Helping Haiti Earthquake Victims
When the worst earthquake in 200 years hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, people across the country went into action in order to help in any way possible. Through the devastation and rubble, Haitians are searching for hope.
Abbotsford Vineyard Church and Heart to Heart Ministries have partnered with local churches, schools, businesses, and organizations to raise funds and collect food donations for their Children's Home and School in Grande Goave, Haiti. Along with accepting monetary donations, a rice program was put in place giving people the opportunity to buy a bag of white rice for a Haitian family. The rice program took off immediately, leaving our warehouse volunteers packing boxes of rice for days. A notice for a bucket program also went out to surrounding cities, giving people a third way to donate. Buckets came pouring in with notes of hope included for the people of Grande Goave.
So far, we have sent seven containers (roughly the size of a train car) of flour, oats, granola bars, cereal, rice, beans and Gatorade. We also have a container full of school supplies and some medical supplies (courtesy of St. John’s Ambulance). As the recovery of this disaster will take some time, the plan is to continue to send one or two containers a month for the rest of the year. Thankfully, we have two Canadian field workers on the ground in the Dominican Republic working on the logistics of shipping and receiving the containers and getting the products into Haiti. Each container costs around $10,000-$13,000 to ship and so far H2H and AVC have been able to raise over $420,000 thanks to your generous donations.
Looking ahead, we are shifting some of our focus from shipping food and medical supplies to reconstruction. The devastating earthquake caused most buildings on the compound and the surrounding walls to crumble, burying food and supplies and leaving the compound open to the entire community. Marine soldiers arrived and built a barbed-wire fence to surround the orphanage compound and took down any unstable walls of the buildings within the compound. While the marines have dug through the crumpled buildings in an attempt to salvage whatever they could find, the fact remains that most buildings left are now either completely flattened or too unstable to be habitable, leaving people to sleep outside under makeshift tents or under the stars. As rain and hurricane season approaches, we are sending a container of heavy duty tents to the orphanage to get the children sheltered.
Navy workers and the children of the orphanage are working side-by-side searching through the rubble and debris for blocks to reuse on new buildings. We are also planning on sending teams of volunteers to Grand Goave to help rebuild the compound.
With your help we would like to…
- · Rebuild or do seismic upgrades to the entire compound in Grande Goave, including the children’s home, the church, the food depot, and the kitchen and dining salon, offices, and guest quarters.
- · Rebuild the surrounding wall for safety for the children and for a secure place to put the containers as they keep arriving at Heart To Heart.
- · Send teams of volunteers including doctors, dentists, builders, and teachers.
Rebuilding would establish a sense of calmness and peace, and they would know they are loved and cared for through our actions. We want to be available to our friends in Haiti in the short term and the long term. If you, your church or organization are interested in continued support, please contact Gary Stephens or Lia Neufeld.
Thank you so much for your support as we show love and generosity to the people of Grand Goave.
We continue to need your help so please, give generously.
Help us get our donated supplies to their destination. Send a cheque payable to the Haiti Relief Fund to:
Haiti Relief Fund
34629A Delair Road
Abbotsford, BC, V2S 2E1
Tax receipts will be issued for donations over $10.
You can also get involved by sending rice or supplies.
send money Please give generously. Learn More
Send suppliesSend supplies to Haitians who have lost everything in the earthquake. Learn more.
Send rice- Bring a bag of rice and a toonie to your school or workplace to help Haiti victims. Learn more.
