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Mercy & Sharing UPDATE – February 4, 2010 The real work In Haiti is now just beginning, and will continue for many years. As we mentioned in a prior update, the missing children from the abandoned baby unit were relocated by the Government to a facility near the General Hospital. We understand from IBESR (Haitian Social Services) that they will no longer have abandoned babies being dropped off at the General Hospital, which is but now being operated by an international relief agency, and that when children are abandoned at the General Hospital they will immediately be moved into a facility operated by a reputable organization. We are hoping that this will actually be the case and that the deplorable conditions of the abandoned baby unit will now be only a horrific memory from the past. My personal opinion is that Mercy and Sharing, spearheaded by Susie’s letter writing campaign, and the international attention that was focused on General Hospital as a result, caused the administration of the General Hospital to change their way of doing business. Only time will tell, as we will continue to monitor the situation at General Hospital. I wanted to send a personal “THANK YOU” to the World of Children, and Dr. Leibowitz and his wife Kay, for their organization’s support of Mercy and Sharing, which even included a grant from Manitha Neyam Trust in war torn Sri Lanka. While we have received support from a number of organizations throughout the United States and overseas, we want to respect everyone’s privacy and unless requested, we will not be publicizing any donations, but needless to say we all are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support. We are praying that this will continue and that the incredible disaster that befell Haiti will not be quickly forgotten. Mercy and Sharing’s next major shipment consisting of approximately 120 tons of relief supplies (five containers donated by Feed the Hungry and one container donated by Sun Electronics) have arrived in the Port at Saint Marc. These containers are in the process of clearing customs and we plan to have them available at Williamson within the next few days. At that time, we are going to start distributing them to other NGOs and organizations working in Haiti. Many remain hungry in Haiti. As of last Sunday, of the 2 million estimated to be in need, only approximately 640,000 people had received a meal from the United Nations World Food Program, less than one third of those in need. Remarkably, this catastrophe has been more difficult to manage than the tsunami in Indonesia or famine in Africa. As of Monday February 8, 2010 we are going to start the feeding programs at the schools. We will be increasing the number of recipients. In Cazeau we will feed 500 and in Cite Soleil we will feed 300. Our top priority continues to be cash donations. Go to www.haitichildren.org and click on the Donate page. We also appreciate everyone’s prayers and continue to seek His guidance and protection for the children and staff. Many of you have asked us about our rebuilding efforts. One would think in a country racked with such poverty and despair that rebuilding would be a relatively easy process. Unfortunately, Haiti is quite bureaucratic, and we also have to do a "constat" for the office building that has collapsed in Delmas 75. A judge has to do a report before we are allowed to commence the demolition of the building. Same thing for the Cazeau school and wall. Susie will be likely testifying at a Congressional hearing in Washington, DC next week, then we will keep you advised as to that hearing, and whether it is going to be broadcast on C-SPAN. A few photographs from the last trip that Susie made are attached, courtesy of Bill Stelzer and Mercy and Sharing. B. Joseph Krabacher MERCY & SHARING |