Haiti

Haiti is suffering from the massive Jan 12 earthquake and needs our help. Below I've posted some first-hand accounts of the quake from people in Haiti. Please consider a donation to an organization in Haiti. If you would like to give directly to a Haitian family, please contact me (anna.versluis@gmail.com).

Monday, June 26, 2006




Today I went to church around 7 am with Samy and Yonel and their two children, S (age 5) and E (age 3). Yonel is one of the pastors of the church, which is very small (21 people today, including children) and meets in a school. It was a good service--the usual singing, Bible study (done very well by Yonel) scripture, prayer, offering (just over US$1 total), and sermon. Guerline's mother, Michelle, was there along with her husband Pierre and two of their children, Boubou and Dave.

One of the pastors who is also the director of the school the church meets in asked for prayer for the school as it seems they are having problems getting accredited.

I went home with Samy and Yonel and stayed with them until mid-afternoon. I watched some of the Ecuador-England soccer game (without sound as the TV didn't completely work) and talked with the children, who had many things to tell me. They were very cute. S is a very smart, articulate 5-year-old; she showed off some of her dance routines and songs and poems. E was very much into my sunglasses; he even knew how to put them in his shirt pocket. Samy made us some delicious cherry juice (from real cherries) and gave me a croissant for a snack. Later she made rice and beans with a vegetable sauce for the main meal and I sat and talked with her as she worked. She and Yonel have both been without work since September. They live with Samy's dad so they don't have to pay rent, but they find it difficult to buy food and pay for the children's education (there are very few public schools available). S is a Compassion International kid, but the money they receive each month only covers about 1/3 of her school costs, much less food and clothes and health care.

Around mid-afternoon I returned home and I've been doing some GIS work, email and phone calling since. I talked briefly with H from the govt disaster office and he complimented me on the good work I've been doing, which was nice to hear. Andrenor and I will meet with him tomorrow morning. I'll also go to see Pastor G with Joseph, stop by the FAES office for the third time, and visit the Urban Planning Office to see if the photos they dug up are the ones I want. Let's hope so. . .

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