7.3 Mag Earthquake Hits Haiti (1/12 approx 4:30PM)
This afternoon, a large earthquake hit off the coast of Haiti. We wanted to let you know so that you can join us in prayer. As we receive further information beyond what’s in the mainstream feeds, we will let you know. Thanks for your prayers.
Haiti Update (1/12 – 7:30 pm)
Haiti’s in chaos right now. Port au Prince is a disaster. The palace, parliamentary building, etc., etc. collapsed. On some streets, more buildings lie in rubble than are standing.
I spoke with Dony, one of the leaders of El Shaddai, our primary in-country partner. Cell communications into Haiti are cut. He has communicated w his brother, Louis, via wufuu. Louis fled his house in Cayes from fear of collapse. Shook for about 35 straight seconds. There are buildings and homes down, even in Cayes.  There’s a great deal of panic.
There’s some early good news… It appears that all children we have in the south are safe and sound. We’ll know more tomorrow. Keep praying for that.
We’ve had no communications into Gonaives. We’re hopeful and optimistic things are well, there.
Our greatest concerns right now focus on PAP. We have 3 specific prayer requests:
We have 106 children in care in Carrefour – in PAP. They’re at Ground Zero. We have no communications to know what’s happened there.
We have 109 children in care in Croix de Bouquet, about 15 mins outside PAP. We have no communication there as of yet.
Moise Vaval, our C3 Field Director in Haiti, lives in PAP with his wife and 4 children. We have no communication with him to know whether he’s OK.
Many of you are contacting us ready to help, wanting to know how.  Thank you. From our hearts, thank you. As needs surface that we can smartly manage and execute on, we will definitely bring them to you.
For now, remain informed with us via the news and our blog updates, and continue in prayer.
One step we are taking is to work with our field partners, however possible, to buy an addl 1-2 month supply of food in and for our kids in the Cayes and Gonaives regions.
We plan to pull the trigger on this in the morning, God willing. Even if the damage proves to be largely centered in PAP, food prices (and gas prices and everything else) will likely skyrocket over the next 72 hours. Pray that this all goes smoothly.
We’ll be back to you soon.
-Joe Knittig
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/12 @ 10 pm).
Here’s a video clip of Cayes Dony, one of our field partners in Haiti just sent a little earlier this evening. This is a long way from Ground Zero.
Also some video of the central part of Port au Prince and the palace on the BBC site >>
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/13/2010 9AM CST)
The Global Orphan Project releases statement about the earthquake in Haiti. Â See it here >>
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/13/2010 1:10PM CST)
Dony St. Germain, one of The Global orphan Projects field partners, just landed in the Dominican Republic, and is now en route by car to Haiti. His plan is to get to the children at Croix de Bouquet and then Carrefour this afternoon/evening.
In addition, a small group of GO Project senior leaders are leaving this evening to start making their way there.
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/13/2010 4:10PM CST)
A report from Louis St. Germain, leader of El Shaddai Ministries, one of our partners in Haiti said this:
“Access to Les Cayes by road is impossible. A big mountain collapsed. Only by motorbike.
We cannot communicate with Port au Prince, our relatives and friends are missing so far in those areas. We have no news from them. We have no news from our children’s home in Port au prince. In the south most the children and the sites are Okay. Pastor Chry’s house at Chantal was hit. A wall collapsed.
In Les Cayes we wake up in a different city this morning. Until now we still have some aftershocks. Everyone left their home. The people is in the street. There is panic every were. People are afraid.
If Port au Prince, which represents the heart of Haiti is 85%of the population is destroy, we cannot imagine the next few days how it’s going to be if we don’t get any help.
Thank you for your love and your support.”
Pastor Louis St. Germain
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/13/2010 9:10PM CST)
There are many articles and news being produced here in the US, here is one >>
One of our partners in the south part of Haiti managed to get some video and talk to victims of the quake first hand, please view at your own discretion.
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/14/2010 7:10AM CST)
Our US based team is in Florida currently, anxiously waiting on the tarmac for clearance to get into the air directly to Port au Prince. Â They are armed with a few satellite phones from http://www.satellitephonestore.com/ , special thanks to them for getting these put together so quickly.
Reports are still limited on our specific children’s homes in the Port au Prince area of Croix de Bouquet and Carrefour in addition to another campus called Ebenezer.
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/14/2010 10:00AM CST)
Via Joe Knittig en route to Haiti:
You’re seeing on news an emerging problem. Â Bottleneck in and out of PAP. Â Here’s how it’s playing out for us.
Pilot just got word. Â PAP airport is jammed now. Â Closed. Â We will take off in few mins, try to land in PAP. Â We may have to go to DR and pick our way to PAP – probably a day journey. Â That’s an eternity for those 215 kids.
A thought… Â Cruise companies should boat in relief supplies and workers. Â Thousands could get here now – a critical time for people trapped. Â As is now, we have air and road arteries choked at a critical time.
Â
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/14/2010 10:40AM CST)
Via Joe Knittig en route to Haiti: we’re in the air and hopeful PAP airport will reopen while we are en route.
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/14/2010 12:12PM CST)
Our Haiti Relief Fund page is updated and easier to share, please forward to those you feel would like to help.
Joe Knittig just called from Santa Domingo airport in the Dominican Republic.  They had planned to land in Port Au Prince, but the airport was closed and they were diverted to SD. Now, they are lining up transportation. They would prefer to get a bus that they would fill up on the way with food and water. They’ve been told that the border closes at 6pm or midnight, so time is critical. Their plan is to drive the main road on the way to Port Au Prince, and stop first at our partner site: Ebenezer Mission at Croix des Bouquets, where there are 109 orphans. They would then head west to Carrefour, which would take about an hour in typical Haiti conditions, to visit our homes there with 106 children. The guys have a satellite phone with them, so they will keep us posted. Please keep praying!
