Casting Crowns has a song entitled "Voice of Truth". In our lives with all the other voices around saying otherwise we need to listen to the "Voice of Truth". Follow the link to watch this video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwsvqVmFV6Y
Saturday, September 19, 2009
haiti update - september 19, 2009
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
Hi! Friday was a violent day. First thing in the morning the guys told me that somebody had been killed during the evening in the Delmas 31 neighborhood. It happened at a home near the soccer field. I went over to find out if it was anyone I knew. Jude, a Haitian man I have known for years came up to me and greeted me. The person killed was his friend. He had been hacked to death with a machete during the evening inside his home. The killer(s) had left the machete inside the home. Jude had spoken with him the prior afternoon by telephone and there was no indication of any problems. The strange thing is that the people who live in the house with him said that they didn’t know that anything was going on. The area where the house is located is down a narrow corridor with houses connected together down the corridor. People living there said they didn’t hear anything. They heard no signs of a struggle while this man was being killed. The police were there conducting an investigation and a man was handcuffed in the back of the police truck. The police were angry with him. He was one of the people inside the house during the evening. A policeman from the DCPJ (unit which conducts investigations) came out with a bag holding a pair of tennis shoes. The guys here at Coram Deo couldn’t understand either how he could die like that without anyone knowing. They saw this man at a soccer match the prior afternoon. The body was found on the second story of the home. On the first floor was the family business. They had a boutique and he also lent money to those who needed it along with charging interest. He has a daughter living in New York. Later in the afternoon after the police questioned the man that was in handcuffs it was determined that this man let the killers into the house. The killers were part of a gang located in the Delmas 19/ Cite Aux Cayes area called Tete Mur (Top of the Wall). Police arrested members of this gang. Pray for the family of this man and for Jude as he has lost his friend and for the police investigation; that those who did this act will be caught and punished.
Around noon Jn. Eddy came to me upset after receiving a phone call to come downtown as his mother was having problems. They didn’t say what problems she was having. I drove Jn. Eddy to the cathedral area downtown. There is a large market around the front street of the cathedral. Many people in Haiti try to make a living selling things on the streets in the downtown area and on other streets of Port-au-Prince. Jn. Eddy’s mother has sold in this market for several years already. Last week his mother was sick and Jn. Eddy’s sister was opening up the family stand hoping to make some sales during the day. As she was setting everything up on display, a man came up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. He asked her why was she selling there and informed her that there would be consequences for selling in that location. He stepped back, and took a gun out of his knapsack. Jn. Eddy’s sister reacted quickly and started to run. The people in the area noticed the gun and started screaming. The man did not pursue after Jn. Eddy’s sister and he left after noticing a police patrol in the area. Jn. Eddy was concerned that the phone call he got was related to last weeks’ incident and he was concerned for his mother’s safety. In the incident that took place today another market seller came with her supporters and was angry with Jn. Eddy’s mother. His mother ended up getting knocked to the ground with a blow from a rock. Because many people try to make a living selling, other people try to take other vendor’s positions in the marketplace. People are trying to force out Jn. Eddy’s mother from selling there. He told his mother not to sell there anymore but she keeps telling him that she has been selling there for years and that she needs to support the family. Pray for protection for this woman as she struggles to provide for her family and that she can find another location to sell that is safer.
The school program started on Monday here at Coram Deo and the classes are full. We have around 40 students in both classes. Jackenmy Milien is the teacher of the handicapped class and Jn. Eddy Alexandre is the teacher of the 1st and 2nd grade classes. We had a parent meeting on Thursday to explain the program and also to hand out the book lists. We don’t have the funding to be able to provide the students with books but maybe next year we will be able to. The parents are thankful that their children are going to school and there was a good attendance at the meeting. Adoration Christian school has also been conducting intake testing for their handicapped applicants. We will be contacting CDIA about helping some of their applicants if we can who don’t fit into their new special education program this year. The deaf program at Pastor Leny’s school is starting again and we hope to place Ruth Legagneur into this program. She was part of the handicapped program here at Coram Deo last year. Please pray for all these programs.
