Haitians Respond

HAITI NAZARENE BIBLE COLLEGE STUDENTS ACTIVE IN HURRICANE RELIEF

Pétion-Ville, Haiti. Students of Haiti Nazarene Bible College responded almost immediately to the devastation caused by Hurricane Jean in the Northern city of Gonaives. The students organized collection points at several local Nazarene churches as well as on the main campus. The school's cafeteria was almost overrun as donations started coming in.

Over 1,000 kilograms of donated food, soap, bottled water, and other necessities were sorted, repackaged and loaded on to a transport headed to the town of L'estère, on the outskirts of Gonaives. From there local Churches of the Nazarene will distribute the donations. In addition to the dry goods and clothes, cash donations came in as well with over 35,000 gourdes (approximately US $1,000) given.

"This is an amazing response, given the current economic situation in Haiti," says Scott Stargel, president of Haiti Nazarene Bible College. "Our students are having a hard time making their tuition payments, but they have dug deeply into their own pockets in addition to soliciting donations from others." Luxonne Fils-Aimé, a senior and one of the leaders of the student collection effort, said: "At first we thought we would just collect from among ourselves, but then we quickly became involved in the neighborhood. Everyone has been coming by to drop off items, believers and non-believers."

Saved by the Trees

The most poignant interview during our visit to Desfontaines was with a mother of five children. All day rains resulted in the nearby river overflowing its banks around six o'clock in the evening. As the water began to flow through the yard and into the home, the mother put her children on the bed, thinking that the waters would abate. Instead they rose so quickly that it was impossible to get to higher ground.

Soon the water burst through the adobe walls. Two children were clinging to their mother: the river swept the other three into the night. Then the house collapsed on top of them. "I have no idea how we came out of the house. We were all submerged in the floodwater and when we surfaced the house moving away without us."

The two children were still clinging to the mother when they were swept into a tree. They struggled out of the current and into the tree, which not long after bowed to the force of the water and left them struggling darkness. They were swept into a second tree and climbed to safety, but with the sudden awareness that only one child was clinging to her neck.

They stayed in the tree till about 5:OO AM the next morning. Later in the day, the child who had disappeared at the second tree was found alive on a heap of flotsam down river. The other three children are presumed dead.

I translated this story for a video team from the U.S. All three of us were taken back by the matter-of-fact demeanor of this mother as she told her story. She was not dazed, or seemingly depressed. Just told the story, as though it was someone else's experience.

We visited her "home". The outline of the foundation was barely discernible in the mud-turned-to-dust that has taken the place of the water.

Visit with Leaders in Gonaives

We met District Superintendent Roger Dufrene at the Texaco just past Bigot. Though the roadway was dry, houses along the road were a foot or so deep in thick mud. The water has receded significantly from its crest, but everywhere walls and roofs are covered with drying clothing, mattresses and linen.

Pastor Dufrene told us that the rain started at about 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. At about 11:00 AM flooding began, and continued through out the day as the rain continued. By the time people realized that the rain would not stop and that they should move to higher ground, it was too late. The worst of the flooding occurred during the night. Pastor Dufrene's home is on the first story with classrooms on the second floor. Their home/school is set down off the main road on the lower side. The water lines on buildings across on the higher side of the road are at the door jambs and eves. He and his wife and two children went to the second storey and even there the water came up to his waist.

We stopped at the driveway to his home, which is about 75 feet long. The 4 drawer District file cabinet was perched on top of a pile of debris at a precarious angle with one drawer partly open. We could not see his pickup which was buried somewhere in the logjam of refuse. Brightly painted Disney characters on the gate welcoming children to school seemed oddly out of place. Muddy carnage just about sums it up.

We stopped at Gonaives First Church. There was no place to pull off the road as water was still running in front of building so we pulled over as far as we could and set the flashers on. The pastor of the Gonaives Church, Pastor Placide, came wading down the side street on the upstream side of the church. About thirty feet of wall had collapsed into the church yard. Piles of flotsam clogged what had been a side gate. The water mark is at the top of the main entry doors (7 feet). Both Pastor Dufrene and Pastor Placide looked (understandably) dazed. We had our little meeting on the main roadway with UN trucks, bicycles, motorcycles and tap-taps honking and splashing by. We simply told these men that we brought very little with us as advised, but that we were here to assure them that Nazarenes around the world were praying for them even as were visited. (It was about 11:00 Sunday morning.)

