TVP Team report

The TVP team to work with MNA in Carrefour Haiti went to help renovate the building for future team use. The shipping container with the supplies got held up in the port, so the team had to improvise, and was still able to get much work done.
A few comments from the team:
"We were privileged to be able to serve God in Haiti. The people there are appreciative of the work we’re doing and it’s a great opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ. When they say “Thank You” in French it is “Merci” and is a constant reminder of God’s mercy toward us, for which we say “merci”. The task before us is so overwhelming it will take countless volunteers many years to give the people back their country."
"It was an experience that I must say has changed me deeply. I think it is important for people to in the U.S. to know that Christianity is vibrantly alive among the people there. I was astounded to see the name of Jesus displayed so proudly on almost every building and public vehicle and the worship service that we attended there was one that I will never forget. It was awesome to see that through all of their troubles, our brothers and sisters in Haiti worship God in such great joy and truth."
"The children, the hope the children have."
"What I was most impressed with was the Haitian people..even though they live in a ten by ten make shift shelter, their clothes are always clean and they are very well groomed. Given their circumstance, it is a credit to their integrity to take pride in their appearance !"

First Hope For Hait Team leaving this week

Please pray for the first full team from the TN Valley Presbytery's Hope For Haiti. The team will leave on Thursday and travel to Carrefour, where they will work on renovating a building for use by MNA/El Shaddai for teams to work out of and as a center for long term response to the earthquake.
If you would like to support the team, checks can be sent to First Pres, designated Hope For Haiti. Team members are: Philip Huffine, Dick Griffith, Bim Enzweiler, Jim Boyd, Donny Stewart, Craig Worland, Dan Blomberg, Derek Blakney, Steve Carr, and Dave Hooker.

Haiti report

In a small community on the outskirts of Jacmel Haiti, just outside
the area that most relief agencies are working, we found 48 people
living in one temporary structure made of debris and banana leaves.
48 people in a space smaller than my living room. Most had their
homes destroyed or damaged in the earthquake, but some were just
terrified of returning to their homes, of sleeping under a solid roof.
Just up the hill a small hut houses 9 people. We did a survey of the
community, confirming what the needs and numbers were, and making a
list of families that needed tents, and how many people were in their
family unit. Then we told them we had a gift for them from Church
members and school students in Chattanooga who had heard about the
earthquake and wanted to help, and the truck drove up with tents. A
small girl ran up to the side of the truck, and when she realized that
there were tents inside, broke out into a huge smile and began jumping
up and down. That made the trip for me.
We were able to send close to 300 tents thus far, and are making
decisions about the second shipment. There is a great need for
transitional tent shelters, which have a steel frame and can
eventually be converted into permanent homes, and we may use the
remaining money to purchase some of those for these same people.
Thank you for being a part of this effort. Please continue to pray
for the people of Jacmel and look for further opportunities to help
and maybe someday even to visit.

Heading to Haiti

- Brian McKeon and David Peck head to Haiti on Tuesday to take a stack of tents to Jacmel. They hope to visit the site the team will work on in Carrefour as well as meet up with Kyle Mullinax while there.
- Mark Mollenkof, Julia Flanagan, and the McIntyres are heading home on Monday, and we look forward to hearing their reports.
- Team is scheduled still for March 6-13, stay tuned for updates and training information.

Feb 10 Update

Haiti needs:
- We are wrapping up the drive for tents and need help packaging them for transport. We could use a number of people to come on Saturday to the warehouse in Hixson (5325 Old Hixson Pike Hixson, TN 37343) from 10am to 2pm. This will also be the last opportunity to bring tents or supplies.
- The first team is tentatively scheduled for March 6-13. This will be an intense physical labor trip, under difficult conditions. The team will be remodeling a structure just outside Port au Prince for MNA to use to run teams for the long term response. This trip will be limited to those with disaster/military training or experience, and the work skills that are needed. We particularly need electricians, plumbers, and other construction skills. All team members will need to attend a training session and be approved. The cost for the trip will be about $1200, a valid passport is required, as well as the proper vaccinations (Hep series, Tetanus, Typhoid). If you think you are interested and meet these qualifications, please contact me. If you do not, but are still interested, please wait for the teams that will come after this. There are also some other opportunities listed below.
- MNA has other teams, both medical and short term, going to Haiti to work in other areas. Please see their websites: http://www.pca-mna.org or http://www.gcanet.org/ or http://www.esmihome.org/
- MTW is also sending teams, medical for now and possibly reconstruction teams in the near future: http://www2.mtw.org

Update from Kyle Mullinax, in Haiti

Thank-you for your prayers. Everything is going as well as can possibly be expected. I involved in a few construction projects at the moment. Some for housing refuges coming from port, some from houses that lost all structural integrity. Please continue to pray for funds, for God's peace and for wisdom and witness. I will update pictures soon. In the cross, KYLE

Tents needed - urgent

In Jacmel, Haiti some 2,000 people have lost their homes and are
sleeping in a field - in the rain. An organization there has a plan for
transitional and long term housing, but there is an immediate need for
tents. We have offered to collect 650 tents and deliver them to
Jacmel within the next week. We need your help. Please consider
donating a new or unused 2 pole 3-4 person tent, along with $10 to
help cover shipping. Tents can be delivered to us or to New City
(2412 E.4th St,Chattanooga TN 37404). Checks can be made out to New
City, with Haiti tents in the memo. If you are unable to send a tent,
please consider sending $50 to cover the cost of a tent.
We need to move quickly!

