The Haiti Experience (by Greg Beatch)

We finished our last clinic and construction project today... Yeah! Today we put a tin roof on a food prep area where the women are cooking for the people in the tent city beside Pastor Eddy; we started a tool co-operative in another large tent city with 10 complete sets of carpentry tools (saws, 2 kinds of hammers, levels, squares, tape measures, plumb lines); we gave out 3 complete sets in another more desperate tent city relying on providence for guidance (and a local) as to who had a large family to support... One of the guys was so excited he danced and sang Allelulia! ; also taught the kids to make fly traps out of plastic water bottles and of course a medical clinic. The wind and rains have picked up a lot. I've been through some pretty brutal diarrhea, but the azithromycin won. Feeling exhausted, but happy. Finally getting into the rhythm of this place, which does not move in straight lines ever. One guy who helped us a lot in the big tent city was actually deported from the USA 6 years ago for drug dealing, but was a pretty cool guy. I gave him a bunch of my clothes and some money and food.

June 20, 2010:
All is well. Hardly seen a mosquito but have been caught in downpours that turn the "streets" to rivers. I've been too busy to take any good photos, but got some. There are some good ones from other members of the team though. We start at 6:30 am and crash pretty much by now (9:30 pm) - its super hot and humid and earthquake devastation/rubble everywhere in the streets, tents in alleys and people living in tent cities. Some properly laid out, others totally chaotic without proper drainage. Lots of signs of foreign aid- at least in terms of temporary shelters. We're doing med clinics, giving out toys and clothes and sometimes all you can do is pray.

I'm leading a "construction" team - so far we have painted an orphanage, fixed tents sheltering a school, put a tin roof over a kitchen which feeds hundreds of kids from a tent city and have bought lots of tools for locals and worked with them to clear a soccer field and dig trenches for drainage among the tents. We're going to teach them how to make low tech fly traps out of empty plastic water bottles, simple but effective.
Despite all, the local kids are amazing. They love to teach their "special handshakes" try English and are always eager help with the tools and wheel barrows. The country goes nuts when Brazil scores (some of the tarp/tents have TVs!). A typical arrangement might be a series of blue tarps set up in a road beside collapsed houses with several families inside- yes, they flood out when it rains. I don't have a clue what they will do when the hurricanes start. Mortgages still have to be paid...
Traffic is beyond nuts. Getting simple stuff done is incredibly difficult, and we would be totally lost without our local translators and drivers that we hire. Our "bus" broke down one day and that was pretty interesting... Its a full French/Creole immersion here. Many of our 48 member team has had G.I. trouble, this too shall pass!

Anyway, thanks for your support. They are very appreciative of whatever we can do, even if its just giving them a little attention and love. They're quick to smile and laugh. Certainly there is heartbreak, but there is also life and carrying on. Several men have asked for jobs... So much need, so little time.

Greg Beatch