Latest news from Holli
Click on the photos to the right for news and updates from People in Need Partnership staff
Return to main PINP updates page
Click on the photos to the right for news and updates from People in Need Partnership staff
Return to main PINP updates page
Tuesday May 4th, 2010
Great news- the tents from Save the Children have arrived. We were able to secure tents for all of our partners ad their families!! We also asked for cooking kits and hygiene kits for everyone, and we got those, as well!! Huge Thank you to Paul Charlton for following through and ensuring this delivery!! Myriam sent me the delivery receipt, and she will be working on documenting the partners receiving their tents and kits!! Just wanted to share the news. I also have created a group on facebook- People In Need Partnership, I invite all of you to join!! I am doing a featured child of the month in hopes to generate more partnerships. I have been organizing a huge concert benefit in Seattle, set for June 2nd. Details will be posted on the facebook site, as well as on here, for those who are interested. The proceeds from this benefit will go to immediately bringing our learning center up to full function, and help create quiet learning rooms for studying and private tutoring. We will also be reserving some of the funds for Operational and Administrative fees to help our organization grow!! Geoff will be leaving for Haiti in 5 days, and staying for two weeks. Heather and I fly out directly from Seattle after the benefit, and will be there until June 26th. If you have any questions, concerns or items you need to send, please contact us. You can always reach me directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Thank you!!!
Great news- the tents from Save the Children have arrived. We were able to secure tents for all of our partners ad their families!! We also asked for cooking kits and hygiene kits for everyone, and we got those, as well!! Huge Thank you to Paul Charlton for following through and ensuring this delivery!! Myriam sent me the delivery receipt, and she will be working on documenting the partners receiving their tents and kits!! Just wanted to share the news. I also have created a group on facebook- People In Need Partnership, I invite all of you to join!! I am doing a featured child of the month in hopes to generate more partnerships. I have been organizing a huge concert benefit in Seattle, set for June 2nd. Details will be posted on the facebook site, as well as on here, for those who are interested. The proceeds from this benefit will go to immediately bringing our learning center up to full function, and help create quiet learning rooms for studying and private tutoring. We will also be reserving some of the funds for Operational and Administrative fees to help our organization grow!! Geoff will be leaving for Haiti in 5 days, and staying for two weeks. Heather and I fly out directly from Seattle after the benefit, and will be there until June 26th. If you have any questions, concerns or items you need to send, please contact us. You can always reach me directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Thank you!!!
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Great news everyone!! I have been able to make huge strides with Save The Children, thanks to Phillip Horne and Paul Charlton!! We have been approved for 18 tents for the tent city and our staff in Haiti!! We are currently working on beneficiary lists for all these people, and STC is very interested in helping us secure tents for most of our Haitian partners, as well!!! We are hoping to get those lists created by mid-week, so that everyone can have tents to sleep in by next weekend. I know the rains have come, and the conditions are unimaginable. I have been working 14-16 hours a day, networking, emailing, calling, texting and reaching out to everyone. It is paying off and I wanted to share the amazing news with all of you!!
On a personal level, Geoff and I have been meeting several times over the last week and discussing People In Need Partnerships future. We believe the time is now to restructure a few things, and improve a few things, and take PINP to the next level!! The need is massive, and what we are doing is so powerful and so tangible. By affecting one person positively, we are affecting several people involved with them. We have the ability to reach hundreds of people, and eventually, thousands of people!! By providing hope and stability, by encouraging education and growth, by involving ourselves on a personal level- we are giving the people of Haiti the ability to dream again. We all need dreams in order to grow, and we all need to grow!! I have accepted an offer from Geoff to become a Director, and will be working with Cajuste and all of our staff in Haiti to improve and implement all programs, new and old. We are all very excited for the months to come. I invite any emails from any abroad partners that wish to share their concerns or comments, feel free to email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) !!!
Thank you!!
Great news everyone!! I have been able to make huge strides with Save The Children, thanks to Phillip Horne and Paul Charlton!! We have been approved for 18 tents for the tent city and our staff in Haiti!! We are currently working on beneficiary lists for all these people, and STC is very interested in helping us secure tents for most of our Haitian partners, as well!!! We are hoping to get those lists created by mid-week, so that everyone can have tents to sleep in by next weekend. I know the rains have come, and the conditions are unimaginable. I have been working 14-16 hours a day, networking, emailing, calling, texting and reaching out to everyone. It is paying off and I wanted to share the amazing news with all of you!!
