O/T Haiti Earthquake

[Big D]

John - Was your mission in Haiti badly damaged by yesterday's earthquake?

[Dean Romig]

I'll fill in a little of what John told me a few minutes ago when I telephoned him.
He has not been able to make contact with any of his 'people' in Haiti due to lack of any type of communication including his cell phone from Haiti nor by e-mail either.
He is very busy and exhausted but tells me that the schools they built are very strong and not very near the epicenter and the orphanage was some 90 miles away from Port Au Prince so he has high hopes for that.

Let's all keep John and the Haitian people in our prayers.

[John D.]

Hi John and Dean..

My sincerest thanks for your posts and concern - it is very, very appreciated!! As well - I've received several phone calls from Dean and others - and for those, again - simply, Thank you..! OK....

P-A-P is pretty much a mess, but, like all of you - most of my news is coming from the press... I had the opportunity to get a notice from one of the folks at Pwoje Espwa - and all is OK there...

I've been trying since yesterday afternoon/evening using Internet, phone (land, cell) and some social networking sites Even my Digicel (my cell phone & # for Haiti) phone won't go through..

OK - mostly - I still know nothing.. I've heard that one of the schools we built is fine - as well as the 600+ children in that orphanage (according to Marc - the "kids are a little shaken up by the whole thing" (Marc has a dry sense of humor ).... The other two story school, the other orphanage, the villagers and the children we are support (in our "family to child" programs) are in other districts - and as of now, I have no news about..

I suspect downtown Cayes suffered the most damage in that region, as well as some of the mountain villages in the Petite Riviere area - but, I have no way of knowing for sure? I did see a couple of clips from what was portrayed as Cayes with buildings in rubble, but I can't be certain they were actually from that city?

While it's been a long night for Jen & I - I know it was a longer night for those in Haiti..

I will also add this.. I can not tell you how incredible your words and support means - not really to Jen and I and Project Rennwish - but rather, to those folks in Haiti who are "living this nightmare"... Your thoughts, pledges and financial contributions - each of them - is gratefully acknowledged and most thankfully received... More than you may know...

I think it's best to keep that momentum up as, once we find out what is needed most (food, water, medical, equipment, etc. ) - then and only then can we decide how to make the largest positive impact during their time of crisis and the ensuing aftermath...

At that time, when we have all the facts about which items are most in need, we can make a decision how best to help the greatest number of victims of this natural tragedy.

'Till then - my sincerest thanks to all....

John

[Autumn Daze]

John,Jen,yourself and your adopted family in Haiti are in my thoughts and prayers.

[John D.]

Hi Dave and all,

My sincerest thanks..!! A difficult day. However - Finally - Adrien (one of the Rennwish folks in Haiti) was able to grab an internet connection... His area has no phones (and since my Haiti number is tied to that same area - I have no phone into Haiti...)... So - here are snippets of his long e-mail - but, in short - all our kids are OK..

Thank you all who posted in this read, or read this thread, or have supported Rennwish...

"Dear Brother

...it did not make a lot of damage in les Cayes but in port-au-prince it broke a lot of buildings, a lot of people die. People that leave in les Cayes are victim because they have their family leave at port-au-price. Some of these peoples you know too.

Now in Haiti there are a lot people crying for their close family they are lose and until now we don’t know the number of death and Injured people we have. They searchers and the investigators keep seeking for the death and injured people. We have many relatives and friends in Port-au-prince so, We don’t know how many victims we have because we don’t have any way to communicate, phone does not work.

There are some deaths in les cayes and a lot of injured people in hospital in les cayes and there is not enough bed for them.

It is a very sad situation for Haiti. I love you my brother.

Your brother,

Adrien"

[Bill Bolyard]

John,

I would like to make a contribution to your organization for the kids. Where should I send it and to whom should the check be made out to.

Bill

[Angel Cruz Ortiz]

As Bill stated. Where do we send our contributions to John??

[Rod N. Gunn]

I'm in too... pending mailing instructions

[Old and Reliable]

I would 100 times more prefer to donate through your organization John- I won't get "political" here, and I appreciate former President Clinton heading an appeal for funds to aid Haiti- as on National TV- But I am more trusting of your stewardship here than any Gov't related operation, at least for now.

I went down from our Church with a few other 'retirees" also skilled in carpentry and construction, both to FL. after the 4 hurricanes hit, and later after Katrina- and some, not all of course, of the government efforts to help were bogged down in red tape-fact of life I should guess.

Please keep us all posted as you can on this and what we can do to bring effective help to that island so devastated by the earthquake-- FM

[John D.]

In short - I just want to say "Thank You" - for a lot of reasons... You folks know why.. Your support, enthusiasm, words, advice, suggestions - are simply amazing - my thanks for those.. As well - I do share many with Adrien and his reply last evening was:

"...Say thank you to those people who are praying for us.Say to them,we love them so much.."

Anyway - I know I owe many of you private notes, private thanks for your donations and e-mails back.. I promise you - I will reply - let me get my head above water, OK? As well, as what is happening in Les Cayes right now, I Just had a conversation with Adrien (he stood in line for 3 hours for three hours to use a temporary phone that was set up to call family/friends in the USA). He mentioned the following:

There are vast amounts of people leaving Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince to check on family and friends. However, there is only primary road, which, as he understands is not open. There are several back routes at twice the distance, but he is unsure whether those are open either either.

The hospital in Les Cayes is desperate need of food, medicine, beds, dressings and basic supplies. Many remain on the street waiting for any medical attention at all. I'm sure this pales by comparison to Port-au-Prince.

The next two to three weeks will be critical. As food, water, medical supplies are already in short supply - we can further expect a displacement of people from Port-au-Prince as an influx into Les Cayes and other outlying cities. This will tax an already over-stressed region, and given the condition of the infra-structure in Haiti today, I'm not certain International Assistance will be able to reach these cities in time with adequate basic supplies.

My sincerest thanks to all of you...

And as a further update, there is a slight chance I'll be in Haiti within the next 24-48 hours for search & rescue (I got a call from a local corporation to perhaps assist them, as no one in their team has been into Haiti) - and then help figure out the logistics of getting some basics into Les Cayes. If I am, I'll ask Jenn (my wife) to post any updates, OK??

My Best Always,

John