by davemast
From the first moment the members of the Haitian Relief and Missions (HRM) board heard about the major earthquake that hit Haiti Jan. 12, they knew they would be instrumental in sending help. The only question was, when and how would that help arrive to the hurting and homeless in Haiti?
For those involved in HRM, and those who have been heavily involved with the Haiti Auction every year in Mt. Hope, which sends much-needed funds to starving areas of the nation of Haiti, there was no question that they would be sending help to the country. However, like many organizations wishing to provide relief, they had to play the waiting game, even as the number of lives lost soared, and the damage catastrophic.
Eventually, the group was able to get a dozen volunteers into Haiti, with six of them from the Berlin area. What they saw upon arrival was devastation almost beyond comprehension. A Third World nation already destitute, Haiti had been rendered unlivable, with many of the Port-au-Prince buildings and homes crumbled to the ground, people living in the streets, and death everywhere.
One thing the members quickly realized was the great need for living facilities for families whose homes were destroyed. The board began coordinating efforts to send small house kits to Haiti on containers, along with volunteers to help build the homes. They implored the help of local storage barn builders to partner with them. The knowledge and capabilities of these types of businesses will be instrumental in shipping and constructing the barns once they arrive in Haiti.
It didnt take long for us to realize that there were millions of homeless there in great need, said Steve Miller, HRM board chairman. We figured that with the many various builders we have in the area, we had a great way of providing shelter. Our main concern is that once initial relief efforts die down, where will these thousands live who lost their homes, especially those with small children?
The house kits, which include a special custom-designed 8-by-16 structure with a loft area, serve as the model for each of the homes. In addition, HRM is sending items for the homes, including a folding kitchen table, various kitchen wares, mattresses and linens. The structures are being designed with one built-in bed, along with multiple roll-out mattresses. The objective is that once constructed, each kit will be move-in ready for a Haitian family to live in. Each shipping container heading to Haiti has the capability of holding 15 kits. The kits cost $2,075 each, and while the group has a set a goal of sending 50 kits down in the first wave on Feb. 22, they will continue to build them as long as funds allow.
Our plan is to use local skilled volunteers to build the first 15 houses on-site, said Miller. After that, our staff on the ground in Haiti will coordinate the construction of these houses using Haitian workers. Our American staff in Haiti will be involved with finding the appropriate recipients and coordinating the movement of containers as soon as they are released from port. We have been sending containers to Haiti for years, and that experience is very helpful in this effort.
Miller said that while the homes are meant to be temporary, he has seen enough of how life in Haiti is to know that they will become permanent homes.
They are not huge structures, but having seen life in Haiti, they will continue to use the structures as homes, said Miller.
HRM will build as many of the kits as they receive funding for. The units cost a great deal to ship, and financing this relief project is a major undertaking. For those who would like to aid in providing funds for the effort, donations should be mailed to: Haitian Relief and Mission, P.O. Box 433, Berlin 44610. Donations may also be dropped off in person to Share & Care Thrift Store, located on the north end of Berlin at 4663 U.S. 62.
Miller said that HRM currently has a doctor, two nurses, and five additional personnel in Port-au-Prince helping with relief, along with HRMs skid loader. Miller said that from the initial reports from their medical team, the devastation is unbelievable, and they have never seen anything like it. The staff has said that the number of infections, amputations and death makes it nearly unbearable.
For further information on how to help, call Aden Hershberger at 330-893-2809, or Miller at 330-893-2507.
HRM has been active in Labaleine, Haiti since 1984. The mission operates a school with more than 500 students, a clinic, a sewing center and they have a focus on providing community aid wherever needed in the nation. In addition, the nonprofit organization owns and operates Share & Care Thrift Store in Berlin, which generates funds for Haiti relief missions.
The connection between Holmes County and Haiti began more than a quarter of a century ago. In September of 1983, Ervin Stutzman and his wife, Emma, were attending a reunion at Hesston College in Kansas, where they met a young Haitian named Joel Buissereth, who was attending the school. The Haitian man set his sights on obtaining an education in agriculture so he might be able to return to his nation and help in that capacity. Talk eventually turned to education in Haiti, and those in attendance wondered why there was no schooling available for many of the poorer families in the Third World nation.
A team was assembled to collect money to try to build a school for the underprivileged children of the area near Labaleine, Haiti. The Stutzmans were put in charge of the endeavor, and preceded to take a very aggressive approach toward their project. Today, there are more than 500 youth receiving an education, a hot meal, and plenty of love and attention at the school built by the Haiti Relief and Mission board. The mission has also built the Dorcas Center, a complex which houses the school as well as a sewing business and a church, and they have managed to add the building of irrigation systems to their accomplishments in this impoverished part of the world.
The connection between Amish Country and Haiti is one based on compassion and love for humankind, forging a bond which is unlikely, yet very real.