On a personal level, Geoff and I have been meeting several times over the last week and discussing People In Need Partnerships future. We believe the time is now to restructure a few things, and improve a few things, and take PINP to the next level!! The need is massive, and what we are doing is so powerful and so tangible. By affecting one person positively, we are affecting several people involved with them. We have the ability to reach hundreds of people, and eventually, thousands of people!! By providing hope and stability, by encouraging education and growth, by involving ourselves on a personal level- we are giving the people of Haiti the ability to dream again. We all need dreams in order to grow, and we all need to grow!! I have accepted an offer from Geoff to become a Director, and will be working with Cajuste and all of our staff in Haiti to improve and implement all programs, new and old. We are all very excited for the months to come. I invite any emails from any abroad partners that wish to share their concerns or comments, feel free to email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) !!!
Thank you!!
Photos: Holli and Heather's trip to Haiti, Feb 12 - Mar 2, 2010
Holli's photos
Heather's photos - General
Heather's photos - Tent cities
Heather's photos - Food distribution
Camp interviews and photos
I have arrived back in Portland...with a very heavy heart. Nothing seems right, so I continue to work. I have, with the help of a great contact and friend, organized a possible food delivery from Save The Children!! They were more than happy to help us out, and provide rice, drinking water and gatorade for 150 people, to last 3 weeks!! This is such a great feeling. I am overwhelmed with emotions, and have spontaneously burst into tears several times in the last 2 days. I think the best thing I can do is rest and try to reflect for a few days. I am so scared that there will not be enough funds in time for me to return to help provide shelter. After speaking with Pastor Enock, I realized there are so many things we can be doing together, as a team. Geoff and I will debrief sometime this next week, and I am looking forward to all the possibilities! Not just within the realm of PINP, but in my personal life, and my future endeavors!! This has truly been the most remarkable experience of my life, and I leave a better person for having gone. I leave a changed person, with a new direction and every possibility available. Thank you to Geoff, and all of our amazing staff in Haiti for helping make my experience such a memorable one!! Heather and I will work on posting more pictures in this next week. Thanks for following along....
Monday, March 1st
Today was a very busy day....But we were able to tie up a lot of loose ends. We finally got support from the UN, and a team from IOM showed up on sight with translators and interviewed the people. Sadly, they might not be able to help Leonie with retaining her land, but at least we are not alone now. Now they can asses their shelter needs, and possibly bump them up the list. I met a man named Richard, who is connected with several NGO's and he said he would be willing to look into some aide for us. I am in total disbelief how quickly time has passed. I do not feel right leaving...but know that I have to. I sat at the office today, and turned on the most beautiful Opera music... quite loudly. It reminded me of Shawshank Redemption when Andy played it for the whole yard, and everyone stood still. I kicked back in my chair, gazing through the bars on the window, and cried....I played back the video rolling in my mind. From the moment of getting on the bus in Santo Domingo, to crossing the border, to touring the city... the first day we met our camp sight...the days spent at the UN...playing with the girls from Cite Soleil...doing our first food delivery...doing MRE clinics...meeting the crew....Gazing out of a gazebo with the stars above...Eating a candlelit dinner at the Latin Quarter...and touching the lives of all these people!! My life has been forever changed, and frankly, I dont want to go back. By back, I mean, I want to keep running forward, I want to keep fighting, I want to keep loving. I could go anywhere in this world, and never be far from Haiti. We are all only a plane ride away. Closing for tonight...more tomorrow!!
Today was a very busy day....But we were able to tie up a lot of loose ends. We finally got support from the UN, and a team from IOM showed up on sight with translators and interviewed the people. Sadly, they might not be able to help Leonie with retaining her land, but at least we are not alone now. Now they can asses their shelter needs, and possibly bump them up the list. I met a man named Richard, who is connected with several NGO's and he said he would be willing to look into some aide for us. I am in total disbelief how quickly time has passed. I do not feel right leaving...but know that I have to. I sat at the office today, and turned on the most beautiful Opera music... quite loudly. It reminded me of Shawshank Redemption when Andy played it for the whole yard, and everyone stood still. I kicked back in my chair, gazing through the bars on the window, and cried....I played back the video rolling in my mind. From the moment of getting on the bus in Santo Domingo, to crossing the border, to touring the city... the first day we met our camp sight...the days spent at the UN...playing with the girls from Cite Soleil...doing our first food delivery...doing MRE clinics...meeting the crew....Gazing out of a gazebo with the stars above...Eating a candlelit dinner at the Latin Quarter...and touching the lives of all these people!! My life has been forever changed, and frankly, I dont want to go back. By back, I mean, I want to keep running forward, I want to keep fighting, I want to keep loving. I could go anywhere in this world, and never be far from Haiti. We are all only a plane ride away. Closing for tonight...more tomorrow!!