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/14/2010 6:16 PM CST)
GREAT NEWS! We have heard from ESMI that the 106 children at Carrefour are doing well. AND, Moise Vaval, our C3 Field Director in Haiti who lives in Port Au Prince, was able to reach us via email this evening, and he is well. These are huge answers to prayer! Dony St. Germain made it to Port Au Prince today with Dou Dou, has seen Carrefour and also shared that our homes and children in Gonaives are well. He shared that the devastation is ‘horrific with dead bodies on the ground, people sleeping in the streets, no water and no food’.
Our travelers to Haiti, including Mike Fox, Joe Knittig and Adrien Lewis, had to remain in Santo Domingo for the night and will be traveling to Port Au Prince tomorrow – focused on Ebenezer in Croix de Bouquets first. One more note – the Global Orphan Project will be on KC’s local Fox and CBS news tonight.  Please continue to pray, and also to donate to our relief fund so that we can provide for the great need.
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/14/2010 8:50 PM CST)
Via Joe Knittig:
Two tracks today. A lot of great. A lot of heartache.
The great…
Moise is alive. Children and staff in Carrefour – OK. We may need to evacuate them in light of the surroundings and expected disease spread in the area. That’s a high class problem right now. Gonaives children – good. Dony and Doudou – safe. Praise God for all these miracles in this mess!
And listen to this amazing story.  Over the last few months, we’ve been working with Maria Barroso and her company, Eair LLC, to frame a children’s village in the Dominican Republic that Eair will sponsor. Eair has an affiliate company in the DR.  Today we were frustrated as all get out. Stuck in DR, all of our transportation options failed. Then I get an email. Maria. “Eair wants to help.” I called her. Within 1 hour, she had her company’s personal driver rent a truck to drive us to PAP at 6 a.m. Now, her company is working with us to load a truck or container full of water and food staples to take to PAP, immediately. Her warehouse in the DR is right where we are, in Santo Domingo! God willing, we’ll somehow be able to rendezvous with Dony tomorrow to take a container of water and food to PAP. What a Godsend.
The heartache…
Moise is safe, but hurting terribly. One of his little boys, Jean-Marc (8 yrs old), is missing. If you could meet Moise and Jean-Marc, you’d see his daddy’s sweet countenance in Jean-Marc. Moise, Jean-Marc, and the entire Vaval family need fervent prayer. Pray that we find Jean-Marc safe and sound.
Tomorrow morning our team will split.
Fox, Andrew, and Pete will stay in Santo Domingo. They’ll work with Eair’s DR General Manager, Melo, to load up a truck with water and food, and get clearance from the US Embassy to run it in to PAP. Hopefully, they’ll meet up with Dony, who’s coming to do the same thing.
Adrien, Paul and I will leave here at 4 a.m. your time to Haiti. Our goal is to get to our partner at Croix de Bouqet, as we still have no report on the children and staff there. At the same time, we’re hoping to meet Moise there. If we can connect with Moise, God willing, we will be able to help him look for Jean-Marc.
There’s all kinds of terrible news, I know. But we’re really hopeful. The big and the little – the United States govt and armed forces, other nations, NGOs, and just ordinary people – are responding HUGE.
YOU ARE RESPONDING HUGE. You all are spreading the word and rallying to The Global Orphan Project’s efforts here. Humbling and encouraging – you are.
Until tomorrow…Gratefully yours,
Joe
Haiti Earthquake Update (1/15/2010 5:50 am CST)
Moise Vaval, our C3 Haiti Field Director, has moved his family to Verettes as the buildings continue to shake in Port Au Prince – please keep them in your prayers. Joe and Adrien started out at 4:30 am cst this morning on the road from Santo Domingo to Port Au Prince, destination Ebenezer in Croix des Bouquets – they are planning to meet Moise and Dony St. Germain there around noon our time, and to help in the search for Jean-Marc. Mike and a few guys are already out acquiring food and water to fill the truck – it will be the start of many, many truckloads of food we will need to provide in the next days and weeks. Mike’s team is searching for all paperwork they will need to bring the load across the border. Please pray for Jean-Marc, for Claude Mondesir and Ebenezer, and for safe travel.
Update from Louis St. Germain (1/15/2010 9:15 am CST)
I WAS AT PAP YESTERDAY. WE BROUGHT FOOD, WATER AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO PETIONVILLE.
WE RESCUE A YOUNG GIRL AT DELMAS . BROTHERS, IT IS UNBELIEVABLE AND HORRIBLE. MORE THAN ANYONE COULD IMAGINE.
THE SMELL IS HORRIBLE. IT IS WINDY AND ALSO THE DUST IN THE AIR MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO BREATH. TOMORROW IT MAY BE CHALLENGING, BECAUSE THE SMELL WILL BE WORST. THERE ARE MANY BODIES TRAPPED IN THE COLLAPSED BUILDING AND THEY CANNOT GET THEM OUT. PLEASE BROTHERS CARRY MASK WITH YOU. AND ALSO WATER. EVERY THING YOU ARE GOING TO CARY IN VEHICLE TO DISTRIBUTE NEEDS TO BE COVERED OTHERWISE PEOPLE WILL JUST JUMP ON AND TAKE IT FROM YOU. IT IS THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE.
