Haiti report 2010

Larry Bailly
18414 Broadway Ave.
Snohomish, WA 98296-4800
360-668-5031

HAITI REPORT 2010

After a delay of 3 months I was able to take a small team to our missions on the North Coast of Haiti. In January, I was to have a team of 33 on the ground starting with the first team arriving on the 15th. With the Earthquake on the 12th, that team was unable to retain their tickets. My team, the second group that was to arrive a week later, lost our tickets as well. It wouldn’t have mattered if we could have made it to Port au Prince, as in-country air travel was stopped due to a lack of fuel.
After putting together a shipment of nearly 2500 lbs. of relief supplies for our friends in Haiti, we started exploring options to get there to do our planned projects. I was able to reserve two seats on a DC-3 out of Ft. Myers, FL in late February, but due to conditions on the ground in Haiti, the missionaries requested that we NOT come yet. Food and fuel were in short supply, all the available housing was being used for IDP (internally displaced persons) from PAP and the orphanage was expecting an influx of orphaned kids. There would be no time or resources to host visitors without medical skills. Our missions are about 150 miles from the Earthquake zone and saw little damage. What they did experience was an almost immediate loss of logistical support from the central government. Food became scarce within days and diesel fuel reached $15.00 a gallon in a few days (eventually topping out at $25!).
While we waited for a green light from the missions, all of our medical personnel from the two teams managed to get slots with relief organizations to do work in country. Their stories will be much more compelling than this one, some came back emotionally drained, but with a sense of great achievement. They missed going to the Hospital at Passé Catabois, but all have a greater sense of the overwhelming needs in Haiti.
Rather than fill in the details of our trip this year, I am instead going to share with you three commentaries that I wrote for a local newspaper here in Snohomish. Some of you know that I have been writing for a number of years as an automotive writer, but I have also been writing opinion and commentary pieces for several newspapers. Most of my stuff can be found somewhere on the internet, just make sure you get the last name spelled right!
Our Haiti fund was hit pretty hard this year. Though the reason for this letter is NOT to seek contributions, they are always welcome, and put to good use. We were able to make substantial gifts to our friends in Haiti at a very difficult time. To make Tax Deductible donations, send checks made out to Snohomish Community Church with a note indicating they are for HAITI MISSIONS. Send to SCC, 13622 Dubuque Rd. Snohomish, WA 98290. If you would rather donate to me personally, just make the check out to SCC, with a note that it is for me and send it to the Church, or to the address above.