This is just a personal thank you from the bottom of my heart to the entire AMAZING staff of the Al Jazeera news crew. They have bent over backwards trying to help Heather and I out in any and every way possible. They have helped us out in transportation services when we were unable to get anywhere. They personally saw to it that I was taken immediately to the ER. They have lodged us when there were no rooms available at the hotel. They have gone out and gotten us gatorade and meds to feel better. And they have fed us at local restaurants. On our third day here, Hal said to me, "it's as if God is shining a light down on you, Holli" and I truly believe that fate brought us here. So....I wanted to formally thank them all here, and let you know how wonderful they are. There might not ever be the chance for me to repay them, but I am grateful and blessed. I will miss them so much....
Sunday, February 28
Sorry for the lack of postings the last couple of days. After spending all day friday in the hospital, I needed a little time to rest and "recoop". I am beginning to feel better, so no worries!! After hearing the news that Mayor showed up with armed security guards and set the tent city on fire, Heather went down to take photos and interview anyone she could find. Many of the people fled, and we have yet to locate them. But the ones who stayed around, we were able to tape their side of the story. We met with Sara from IOM today, and she was with a UN Security Officer. He said he wanted all the information and any photos we had. He wanted to notify the UN of the site, and make sure officers were on hand. Sara has been feverishly working on this case for us, and we feel that we might get somewhere now. She is personally seeing to it that representatives show up tomorrow, and we will meet them there. Because their tents (which were bed sheets and wool blankets) were torched by the Thug of the town, they need shelter now more than ever. It has been raining hard the last two days, and these people are literally homeless, in the dirt. Myriam personally went down and located some of the people and made sure they had at least food from us. Once we find the rest, we can give them their food. We have a very busy day planned for tomorrow, including a trip the warehouse for our final food purchase. Mick, the owner of the Highland pub, has failed to return our emails or contact us, so we have not had those funds to work with. I am only hoping that something serious didn't happen to him. Otherwise, in the event that I receive the money when I return, half of it will be wired immediately to Cajuste in Haiti so he can buy more food. The other half will be held on to in the event we need to buy more food, or that I can hop on a flight to return to see this project through. My hope for the future, is that PINP can take over responsibility for these 100 people. In order to make that happen, we NEED to get approved for funding. If and WHEN that happens, we can hire a full time employee here on ground to facilitate everything Heather and I have set in motion. That way, I can come and stay for a month at a time to oversee everything, but not be bound to staying here permanently. It is my belief, and my personal instinct, that these people will fall through the cracks if we don't help them. They are defenseless against the corruption of the government. There is no aide, and very little hope. I came here to help provide food for people in need. I came here to help provide hope for people who had lost their faith in their government. I did not realize when I boarded that plane in Portland, that my life was going to take on a whole new direction. I wanted to make a difference, and this is the way we can do it together. It will take more NGO's like us, to adopt and take on responsibility for a small group of people. And together, we can change the lives of each person within that camp. Yes we can, Yes we can....
Sorry for the lack of postings the last couple of days. After spending all day friday in the hospital, I needed a little time to rest and "recoop". I am beginning to feel better, so no worries!! After hearing the news that Mayor showed up with armed security guards and set the tent city on fire, Heather went down to take photos and interview anyone she could find. Many of the people fled, and we have yet to locate them. But the ones who stayed around, we were able to tape their side of the story. We met with Sara from IOM today, and she was with a UN Security Officer. He said he wanted all the information and any photos we had. He wanted to notify the UN of the site, and make sure officers were on hand. Sara has been feverishly working on this case for us, and we feel that we might get somewhere now. She is personally seeing to it that representatives show up tomorrow, and we will meet them there. Because their tents (which were bed sheets and wool blankets) were torched by the Thug of the town, they need shelter now more than ever. It has been raining hard the last two days, and these people are literally homeless, in the dirt. Myriam personally went down and located some of the people and made sure they had at least food from us. Once we find the rest, we can give them their food. We have a very busy day planned for tomorrow, including a trip the warehouse for our final food purchase. Mick, the owner of the Highland pub, has failed to return our emails or contact us, so we have not had those funds to work with. I am only hoping that something serious didn't happen to him. Otherwise, in the event that I receive the money when I return, half of it will be wired immediately to Cajuste in Haiti so he can buy more food. The other half will be held on to in the event we need to buy more food, or that I can hop on a flight to return to see this project through. My hope for the future, is that PINP can take over responsibility for these 100 people. In order to make that happen, we NEED to get approved for funding. If and WHEN that happens, we can hire a full time employee here on ground to facilitate everything Heather and I have set in motion. That way, I can come and stay for a month at a time to oversee everything, but not be bound to staying here permanently. It is my belief, and my personal instinct, that these people will fall through the cracks if we don't help them. They are defenseless against the corruption of the government. There is no aide, and very little hope. I came here to help provide food for people in need. I came here to help provide hope for people who had lost their faith in their government. I did not realize when I boarded that plane in Portland, that my life was going to take on a whole new direction. I wanted to make a difference, and this is the way we can do it together. It will take more NGO's like us, to adopt and take on responsibility for a small group of people. And together, we can change the lives of each person within that camp. Yes we can, Yes we can....
