In the midst of the hurricane season, between two of the most destructive hurricanes, SAS was faced with a great challenge in delivering aid to the south coast of Haiti. On this mission, SAS joined forces with two faculty university head students and Bishop Dumas who was recently appointed Diocese of the Nippes (south coast area) and headed to the south coast. The roads and homes of Miragoâne were completely submerged under floods of the nearby lake, “Etang de Miragoâne” that normally lies very close to the road. The lake was a beautiful part of the scenic drive. It was also the only road to the whole south coast from Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
On this day, we were faced with a different scene. We had to cross to the other side in dories (little wooden canoe boats). A sense of fear dominated the area as most Haitians do not know how to swim and these types of boats could easily capsize. While attempting to cross through in the dory, we encountered numerous vehicles trying to traverse the waters including a filled gas tanker which was submerging into the water. In an attempt to retrieve the gas, locals drilled holes under the container’s body and they began to dive into the corpse-filled waters to siphon and recuperate the leftover gas. We watched in horror as a desperate man gasped for air but only succumbed to asphyxiation. Even more shocking to us was that other locals kept diving in to continue this life-threatening act and the urgency for them to collect this gas in order to sell it left them oblivious to the sinking corpse. These people were putting their lives on the line for about 12 ounces of petrol that would retail for a few dollars.
Atop of the mountains, near the side of the flood, hundreds of people were gawking at the scene as if it were a movie. Some were even burning garbage and plastics not realizing that a spark from their fire could fall into fuel-spilled waters filled with wooden boats carrying survivors and cause a combustible disaster.
After finally making our way across the lake, we arrived in Petite Riviere only to brave through more waters. Finally, upon our destination to the town of Anse-a-Veau, we were greeted with warmth. We worked in the local church facility to help distribute much needed relief. In collaboration with Food for the Poor, CRS and other international organizations, we held a massive food and supplies distribution for the entire town.
We thank all of our donors for their contributions. We are especially grateful to Spectrum Subcontracting Services for their donation of industrial gloves used for the cleaning up and rebuilding process. We also thank Bishop Dumas for letting us share this mission experience with him.
Offering your time and hand is one of the greatest, invaluable gifts you can offer to the needy children of Haiti. SAS is grateful to have you as an additional member of our family. We appreciates that you are by our side in the ever-increasing fight in giving these kids a better chance at life. Take action by volunteering.
Use your unique skills. Organize a collection, have a food drive, run marathon, throw fundraiser, have a bake sale, get your church and school involved, or put a link to your website. We encourage you to participate in however you feel will help us raise funds to help these wonderful children. SAS wants you to do it your way!
Sow a Seed is NOT an adoption agency, however we will refer any direct inquiries regarding adoption to our partnering adoption agency, La Maison des Anges in Haiti. Please write to us.