Today we went and visited Jacob in Archaie. He is now re-integrating back with his family. He lives with his uncle in Archaie. When I asked the people here at Coram Deo who wanted to go and visit Jacob; everyone wanted to. It is good that Kimosabee can hold the weight because we went with 17 people in the pick-up truck. Jacob is doing well. He lives close to Independence square and his uncle is the caretaker of the church and school that is across the street from their home. I took some time talking with his uncle about what happened to Sammy. Jacob and Sammy were cousins. Jacob’s uncle was Sammy’s cousin. When we re-integrated Sammy with his family the plan was for him to stay in Archaie and not to go back up the mountain to Fond Baptiste. Sammy lived where Jacob now is for 8 months and then went to live with his brother in Fond Baptiste. Sammy and his brother were the inheritors of the family land. In Haiti when the parents die the land is split amongst the children. When Sammy was living at his cousin’s house his brother thought that his cousin would try to get Sammy’s portion of the land as his provider and he insisted that Sammy live with him. This is possibly the reason why he didn’t bring Sammy back down the mountain when he got sick. Now that Sammy is dead his brother has sole ownership of the family property. It is a sad situation but this happens here in Haiti. Several years ago a policeman went up to Fond Baptiste to settle a land dispute and the people killed him and burnt the police vehicle. Pray for Sammy’s brother. We don’t know if everything that was said is the truth or not but God knows what happened and Sammy is in heaven. Pray for Sammy’s brother and the people who live in Fond Baptiste. I want to go up there someday to see where Sammy is buried and to meet with his brother. We will continue to visit Jacob and are in the process of registering him at the school across from his uncle’s home. We will also bring food to help the family out from time to time. Jacob’s uncle is a friendly man and Jacob is comfortable living with him. Please keep Jacob and his uncle’s family in prayer.
That is all the news for today. Have a good week!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo
Hi! Friday was a violent day. First thing in the morning the guys told me that somebody had been killed during the evening in the Delmas 31 neighborhood. It happened at a home near the soccer field. I went over to find out if it was anyone I knew. Jude, a Haitian man I have known for years came up to me and greeted me. The person killed was his friend. He had been hacked to death with a machete during the evening inside his home. The killer(s) had left the machete inside the home. Jude had spoken with him the prior afternoon by telephone and there was no indication of any problems. The strange thing is that the people who live in the house with him said that they didn’t know that anything was going on. The area where the house is located is down a narrow corridor with houses connected together down the corridor. People living there said they didn’t hear anything. They heard no signs of a struggle while this man was being killed. The police were there conducting an investigation and a man was handcuffed in the back of the police truck. The police were angry with him. He was one of the people inside the house during the evening. A policeman from the DCPJ (unit which conducts investigations) came out with a bag holding a pair of tennis shoes. The guys here at Coram Deo couldn’t understand either how he could die like that without anyone knowing. They saw this man at a soccer match the prior afternoon. The body was found on the second story of the home. On the first floor was the family business. They had a boutique and he also lent money to those who needed it along with charging interest. He has a daughter living in New York. Later in the afternoon after the police questioned the man that was in handcuffs it was determined that this man let the killers into the house. The killers were part of a gang located in the Delmas 19/ Cite Aux Cayes area called Tete Mur (Top of the Wall). Police arrested members of this gang. Pray for the family of this man and for Jude as he has lost his friend and for the police investigation; that those who did this act will be caught and punished.
Around noon Jn. Eddy came to me upset after receiving a phone call to come downtown as his mother was having problems. They didn’t say what problems she was having. I drove Jn. Eddy to the cathedral area downtown. There is a large market around the front street of the cathedral. Many people in Haiti try to make a living selling things on the streets in the downtown area and on other streets of Port-au-Prince. Jn. Eddy’s mother has sold in this market for several years already. Last week his mother was sick and Jn. Eddy’s sister was opening up the family stand hoping to make some sales during the day. As she was setting everything up on display, a man came up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. He asked her why was she selling there and informed her that there would be consequences for selling in that location. He stepped back, and took a gun out of his knapsack. Jn. Eddy’s sister reacted quickly and started to run. The people in the area noticed the gun and started screaming. The man did not pursue after Jn. Eddy’s sister and he left after noticing a police patrol in the area. Jn. Eddy was concerned that the phone call he got was related to last weeks’ incident and he was concerned for his mother’s safety. In the incident that took place today another market seller came with her supporters and was angry with Jn. Eddy’s mother. His mother ended up getting knocked to the ground with a blow from a rock. Because many people try to make a living selling, other people try to take other vendor’s positions in the marketplace. People are trying to force out Jn. Eddy’s mother from selling there. He told his mother not to sell there anymore but she keeps telling him that she has been selling there for years and that she needs to support the family. Pray for protection for this woman as she struggles to provide for her family and that she can find another location to sell that is safer.
