Haiti earthquake - D7020 update Jan. 15, 2010
Michael Terrelonge
PDG Amos and family are safe! Ted Lazarre has been found and is ok!
A very productive day as well. Supplies and money came in in great
quantities from everywhere. Our District as always did the
extraordinary. One club raised over $39,000 at their meeting, and
another one matched it!!!!!! Supplies and funds in every region under
the regional coordinators is coming in quickly and in great
quantities. Great work clubs and Rotarians. I am sorry that I can not
give you exact figures but the funds are going to a number of regional
accounts and I am not sure of everything and would not want to mislead
you.
Still using Satellite phones to communicate. Caleb, Claude, Guy and
Ted. This Disaster Investment has been a life saver. Some protocols to
work out yet but generally what a great thing!
On the lighter side, we had one flight leave from Nassau to Haiti with
medical supplies and a Doctor Ageebe and a Nurse Fountain. Not
everything went as planned but we made progress. The plane got there
with the supplies which were picked up, but we lost the Doctor and
Nurse. OOPS!
We finally found them but the old challenge of communication was
interesting. I got a mixed message that they had been dropped in Port
de Paix. I could picture them standing on a vacant dark lonely runway
looking for someone they may be comfortable staying with until they
were found, but in fact they had been left in Cap Haitien at a hotel
whose name they did not know and no phone contact for.
The good news is in texting them on their Bahamian cell we were able
to ascertain where they were and it was the same hotel we had stayed
at when we visited the Cap Haitien club so we were able to use the
satellite phone and communicate with Rotarians on the ground in Haiti
and by tomorrow at 11:00 they will be on their way to Pignon to help
the wounded at Dr. Guy Theodore's Hospital.
The challenges remain that the Port is closed, the airport in PaP is
over taxed and on occasion has to turn flights away, and the
communication systems are restrictive. We are working around those. We
are working with D-4060 (Charles Adams) on a plan to ship by sea to
the DR and tranship over land from the DR to Haiti. We need to
overcome the availability of trucks, the boarder and the inland
challenges but with their help I am sure we can.
In speaking to Shelter Boxes they expect to have 2900 on the ground
over the next few week. 900 are there now, and 1000 are on the way
with the balance to follow.
We have a container of medical supplies in Atlanta that is going to be
transferred to a DC-3 tomorrow and will be in route to Haiti by
Sunday. A number of relief flights from other countries have gone in
as well. Our Jamaican Rotarians in concert with the Jamaican
Government and Coast Guard have sent in an army of supplies and people
and are continuing to build their relief efforts.
We have 4 flights (Twin engine) leaving Nassau tomorrow for Haiti
followed by a DC-3 on Sunday. The 3 Beechcraft from North Carolina to
Haiti are due early next week and we will have 4 planes on the ground
in Nassau for the remaining 2 weeks available to us and all we need to
cover are the fuel costs.
The DAF is set up and we have full exposure on the international Web
Sites
Tomorrow is another day!
Successes to follow!!!!
PDG Dick