Hurricane Matthew Relief

For ten days, I had the opportunity of travelling to Haiti to help with Hurricane Matthew relief. I travelled with two other missionaries, Chelle Overton and Carleen Desrochers, who are two of the most kind and generous people I know.











When we arrived, we were overjoyed to see all of our friends in Haiti! I was so happy to see everyone at TOHH, and in the community!

Just before we arrived in Haiti another missionary, Alan Roseberry, came to Haiti as well to help with Hurricane Matthew relief. He is an amazing man with a heart of gold. In the beginning of his trip, he was able to fix TOHH's water pump that was damaged during the storm. This was so important, because it allowed TOHH to continue giving out water to the community in this time of need.

Not only this, but he donated funds and to build three TOHH homes! Before these families may have been slept on the muddy ground, or had flooding in their homes. Thanks to Alan, these families now have a safe place to live!

            Before the home build                                                             After the home build

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On the first day of our trip, Carleen, Chelle, Flantorge, and I began assessing damages in the Grand Goâve community. Throughout the next few days we worked our way through the community surrounding TOHH, stopping and talking to families whose homes were damaged. Almost all of the homes had water coming into their homes, be it a small amount, or complete flooding that ruined all of their personal possessions.

For example, we met one woman was pregnant with twins (shown on the right). She told us that she had important paperwork in her home that was ruined after begin rained on during the storm. Since she no longer has these papers, she told us that she is unable to go to the hospital. She said that her uncle was allowing her to stay in one room of his home. A few weeks after her twins are born, he plans to make her leave the home. She will have nowhere to go.

We also saw a lot of homes with broken, collapsed, or completely blown off roofs. As if this wasn't bad enough, several of the people we spoke with explained that, when the roof had blown off their home, someone had stolen it. These families may not have the means to replace the stolen roof, so they find themselves in a home with no ceiling. Another common situation for people in the community was losing their animals, including chickens, goats, pigs, and even cows and donkeys.



There are so many stories from the community about how each family experienced the hurricane. Some lost very little, and some lost almost everything they owned. We even met one woman who was giving birth to a baby girl during the hurricane! Here's a picture of the hurricane baby!






Most of the homes we had seen the first two days were damaged, but not completely destroyed. Some homes were even completely unharmed except for some water coming in the windows. Then, we found a small community of seven two-room wooden homes that were collapsed.








There was plywood and tin from the roofs on the ground. Many people were keeping their possessions under tarps so they would not get wet without a roof to cover them.

Inside the Shelter

Next to this community, we found a concrete building with one room. The people from the community explained that it was a community center, used for large, community sponsored events. Currently, it is being used as a shelter to house over 40 people! Many of these people had lived in one of those seven collapsed homes.

Later, Chelle, Carleen, Flantorge, and I returned to this shelter and handed out bread and peanut butter for all those living inside. Everyone was so thankful and appreciative of this food!










We also spent time bringing nonperishable food items, first aid kits, hand sanitizer, toothbrushes and toothpaste to the families of the sponsored children. On the left is Chelle, with one of her sponsored children, Demas.







We distributed food to the rest of the community in Grand Goâve as well. This was one big team effort! Chelle, Carleen, Angela, Nathan, Nyah, Flantorge, Kavensky (a sponsored child from the community), Madelyne (TOHH's housekeeper), Jonas (Gama's brother), and I worked to put together 163 packages that held almost 1000 pounds of rice, 320 packages of macaroni, and 15 gallons of oil.

The community was thrilled to received this food, and we were so glad that their bellies would be full.












During the week, we were also able to visit the sponsored children at school! They are so happy, and just adore going to school! We were happy to see school back in session after the hurricane.






This past Wednesday, we were given the opportunity to travel to the southern part of Haiti. The South was hit much harder by Hurricane Matthew than many other parts of Haiti, including Grand Goâve, where Tree of Hope Haiti is located. The Southern town where we went is called Port Salut.

 We packed as many donations as we could including tarps, ropes, rice, spaghetti, oil, clothes, shoes, first aid kits, and hand sanitizer. A huge thank you to the Good News Bible Church that donated many of these items! We traveled with missionaries from Mission of Hope International and Hands and Feet, two local missions in Grand Goâve. Together, we filled the back of Mission of Hope's bus, and left for Port Salut.

As we drove closer and closer, we saw more and more destruction. Pastor Lex from Mission of Hope described it as looking like a war zone. Each telephone pole was down, and they were not all just uprooted. Some of them snapped in half right in the middle. Power lines littered the ground. Rebar from concrete homes was bent. The trees was either uprooted or damaged. Many crops, such as beans and bananas, were destroyed. The cost of food will soar for people who, in many cases, already cannot afford food. As we drove through the town, we talked about how it just did not seem real. It was quiet, and few people were out. One of the boys from Hands and Feet asked Carleen and I if we had ever been to Port Salut before, and we told him that we had not. He said to us; "It used to be so beautiful."

Pictures from Port Salut:

Roofs blown off of homes.

Homes that fell during the hurricane.

Uprooted trees.

Trees that were snapped in half at the middle.

A roof that has blown away is now stuck in a tree.

The remains of a concrete wall.

A tarp home.

A boy from Port Salut.

Rebar that has been bent.

The hurricane damage in Grand Goâve was not bad compared to that of Port Salut. Not to mention that there were many towns hit worse than Port Salut. It was hard to imagine how a storm could do this. We gave out all the supplies we had brought to Port Salut. They were all distributed in no time, as most everyone was in need.



Pastor Lex and Mission of Hope set up a medical clinic in a church and before long, people were pouring in to be seen. We set up a station with clothes and shoes that were donated, and gave them out to people as they left the clinic









We also helped clear one older man's yard where a large tree had fallen near his home.

The drive to Port Salut was very successful, and we were so glad that we could help this community in any way we could. The drive also helped us assess more of what this community is most in need of. 

Thursday was our last full day in Haiti. In the afternoon, we gave two goats to a man we had met while assessing damages in the community. He had lost his all his animals in the earthquake. He was such a sweet man who wholeheartedly appreciated this gift.

 Also, Carleen purchased beds and mattresses for one of her sponsored children. We worked as a team to build the beds, then brought them down the hill to the family's home.






Rebuilding in Haiti will be a process. The struggles facing people in Haiti because of Hurricane Matthew are immense, especially in harder hit areas like Port Salut. Many are lacking access to medical aid, food, and clean water. Haiti is so full of hope, and TOHH will continue helping Haiti in as many ways as possible. 

Currently, TOHH is accepting both monetary and item donations. To donate to Tree of Hope Haiti for Hurricane Matthew relief, follow this link: www.treeofhopehaiti.org/donations and specify "Hurricane Relief" under special instructions.

TOHH's most needed item donations are as follows:

Construction Materials:

Tarps

Ropes

Nonperishable Food Items:

Peanut Butter

Canned Tuna 

Canned Chicken

Jelly (in plastic containers)

Spam

Medical Supplies

First Aid Kits

To set up a drop-off time, please contact Dean Boudreau at (978) 660-8177 (Athol, MA) or Laurice Fournier at lauricefournier@hotmail.com (Holden, MA).

Thank you for all your continued support, especially after Hurricane Matthew. The communities in Haiti, especially Grand Goâve and Port Salut, are so grateful for these efforts! Follow Tree of Hope Haiti on social media to stay updated on what's happening in Haiti! Have a great week!

Facebook: Tree of Hope Haiti

Twitter: @treeofhopehaiti

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Click here to donate to Tree of Hope Haiti