Update - Please excuse my choppy grammar…. Didn’t have much time to write this update but wanted to get some info to you.
In the past week, God has sent a helicopter team of Pilots named Samaritan Air. Missionary friends of ours at an orphanage named, Hands and Feet, out of Jacmel, Haiti, funded the fuel costs for the helicopter to arrive in Haiti to begin additional hurricane relief after hearing of many areas that couldn’t be reached by land. Samaritan Air is using Christianville as their home base since we are centrally located from the Airport to refuel. The pilots currently here are Brian, President and Visionary of Samaritan Air, and his two sons Travis and Hunter. As well as Matt & Beau, two other very talented pilots. They have been delivering beans, rice, oil, & soap to remote areas that vehicles can’t get to because of road damage from the last 3 hurricanes & tropical storm. I say road damage but what I really mean is lack of roads. There has been so much devastation here and many mountainous areas can’t get any food or supplies unless they walk to and fro. The south side of the island seems to be completely cut off. Just after Maragoave, there is a lake that has swelled so badly that the road is underwater for nearly ¼ mile. This is the main highway Rt. National 2, going to the south side of the island. As we flew over my heart just sank. Just thinking about all the people that have been affected by this lake…. And how desperate these poor people will continue to get because the lake has shown no signs of going anywhere.
The first mountain village we have been working on is Seguin. We have been told that it has taken anywhere from 4-5 hours to walk down the mountain just to get the much needed supplies that the people need to survive. Many of their crops were flooded or flattened and for most this is their livelihood. Unfortunately, the pilots have only been able to deliver supplies early in the morning starting about 5am till around 9am because then the fog and clouds set in the mountains. So far, over 2300 lbs of supplies have been delivered and they will be working on delivering an additional 4500+lbs, as well as more supplies as funds continue to filter in.
The next village was also a mountainous village and after dropping one load of food, we got word that the pilots were no longer safe to fly there. A group of people decided that they were going to ambush the chopper to get all the supplies after they landed. I just want to remind you that these people are not savages but at this point they are starving and are in survival mode. Fortunately, they told the wrong person and God protected our new missionary friends. He is such an awesome God!
Please continue to pray for the Haitian people as food & fuel prices raise…. As well as the urgency of raising funds for hurricane relief for so many areas throughout Haiti.
If you are interested in giving towards this cause please send donations to:
HCP (Haitian Christian Projects)
808 Ophir St# 7
Moncks Corner, SC 29461
Please include in the memo “Hurricane Relief”
Blessings!
Amy (and Doug too!)