The school program started on Monday here at Coram Deo and the classes are full. We have around 40 students in both classes. Jackenmy Milien is the teacher of the handicapped class and Jn. Eddy Alexandre is the teacher of the 1st and 2nd grade classes. We had a parent meeting on Thursday to explain the program and also to hand out the book lists. We don’t have the funding to be able to provide the students with books but maybe next year we will be able to. The parents are thankful that their children are going to school and there was a good attendance at the meeting. Adoration Christian school has also been conducting intake testing for their handicapped applicants. We will be contacting CDIA about helping some of their applicants if we can who don’t fit into their new special education program this year. The deaf program at Pastor Leny’s school is starting again and we hope to place Ruth Legagneur into this program. She was part of the handicapped program here at Coram Deo last year. Please pray for all these programs.
Today we went and visited Jacob in Archaie. He is now re-integrating back with his family. He lives with his uncle in Archaie. When I asked the people here at Coram Deo who wanted to go and visit Jacob; everyone wanted to. It is good that Kimosabee can hold the weight because we went with 17 people in the pick-up truck. Jacob is doing well. He lives close to Independence square and his uncle is the caretaker of the church and school that is across the street from their home. I took some time talking with his uncle about what happened to Sammy. Jacob and Sammy were cousins. Jacob’s uncle was Sammy’s cousin. When we re-integrated Sammy with his family the plan was for him to stay in Archaie and not to go back up the mountain to Fond Baptiste. Sammy lived where Jacob now is for 8 months and then went to live with his brother in Fond Baptiste. Sammy and his brother were the inheritors of the family land. In Haiti when the parents die the land is split amongst the children. When Sammy was living at his cousin’s house his brother thought that his cousin would try to get Sammy’s portion of the land as his provider and he insisted that Sammy live with him. This is possibly the reason why he didn’t bring Sammy back down the mountain when he got sick. Now that Sammy is dead his brother has sole ownership of the family property. It is a sad situation but this happens here in Haiti. Several years ago a policeman went up to Fond Baptiste to settle a land dispute and the people killed him and burnt the police vehicle. Pray for Sammy’s brother. We don’t know if everything that was said is the truth or not but God knows what happened and Sammy is in heaven. Pray for Sammy’s brother and the people who live in Fond Baptiste. I want to go up there someday to see where Sammy is buried and to meet with his brother. We will continue to visit Jacob and are in the process of registering him at the school across from his uncle’s home. We will also bring food to help the family out from time to time. Jacob’s uncle is a friendly man and Jacob is comfortable living with him. Please keep Jacob and his uncle’s family in prayer.
That is all the news for today. Have a good week!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo
Sunday, September 13, 2009
ARTICLE - MATERNAL HEALTH CARE - AFP
A PAINFUL BIRTH FOR FREE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN HAITI
By Jordi Zamora (AFP)
PORT AU PRINCE — Women can give birth for free at the Isaie Jeanty hospital in the Haitian capital thanks to foreign aid -- but hospital equipment theft is so rampant an operating room has been closed almost since the site opened.
Isaie Jeanty is an example of how millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, can sometimes create obstacles as the country strives towards economic development.
"It is scandalous that the operating room was used for only one month," said Henriette Chamouillet, the local representative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as she leads a group of donors on a hospital tour.
The hospital director, Camille Figaro, rushes to unlock the doors to the unused room.
Inside the brand-new operating table seems unused, and it's covered with dust. The floor is dirty, and the medical equipment shelves are empty.
"Where is the equipment?" Chamouillet asks.