MTW Response

MTW has a disaster team on the ground now, working with a Haitian pastor and treating a hundred people for medical needs each day.
Including Mark Mollenkof (previous post), we have several other TVP members going on the next MTW team: the McIlvaines and Julia Flanagan.
If you are interested in going on a MTW disaster team to Haiti please contact MTW directly. They are looking for medical and construction skills.

Mark Mollenkof heading to Haiti

Mark Mollenkof is a registered nurse with a master's degree in public health and a member of New City Fellowship will be leaving for Haiti next weekend February 6/7 to work for a week to 10 days. He will be joining a medical team sponsored by Mission to the World our denomination's mission board. MTW sent an assessment team last week to assess the situation and find a suitable area for teams to work in. The first medical team will leave this Saturday Feb. 29th. The teams will be staying in a school compound in a suburb of Port-Au-Prince and working in Dikini Victim's Camp, a large tent camp set up for survivors who have lost their homes. The school compound is occupied by several aid agencies and a contingent of U.S. soldiers. There is limited electricity and water at the school. Mark is asking for prayer from all who read this. While he has had experience living and working in some difficult situations he is sure that nothing will compare to the devastation and suffering he is going to encounter in Haiti. He asks that you pray that God will give him faith, courage and compassion. Pray that the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will burst forth through the heavy darkness and oppression that has hung over Haiti for many decades. The cost for the trip is approximately $1500. If you would like to give toward this expense you can send your donation to:

New City Fellowship
2412 Fourth Street
Chattanooga, TN 37404

Please designate the gift for "Haiti - Mark Mollenkof". If more money is sent in than is needed for Mark's expenses it will be used for future relief efforts of the Hope for Haiti committee operating as the relief effort of sveral churches in the Tennessee Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America."

June Hanks ministry update - Haiti

Dear friends,
January 23, 2010
Since the January 12th earthquake in Haiti, my emotions have crossed all spectrums: shock, grief, sadness, helplessness, and hope. I
cry with families over the death of children with disabilities sponsored to attend school in Port-au-Prince (PAP), lost loved ones of our
women in the Bernice Johnson Center, and people I know personally. Inspiration arrives through stories of survival, helping among the
Haitian brothers and sisters, and the strength of my Haitian faith-family.
Anticipating the need for general rehabilitation as well as management of wounds and amputations, I am working with a
prosthetist/orthotist, Paul Prusakowski, and multiple organizations (e.g. Amputee Coalition of America, Fillaeur, Inc, HHH) to form a
coalition of services for a focused, fluid, and sustainable initiative of rehabilitation and prosthetic services. The Centre de Sante
(CSL)/ Advantage Program Rehabilitation Clinic and brace shop has been chosen as a "point site of operation." Even before the
earthquake, an independent evaluation team chose our shop as one of the most up-to-date and functional for ongoing production. A
special thanks to the International Rotary Club for a generous donation to the rehabilitation clinic that will help increase the capacity of
the shop. Gratitude is beyond words for the ongoing assistance of the Apostolic Christian Church, Fayetteville United Methodist
Church, World Relief from First Presbyterian Church-Chattanooga, other faith-based groups and individuals.
As a certified wound care specialist and professor of physical therapy in management of wounds, amputation, and general post-op care,
I possess many skills that could be helpful during this time. I will be travelling to Haiti Jan 27-Feb14, 2010 to attempt to accomplish
the following goals:
•
Train staff (nursing & rehab) in post-op management and wound care
•
Further investigate the assets and needs of the Centre de Sante Lumiere (CSL)/Advantage Program to engage in a coalition of
groups to provide O&P services and general rehabilitation services
•
Lay groundwork for a more sustainable short-term and long-term service provision through CSL/Advantage Program
•
Determine specific needs in other medical / orphanage facilities in Les Cayes area (General Hospital & Mother Teresa Home,
where the Advantage Program already works)
•
Support the staff and friends there in any way possible (professionally, emotionally, physically, spiritually)
Following my spring teaching semester at UTC, I plan to return to Haiti at the end of April and stay through the summer as needed to
receive rehabilitation/medical teams and continue to train others. I have been involved in this work since 1998 and have been the
director since 2001, so my heart is there already.
Please consider participating in this venture by committing to pray 5 minutes each day for the work of the Advantage Program and
other ministries in Haiti who are doing all they can to bring God's help, hope and love. Pray for wisdom of the organizational leaders,
stamina of staff and volunteers, health (physical, emotional, spiritual), safety and effectiveness. Pray that the assistance offered in the
short and long term will be “helping that helps, not hurts.”
For more information on the Advantage program, go to www.advantagehaiti.com. If you wish to donate money, you can send a check
written to “Lumiere Ministries” and include a note designating the funds to “Ministry Account of June Hanks.” (Address at bottom of
this page). You can also donate online at the www.lumiereministries.com. Before checkout using your credit card, go to the “Add
Special Instructions to Seller” box and type “Ministry Account of June Hanks”. If you have any problems or questions about your
donation, please contact Lumiere Ministries (PH: 704.823.0271). Lumiere Ministires, Inc. is a 501c3 and all donations are tax
deductible.
Thanks for all your love, support and prayer….. In His care
,
June

