Earthquake News from Haiti

Damou Christian Mission, near Jacmel, Haiti

1/20/2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Chr= ist, this is a quick update on what is going on in Haiti and also to let you know what type of needs we have. Tina, Rachel, Harold and Donna Isenhower and Linda Roller (a good friend) are all OK. The mission lost 2 teachers and one of Tina’s best workers, Mary, lost her home. Tina has not been ab= le to access the Village and will do so very soon so we know how many of our church family have lost their homes.

Tina has been contacted by a wom= an from the mountains, (her village has been destroyed) and the Mayor from Jacmel asking her to take orphans. We are making sure= that everything is legal with each child and once all the papers are processed we are going to be starting an orphanage of 12 to 15 children from age newborn= to 6 years old.

Over the last couple of days Tina has been going from market to market buying up as much food as she can. She= is planning on feeding up to 3,200 people (mostly children) for as long as we = have to. At this time there is very little aid if any coming in.

The mission is doing OK. All the buildings are standing with a little cosmetic damage but so far we have not detected any structural damage that would not allow us to use it. We are thinking about cleaning up the Village of Hope and use it for temporary hou= sing for those that have lost their homes.
The following is a list of needs that go with the information above:

Feeding program: We have estimated that it will cost $7,000 a month to feed those 3,200 people. We have already bought the first $7,000 worth and we will keep a close eye on how long it will la= st.
Replacing homes: for some reason the US dollar is losing value in Haiti and the cost of building supplies are going up. = So what we could do for two thousand to twenty five hundred now will cost= us $3,000 dollars. We have immediate need already to replace Mary’s home and will update in the near future with the total number of homes= we will be assisting in.
Repairing homes: What Tina has seen and heard we wi= ll most likely be replacing homes but those homes we can repair we are looking at $2,000 dollars. (Mostly block and mortar, which is the most expensive.)
Orphans:

Startup cost for each child. This would include cloths, shoes, undergarment, medical care and o= ther essentials. $200 each.
At this time we are not equipped to house little children and we will have to purchase (or make) beds and other items = for the children. $80 dollars each.

Monthly cost: feeding, diapers, and so on. $50 a mo= nth each. This would also include education for those that are old enough.=
Future Building and land: We will house the orphans’ temporary at the mission house but that will not be feasible over the long run. Land cost $10,000 an acre and we would nee= d 3 plus acres. To build the first stage of buildings it will cost us $40,= 000 plus again depending on the cost of materials. The first stage would consist of 2 dorms that will have bath, bedroom and play area. We will build a central building that will be connected to each dorm that will= be the main meeting house and kitchen area. The orphanage will employ 4 t= o 5 employees to start but their salary is included in the monthly cost for each child.
Village of Hope: We are close to having the Village usable. It will take some elbow grease to get the walls clean and then= a new coat of paint. We will also need appliances. At this time we will = hold off on digging a well but in the near future we will need to have that done also. ($6,000) The cost to do all of this will be $4,000 dollars = with the labor coming from volunteers. We still need to build a wall if we = are ever going to use the Village for the elderly again and that cost is o= ver $110,000.
Generators: We are down to one that needs repairs. = I am getting needed information to try and repair them but in the near futu= re we are going to need to replace the ones we have and add one or two for future buildings.