I finally have a slow but present internet connection so I can give you a personal update with regard to our situation here in Jérémie, Haiti. As you’ve seen on the news and read on our website, Hurricane Matthew was a devastating storm with widespread destruction and Jérémie sustained the brunt of it. We were without cell phone contact from early morning on Tuesday, October 4th, until Friday evening, October 7th. Internet was down entirely until late last week. We are grateful for all the prayers, emails, phone calls and concern that has been shown to us and to our staff here in Haiti as well as the people in the communities we serve. We praise the Lord that all of our staff are safe,
Since Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti on October 4 our clinic has remained closed. The damage to the clinic was significant but fortunately is repairable. The road to the clinic was not passable for several days until fallen trees and other debris could be cleared. Dr. Wolf, Cherlie and our clinic staff are on site today working to make essential repairs to the clinic and other buildings and doing clean up in hopes of re-opening and seeing patients late next week. The clinic itself suffered mostly flooding damage. The pharmacy suffered flooding damage and has a number of broken window frames and some broken doors. A significant amount of medications were also lost. Piping from the well and wa
Photo by Associated Press. Saint Anne church lays totally destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Camp Perrin. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. By now, we’ve all heard of the catastrophe caused by Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean and within our borders. News channels have been documenting how Hurricane Matthew has destroyed communities of people, now surviving on the mercy of others. As a Haitian living in the United States, I sat in the comfort of my home and watched as the people of southern Haiti lost everything overnight. I don't know if any of us that have not been through it will ever understand how it feels to lose EVERYTHING in a matter of hours. Picture after picture of families you know, place
Now that regular communication with Dr. Wolf has been restored, we are learning of the full extent of the devastation from Hurricane Matthew and what assistance is most needed. Dr. Wolf explained that better than 95% of homes between Jérémie and Gatineau had tin roofs. Virtually all of those roofs were blown off and any household belongs within were largely destroyed by the ferocious wind and torrential rain. In many cases, the walls of the homes then collapsed as well. Thousands of people are now without shelter. In Gatineau, hundreds had gathered on the porch of our clinic to take shelter during the storm and have remained there since, their homes now gone. The primary immediate needs
We have wonderful news! We just heard from Dr. Wolf and Cherlie! Though they have been through quite an ordeal, they are safe and sound. We’ll share more details soon, but tonight we have much to be thankful for. Praise the Lord!
***Fri Oct 7, 2016 2:00 PM Port au Prince*** We are still awaiting word from Dr. Wolf and Cherlie Severe. All communications remain down in the area. Despite reports of many washed out roads and bridges, our transport driver (Miller) in Port au Prince plans to attempt to travel out to Jérémie tomorrow. Prayers for his safe journey. If he can make it all the way to Jérémie, we still may not receive updates until he is able to safely return to Port au Prince, which could be several days more. Rest assured, all efforts are being made to reach out to those in the area in hopes of confirming they are safe and sound. ********************************************* ***Thu Oct 6, 2016 9:40 AM Port au