospital that we were going to install the system in had been completely destroyed, and that many lives of children were lost, hundreds of them. It was a very tough moment for me.
While preparing the coordination of this installation, we had to split up and move to the public entrance of the airport, which was very nerve racking. There were hundreds of people, mainly men, looking for food and water. We had to exit through the front entrance to transfer our gear and supplies from one truck to another, and we had to do this very delicately and with caution, as they warned us that they would mob us and really push to see what they could get from us. And they did. They just wanted our help. They just wanted to say thank you, and we hadn’t done anything. They just wanted a hug. They told me over and over that they were very happy the Americans were here, and I knew then that God would give me the strength to be strong and represent His kingdom. I gave food to whomever I could. Knowing our supplies were running short, I just couldn’t help it.
We were off in the truck with a new group of guys, locals, drivers, interpreters. While on the way there, we saw everything, all of the destruction, devastation, the sadness, so many feelings of overwhelming emotion, but we saw people that were not giving up too. We saw people who were thankful and appreciative for what we all were doing there.
After a 45 minute ride through Port-au-Prince, through Petionville, we finally arrive in Diquini at the Adventist Hospital. It is completely full. Many patients are being treated in tents surrounding the hospital. We witnessed surgeries and amputations taking place in the tents in the courtyard. The suffering was intense. The doctor in charge told us that the expected survival rate of all those in Haiti that had undergone surgery was only 50% due to trauma, infection, malnutrition and dehydration.
After talking with the doctors and on site personnel, they were somewhat apprehensive about letting us install the system. They thought there was a catch, and they thought there was a cost. They were shocked when they found out it was a gift from Life’s Hope. It was a gift for their staff, their patients and for the thousands of homeless that were getting water from them on a daily basis.
That evening we left the hospital for our journey back to the airport compound. By this time we were just exhausted, hungry and thirsty, but I was thankful for everything that happened that day. I was thankful to God for allowing us to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Haiti. There were a different people that I saw at night. It seemed as if they were coming together, helping each other out in groups with fire for light and cooking, children laughing and playing in the streets, even though it was dark. It was good to have the day end this way. I was so looking forward to a good night’s sleep, well, at least just sleep.
ABOUT BENNIE ALEGRIA
Bennie is a business man in Orlando, Florida. Bennie business vision is to design and sell Christian fashions. He founded Christian Fashion Wear, Incorporated in 2002. He has two sons; a junior in high school and a colllege student. Bennie attends Northland Church in Longwood Florida.