"There was no equipment," answers Figaro.
As Chamouillet continues her tour with the group, which includes PAHO Director Mirta Roses and representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), Figaro sheepishly admits that "perhaps" the equipment is being used in the gynecology section.
At the Isaie Jeanty hospital, one of 49 Haitian hospitals where PAHO pays for obstetric services, women do not pay to give birth but do pay for gynecological operations such as removing an ovarian cyst or a tubal ligation.
This may solve the mystery of the missing equipment -- moved to an area of the hospital that can generate revenue.
But neither Chamouillet nor Roses -- whose group subsidized building the operating room four years ago -- are swayed by the argument.
PAHO pays 40 dollars for every birth at the hospital, and patients pay nothing, not even for C-sections or medicine.
"The lists are controlled" with help from anonymous collaborators, Roses told AFP. "But we cannot control the corruption."
Heavily pregnant women line up to deliver in the hospital, sitting on wooden benches or standing in the halls as they wait their turn. Screams coming from women who are giving birth can be heard in the hallway, which are clean but bare.
"We don't have sheets," Figaro says, pleading for assistance.
"We can't give sheets, that's not our responsibility," Chamouillet says.
In a room packed with patients, a woman who gives her name only as Maria smiles weakly.
Four days earlier she had a Cesarean and gave birth to a boy, who is clean and sleeps peacefully.
"I paid nothing," she says. She closes her eyes and rubs her belly.
When asked if she paid for her medicine, her eyes open wide. "Any chance you can lend me some money?" she asks.
The female mortality rate at birth in Haiti was at nearly 700 women for each 100,000 births before the PAHO program began, the highest in all the Americas, according to the health group. At that time two-thirds of Haiti's pregnant women gave birth at home.
But since the aid program began in 2005, the mortality rate has dropped in hospitals in the PAHO program to 130 for each 100,000 births.
For that reason assistance to the Jeanty hospital will continue, despite the vanishing equipment or lack of sheets, Chamouillet and Roses said.
Oversight however will be tighter, they insist.
"It's clean and they meet their commitment of not charging," Roses said.
Haiti asked for more international community aid for next year, and at a conference of donors in April collected 327 million dollars in pledged assistance.
"There's never been such a high commitment from the international community" since the arrival of a United Nations military stabilization force in 2004, OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin, who headed a delegation of senior officials to Haiti, told reporters.
"But if you put the bar too high, you will become disappointed," he said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
By Jordi Zamora (AFP)
PORT AU PRINCE — Women can give birth for free at the Isaie Jeanty hospital in the Haitian capital thanks to foreign aid -- but hospital equipment theft is so rampant an operating room has been closed almost since the site opened.
Isaie Jeanty is an example of how millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, can sometimes create obstacles as the country strives towards economic development.
"It is scandalous that the operating room was used for only one month," said Henriette Chamouillet, the local representative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as she leads a group of donors on a hospital tour.
The hospital director, Camille Figaro, rushes to unlock the doors to the unused room.
Inside the brand-new operating table seems unused, and it's covered with dust. The floor is dirty, and the medical equipment shelves are empty.
"Where is the equipment?" Chamouillet asks.
"There was no equipment," answers Figaro.
As Chamouillet continues her tour with the group, which includes PAHO Director Mirta Roses and representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), Figaro sheepishly admits that "perhaps" the equipment is being used in the gynecology section.
At the Isaie Jeanty hospital, one of 49 Haitian hospitals where PAHO pays for obstetric services, women do not pay to give birth but do pay for gynecological operations such as removing an ovarian cyst or a tubal ligation.
This may solve the mystery of the missing equipment -- moved to an area of the hospital that can generate revenue.
But neither Chamouillet nor Roses -- whose group subsidized building the operating room four years ago -- are swayed by the argument.
PAHO pays 40 dollars for every birth at the hospital, and patients pay nothing, not even for C-sections or medicine.
"The lists are controlled" with help from anonymous collaborators, Roses told AFP. "But we cannot control the corruption."
Heavily pregnant women line up to deliver in the hospital, sitting on wooden benches or standing in the halls as they wait their turn. Screams coming from women who are giving birth can be heard in the hallway, which are clean but bare.