Haiti Response

The Mercy Committee of the TVP has created Hope For Haiti to help coordinate our local response to the Haiti Earthquake. This blog will be used for updates on what we are doing and how you can be involved, plus as a place to post reports on teams coming and going.


HOPE FOR HAITI
See update below 1/22


FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Donations can be sent by sending check to 1st Presbyterian Church, Hope For Haiti Fund, 554 McCallie Ave, Chattanooga TN 37402 or any local area PCA church, designated Haiti.
Both MNA and MTW are also accepting contributions. See links above.
MEDAIR is responding, and our friend Tabitha Kapic is heavily involved with their response: http://www.medair.org/en/metanav-bottom/united-states/haiti/
SCAM ALERT: There are many scams and false reports out there, which is sickening. We recommend giving through local churches as one of the best ways to get the highest percentage of your money to the people on the ground, those that really need it. If you are unsure, please feel free to contact us and we will do some research for you.

Update:
First: Thank you all for your desire to serve by being involved with
teams to Haiti. The needs are great, which should drive us all to our
knees in prayer. I want to encourage you to think long term. Many of
you are itching to go and want to be there now, but we will need
people on teams for the next two years. Now is the time for the
rescue workers and security forces to do their thing, then our turn
will begin. I will keep you all posted as things develop and let you
know when we begin scheduling teams. The first few will likely be
limited to experienced professionals.
Second: If you are interested in going on a team you will need to have
a valid passport. This can be a lengthy and expensive process, so
begin now. You will also need to be up to date on the required
vaccinations. Check with your doctor or the CDC website to see what
you need. Last if you have not been to a training you should use this
time to prepare. MNA and MTW both have disaster response training
coming on the next few months. If you do not have construction
experience, get some - volunteer somewhere.
Third: At this point we are trying to gather funds to support our
efforts and the ministries on the ground in Haiti. We are also
gathering supplies to ship down, and we would like to fill a truck by
the end of next week. Please use your contacts to gather supplies.
They can be brought to New City, First Pres, or Covenant Pres here in
Chattanooga. Saturday morning, 10am, we will be at the warehouse
(5325 Old Hixson Pike Hixson, TN 37343) if you are available it could
be a good time to talk further.
Contacts:
Checks can be made out to First Presbyterian Church, 554 McCallie
Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402 with Hope For Haiti noted in the
memo.

Links:
MNA: http://www.pca-mna.org/disaster/index.php
MTW: http://www2.mtw.org
MedAir: http://www.medair.org/en/metanav-bottom/united-states/haiti
HAFF: http://www.haff.org
R3I: http://www.r3international.org

Supply List:
Buckets, Blankets/Sheets, Garbage/StorageBags, Non-perishable foods (canned or MREs) Toiletry sacks (containing a washcloth, soap, tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant)
Tarps/tents Hand tools Batteries
Dressings - sterile and unsterile Lidocaine Sutures
Neosporin/antibiotic ointment Ace bandages Ibuprofen
Oral rehydration salts Betadine wipes and sticks Hand Sanitizer
Gauze Diclofenac – (injection and oral) Tylenol
Motrin Multivitamins (children and adult) Zantac
Benadryl Hypertension medications Blood pressure medications
Cough medications Anti-diarrheal Antibiotics
Alcohol pads Band-Aids Blades – sterile only
Bulb syringes, stub adapter; no loose/single units; spinal Needles Casting supplies
Compression stockings Gloves: all sizes, sterile/non-sterile Gowns – (surgical and patient, head & shoe covers; goggles, masks)
IV supplies - tubing in sterile packages only IV Serum Needles – butterfly, angio catheter
Pediatric supplies Scalpels Splints – for legs, ankles and arms
Sponges - surgical Surgical towels- cloth/paper Syringes
Tape - all types Thermometers Tongue depressors