Hi Noel,
What a wonderful possibility! I've copied John Engle of Haiti
Partners in the hope that he will be able to connect with you and CRS
directly.
Love to you, our friends in S'pore and our Haitian friends from the
snowy Arizona mountains,
Christine
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 19, 2010, at 12:26 AM, Noel E K Tan <[email protected]>
wrote:
Hi Christine,
Thanks for sharing the news from Haiti Partners,
I've passed on that email to a doctor friend of mine who runs a
relief group. The group are planning to send some medical teams out
to Haiti. CRS might contact Haiti Partners as they may need a
ground partner on location. I'm leaving the relevant parties to get
in touch.
Best,
Noel E K Tan, MEd, MSc
Principal
Human Learning and OD Professional
IAF Certified Professional Facilitator
Trailblazer Associates International
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On Jan 17, 2010, at 2:40 AM, Christine Whitney Sanchez wrote:
From: Haiti Partners <[email protected]>
Date: January 16, 2010 11:34:46 AM GMT-07:00
To: Christine Whitney Sanchez <[email protected]>
Subject: Family and the Earthquake
Dear Christine,
My phone just rang at 1:00 a.m. It was one of the young men in the
family we lived with for the first seven months when my wife and I
first moved to Haiti. They're our adopted Haitian family (that is,
they "adopted" us 7 years ago, and we're incredibly grateful). They
taught us how to speak Creole and do life. The 3-year-old grand-
daughter is our goddaughter. The other children we consider like
nephews and nieces. Family of 12 in three generations. I see them
all the time when I'm in Haiti. We talked for 9 minutes before
their phone ran out of card or power last night. They're all okay,
in a sense.
A number of you have been asking about them because you know them
from my recent book. I didn't want to write about them till now
because we hadn't heard anything. Sick with worry. It was too much
to write down what might or might not be.
They're all unharmed. They're sleeping out on the dirt tonight,
because the three small family homes are now piles of rubble. The
small town of Dabon where they live is near the epicenter and is
devastated, leveled. "Kent, you'd get lost if you tried to find
your home here." An older woman I always visit and buy water from
in town was killed. As the names flew by too fast over the iffy
phone connection, I didn't recognize them all. Most of the names he
said were alive, some dead.
Then he said, "We don't have food or water." What do you mean? "No
food or water." Same answer.
I believe in the God who multiplied fish and loaves to feed the
hungry. I believe in the God who says I'm always with you. And
right now, it's achingly clear--heartbreakingly, angrily clear--
isn't it, that we who believe also believe in the God who is hidden
sometimes, sometimes when we are most in need, to whom the Psalmist
cried out, "How long, oh Lord, how long?"
How long?
Too long. There's no other answer right now. People are being
rescued, but too many aren't, and 50,000 never will be. There will
be other answers in the weeks and months ahead, but right now the
only answer is too long.
My Haiti Partners co-director John is making every effort to get
out to this town of Dabon today, where we also have two elementary
schools that have collapsed, though nobody died in the buildings as
far as we know. John will hopefully see our family too.
So I sit here not knowing what to do--just like you. At the same
time, like you, I'm doing everything I can. Because that's what we
have to do, that's what the God we believe in expects of us, even
as we cry out for miracles.
For the "everything we can do" part, first I want to thank you for
the incredible outpouring of generosity in gifts and prayer. John
(who has worked in Haiti for 20 years) is on the ground assessing
our response that will include (a) responding to immediate,
critical needs of food, water, shelter, and basic necessities and
(b) the particular ways we will be mobilizing for the recovery and
rebuilding efforts in the communities of Dabon (where two of our
schools and other colleagues are), Cite Soleil (a slum in Port-au-
Prince where we also have a school that has collapsed), and
Marianman.
Haiti Partners was already committed to Haiti--and we work all over
the country--for years and years ahead. Now the plan is coming into
place for the work in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Finally, I've been asked often, when working in Haiti and then
during these past few days, how do you keep any hope? My answer,
which is burrowed deep in my bones through the privilege of living
with, being friends with, watching the courage of, and working
alongside many Haitians, is that if they haven't given up hope, we
have no right to. Today I saw on CNN Haitians walking the streets
of Port-au-Prince singing hymns and praying.
I sense that you haven't given up hope either. Thank you. We're
people committed to be on the side of God's hope, even on seemingly
hopeless days. We're people committed to be on the side of people
in Haiti--not just right now, but for the longterm. Thank you for
doing this together and for making the response of Haiti Partners
possible.
And thanks for letting me share so personally--even as we're
working hard on many organizational details. We welcome your
prayers for everyone, as so many people I've talked with today or
heard about or read about have lost friends, husbands or wives,
children, entire families. We welcome your prayers too for these
particular communities and for (if I can indulge you) this adopted
family of ours.
Together grasping and working for hope,
Kent (co-director)
P.S. For regular updates or to help: http://www.haitipartners.org
Donate
Remove my name from all future email correspondence
Address postal inquiries to:
Beyond Borders
PO Box 2132
Norristown, PA 19404-2132
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