"We don't have sheets," Figaro says, pleading for assistance.
"We can't give sheets, that's not our responsibility," Chamouillet says.
In a room packed with patients, a woman who gives her name only as Maria smiles weakly.
Four days earlier she had a Cesarean and gave birth to a boy, who is clean and sleeps peacefully.
"I paid nothing," she says. She closes her eyes and rubs her belly.
When asked if she paid for her medicine, her eyes open wide. "Any chance you can lend me some money?" she asks.
The female mortality rate at birth in Haiti was at nearly 700 women for each 100,000 births before the PAHO program began, the highest in all the Americas, according to the health group. At that time two-thirds of Haiti's pregnant women gave birth at home.
But since the aid program began in 2005, the mortality rate has dropped in hospitals in the PAHO program to 130 for each 100,000 births.
For that reason assistance to the Jeanty hospital will continue, despite the vanishing equipment or lack of sheets, Chamouillet and Roses said.
Oversight however will be tighter, they insist.
"It's clean and they meet their commitment of not charging," Roses said.
Haiti asked for more international community aid for next year, and at a conference of donors in April collected 327 million dollars in pledged assistance.
"There's never been such a high commitment from the international community" since the arrival of a United Nations military stabilization force in 2004, OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin, who headed a delegation of senior officials to Haiti, told reporters.
"But if you put the bar too high, you will become disappointed," he said.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
photos - bonnette - part a
We went to the village of Bonnette with Deedee and Natasha to pick up Guerline Beaubrun and Samson Felix. Guerline is dressed in the red dress.
Samson is shown here being held by his mother. His mother had tears in her eyes when she handed him over to Deedee. She knew that he wasn't doing well.
Natasha is the "blanc" holding onto Guerline. Natasha is running the Faith, Hope, Love Infant Rescue Mission while Dorothy is in the United States.
The children of this village enjoy it when visitors come.
They also like to clown around for the camera!photos - bonnette - part b
This boy is giving a "thumbs up".
The sun was bright for this girl as she was looking up to the camera.
Boys make a game of rolling this bicycle tire rim.
In the "downtown" section of the village of Bonnette I noticed a wet spot amongst the dry ground. God provides a spring for the people to drink from as the water pours out from this rock. It is clean water too.
This elderly man is heading out for a walk.photos - various - part a
A week ago we brought a pregnant mother to Medecins Sans Frontieres Maternity Hospital after she wasn't able to deliver her baby at home. When we picked her up she was not doing very well. Her eyes were yellow and she was week. She had a healthy baby boy!
The mother received excellent care at the hospital. They kept her there for one week. Now she is back to doing her motherly duties for the family. She was preparing a meal for her family when I visited. The family is very poor. They have one bed and what you see on the floor. Pray for the poor struggling to live here in Haiti. We give the Lord thanks that mother and child are both well.
"Cousin Johnny" who is Fedner's cousin from Jeremie came to visit bearing gifts! One of these gifts was a rooster for Manu.
Another gift was a rooster and chicken for Benson. The children enjoy looking after their new pets. I can't wait to eat them!
This gift of food is called "labapen" in creole. It is sort of like chestnuts. You peel the covering and then boil it. Everybody enjoyed eating them!photos - various - part b
On Saturday EDH came and replaced the broken electricity line. I like to think that part of the 5 million US$ grant from the World Bank went towards this new line!
The neighbors across the street are missionaries from Brazil. They run the "Dieu d'Amour" mission church at the top of Delmas 31. Every day during the week overflowing crowds of people from the church building take up part of the street for prayer services. People "Cry out to Jesus" for help in the difficulties of living in Haiti. The people in the back of this pickup truck are from their mission organization and were making evangelism announcements and playing christian music. The haitian people love to listen to music.
Ducarmel Villard was registered as part of the school program this week.
Kervens Peltro is a mentally handicapped boy from the neighborhood who also will be attending school for the first time. He is being raised by his grandfather. His grandfather was so happy that he got accepted that instead of shaking my hand he kissed it!
Vicnor Charles is a new addition to the school program here at Coram Deo as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)