We returned from a second Exploratory Journey to Haiti and can report that the chaos abounds, people are still suffering, and the worse is yet to come.

Nothing would please me more than to report that the crisis in Haiti is over. But, many Haitians are struggling just to survive. The people that lived in and around ground zero are living in tents, makeshift shelters, or on the streets. Building codes are not used in Haiti and it is difficult to know if buildings still standing are structurally safe. Thus, the people that are moving back into their homes or returning to work may be in peril of a building collapse.

This second mission to Haiti was much more difficult than our first. There are no commercial airline flights to Haiti and our transportation sources between Florida and Port-Au-Prince are stressed to the maximum. I traveled with Bennie Alegria, a business man from Florida, Hank Rogers, an engineer with Halliburton from Duncan, Oklahoma, and Matt Cantwell, a mortgage loan specialist from Tulsa Oklahoma. Bennie and Matt published their reports on our web site: Bennie’s blog & Matt’s blog.

Transportation continues to be our greatest challenge to supplying relief to Haiti. However, many people helped us with this struggle. The employees at United Airlines in Oklahoma City, Denver, Orlando, and Chicago helped us transport our relief supplies and find flights back home when we misconnected on our return to Florida. Florida Air Transport provided cargo transportation and allowed us to ride on their airplanes to Port-Au-Prince. Mission Aviation Fellowship provided transportation back to Florida. The United Nations provided ground transportation to the locations that we installed water treatment systems. Without this help, we could not have completed our mission.

We have installed four water treatment systems (and delivered one system) in Haiti on our two Exploratory Journeys. These system are providing a daily supply of safe, clean drinking water to an estimated 180,000 people. Here is a summary of the installations:

Adventist Hospital in Port-Au-Prince – providing daily drinking water to 40,000 people including staff, patients, and hospital visitors. Leroy Barton and Jerry & Shirley Alexander & Friends of Life’s Hope sponsored this system.

Mission of Hope Warehouse in Port-Au-Prince – providing daily drinking water to 30,000 people including their staff and staff families, and they use the system to fill bottles that are distributed to schools, orphanages, homeless shelters, and relief camps. The International Association of Directional Drilling and Friends of Life’s Hope sponsored this system.

St. Frances Hospital in Port-Au-Prince – providing daily drinking water to 40,000 people including staff, patients, and hospital visitors. Megacare, a T.D. Jakes ministry sponsored this system.

Centre Hospital Du Sacre Coeur in Port-Au-Prince – providing daily drinking water to 40,000 people incuding medical staff, patients, and hospital visitors. Tony Link, Dwain King, and Chester Gates sponsored this system.

Morningstar Christian Academy – (delivered) will provide daily drinking water to 30,000 people including students, staff, medical clinic, and many families in the surrounding community. Woodlake Assembly of God in Tulsa, Oklahoma sponsored this system.

I received an email from Don Lusczcewski, Adminstrator at Morningstar Academy/Fishers of Men. Their facility serves a large community with many services:

Dear Life’s Hope,

Thank you so much for the incredible blessing of the water purification system! In the coming days we will be able to install this system (after the desalination system is installed) and provide fresh drinking water for thousands in the Delmas area of Port Au Prince. Morningstar Christian Academy/Fishers of Men Ministries serves multiple families and missionaries on our property. Our church building was destroyed and we are currently planning to build a new building at Morningstar. The system will provide drinking water for the thousands that gather here for church services. Our medical clinic will be fully functional and we can continue to provide basic medical care for our community. This fresh, clean water will help us serve our community. Beyond that, we will also be able to offer fresh water to those who are in need around our property. Water was an issue before the earthquake and now we have a permanent solution for many people!

Time Is Critical

Haiti needs us to return and help them clean up debris and rebuild the communities that have been devastated by the disaster. We need to go quickly because time is critical. Haiti experiences a rainy season. This rainy season is on the horizon and officials in Haiti are concerned that the rain could cause flooding because so much debris is blocking the storm sewer systems. The weight of the rain on the roof of a building that is not structurally sound could cause it to collapse. And lastly, standing water will cause disease outbreaks; especially for the people who are malnourished or suffering from dehydration.

Do You Want To Go?

I have received request from many people who want to help with the relief effort in Haiti. We are organizing a series of Discovery Journeys to Haiti. They will begin as soon as there is “reliable” scheduled airline service. The first journeys are to clear debris, provide medical assistance, and offer translation services (Creole) for bilingual volunteers. These journeys will be followed by groups that can help with rebuilding the community. We will need hundreds of able bodied adults to join us in Haiti. For more information about DJ’s to Haiti – click here.