The most urgent short term needs are water, and in some cases food. Food can be purchased in Gonaives, though it is about double pre-flood prices. Still, purchasing locally would save the cost of transporting and the risk of hi-jacking gangs. Pastor Dufrene felt that it would, in any case, be unwise to attempt to move truckloads of food in without military escort.
Water is much more difficult to procure. The nearest water purification plant is the Ya Ya plant in the Artibonite valley near Pont Sonde, an hour's drive. All that to say that the greatest short-term needs are, first water, then food, then clothing. I am sure that 'crisis kits' of some sort would be useful.

Pastor Placide said his church, Gonaives First lost two members to the flood. The Defontaines church and adobe church, which was virtually falling down before the flood, was swept away. The Mapou church, not far from the Desfontaine church was destroyed. The Pasrene (Sterling) church 'camp' property is down near the river very near to where the north road has been severed. Buildings are still standing, but mud and debris has rendered most of it useless for the foresee-able future.

A Prayer in the Street

Pastor Sony of the Defontaines church was in Port-au-Prince when we returned. He was in his home when the flooding started. The force of the current against the door prevented them from exiting the home so he and a brother and their father escaped from his house through a window and were able to get to his roof. From his roof top he watched helplessly as many of his neighbors swept by waving their hands and calling for help. The Defontaines church lost 13 people, 9 of whom were children.

We also happened on the wife of the La Source Bayonnais pastor. She said she had heard nothing from the Bayonnais people. She and the pastor were in Gonaives during the flood. Her husband is suffering from a foot injury. Many were lacerated by roof tin swirling around in the waters.

Prior to leaving Pastor Placide and Pastor Dufrene we had a short time of prayer right in the street. Pastor Lucien prayed for the survivors in Gonaives and for the church members and that many would be drawn to Christ through this disaster. I left a couple hundred dollars with Pastor Dufrene and asked that he use it to help his neighbors, needy pastors and church members. We assured him that many are already asking what can be done to help and that we would do all that we could to direct assistance their way as it became available. We left him with all the extra water bottles that we had brought, a bag full of sandwiches and some apples we had brought for lunches. Pastor Dufrene appeared visibly lifted and relieved by our visit. Pastor Placide told us that "we're never alone with God, but your coming has made us feel that somebody out there beyond the carnage cares."

I left a couple of Haitel phone cards with Pastor Dufrene so that we can continue to keep in contact. I asked him to make a serious effort to contact as many pastors as possible and report back to me. I will be meeting with the Compassionate Ministries committee Wednesday to finalize strategic planning.

Through the Lake

We left at 5:30 this morning. Edwidge (the Child Sponsorship treasurer) came to campus. Pastor Walliere was not able to find somebody to fill in for him at Belaire so he could not come. We picked up Pastor Lucien around 6:15 and headed out of town via the "Military Road" that enters Cite Soleil. We had been advised not to take anything we didn't want to loose to roadside gangs. Some of our acquaintances had been stopped at barricades and 'asked' for food or money.

The road from Port-au-Prince to L'Estere was its usual bruising self. In St. Marc we passed a convoy of Uruguayan UN trucks. They were escorting a bus load of Cuban doctors.
There is a short climb out of L'Estere up past that large cemetery and the La Croix intersection. From La Croix the road slowly descends into the valley know as Savanne Desolate sp? As we began the slow descent from La Croix we could see that the entire valley floor had become a lake.

We pulled in behind about 4 vehicles which were just setting out into the lake. As you recall the road-bed is raised several feet above the surroundings. Vehicles which had strayed too far to the left or right were there to stay. Even a large truck with a crane for hoisted stranded vehicles, the engine still running, had strayed too far to the right and could not get back onto the road way.

The water rose quickly to the top of the wheel wells and started seeping into Carisa's side of the car. I could not believe that the car kept running at the depth we were in. The first car in the 'convoy' stalled. I was sure he had hired a guide, but what about the next two? We had not picked up a guide as we planned to simply following the vehicle in front of us. I had not considered where we would be with out the lead car. A few minutes later the second car stalled. We moved around it, praying that we were passing on the side that had road bed underneath. At no point could we see the roadbed through the brown water so we just followed the remaining pickup ahead and prayed.

Carisa was videoing, Pastor Lucien and Edwidge were praying in muted tones for most of the entire transit. Passing the stalled car proved to be easy work compared to meeting oncoming camions. Suddenly we were sharing this invisible roadway with enormous road hogs determined not to be the next ones over the edge and into the canals. The combined height of our bow waves pushed water momentarily up to the top of our fenders. We were in the 'lake' traveling steadily for 25 minutes. I am wondering how long this road will be useful as several spots seemed a bit 'mushy'. Once the road bed softens, it will not be useable. The road from the new lake to Gonaives was dry and potholed, as usual.