Thursday February 25
Well....nothing goes as planned here. I woke at 3 in the morning very ill again. By 10 am I knew I would be down for the count, so Heather jumped into action and made her way down to the UN compound on her own. I was awakened by a phone call from Myriam, informing me the Mayor had arrived and officially kicked all of these displaced people off their property. Everything we have worked so hard for, every interview, every delivery, every bond of trust that had been formed....feels as though it has all been ripped away. I feel that we have let them down. But on a daily basis, I feel this system has failed all of us. How can they be out of tents? How can they be out of food? WHY have only 20% of the population received help? Why can you only get MRE packages once? In America, people feel good because they donated to these major organizations, or sent a text. But here, on ground, WHERE IS THAT AIDE? Geoff once said, if there was a 911 number for the world, who would answer? I am beginning to believe that there wouldn't even be a line in Haiti. Maybe it's my lack of sleep and total system failure speaking right now. Maybe it's my broken heart crying out for help, and never finding support for these people. Maybe I am just discouraged. Heather is on her way back from the UN right now, and I am praying she has some good news to help make this day better....
Well....nothing goes as planned here. I woke at 3 in the morning very ill again. By 10 am I knew I would be down for the count, so Heather jumped into action and made her way down to the UN compound on her own. I was awakened by a phone call from Myriam, informing me the Mayor had arrived and officially kicked all of these displaced people off their property. Everything we have worked so hard for, every interview, every delivery, every bond of trust that had been formed....feels as though it has all been ripped away. I feel that we have let them down. But on a daily basis, I feel this system has failed all of us. How can they be out of tents? How can they be out of food? WHY have only 20% of the population received help? Why can you only get MRE packages once? In America, people feel good because they donated to these major organizations, or sent a text. But here, on ground, WHERE IS THAT AIDE? Geoff once said, if there was a 911 number for the world, who would answer? I am beginning to believe that there wouldn't even be a line in Haiti. Maybe it's my lack of sleep and total system failure speaking right now. Maybe it's my broken heart crying out for help, and never finding support for these people. Maybe I am just discouraged. Heather is on her way back from the UN right now, and I am praying she has some good news to help make this day better....
Wednesday, February 23
What an extraordinary day!!! My good friend Marc is from Haiti but moved to New York. He still has many family members living here, including his younger brother and cousin's. We were able to meet with them last week and today to provide food. One of them, Eddy, brought me a gift to say thank you for helping him and his family. He said that I was like an angel, and God sent me to Haiti. He said I am here to protect them, to save them, to help them and to love them. That I will be forever blessed, and he could never repay me. We gave each other a long hug, as we both cried. It was then, in that moment, that I knew exactly why I do what I do. No paycheck could ever provide that amount of joy....We were able to distribute 4 boxes of food to the neighbor, as they have 22 people living in tents. They were all very beautiful, intelligent people with the most adorable children. We got a few loose ends tied up, as far as emails and responses. There were a lot of shceduling conflicts as a result of being so ill for 3 days...we still have SO much to do!! We are hoping Al Jazeera is here tomorrow so that we can film the food distribution and they can interview us about our project, PINP and our future plans. Friday is a day for UN pounding again...we need more answers!! I have many ideas about the People In Need Partnership, and one would involve incorporating a Volunteer Program. You would have to pay for your own airfare, as we are not set up with the funding to provide that. But once in Haiti we could provide transportation, lodging, translators if needed and a postion helping us within the tent cities and possibly working with some of our partners. This, of course, is all contingent upon funding approval. I would organize the details of this new program and oversee the projects, but might share responsibilities between myself, Heather and Myriam- depending on who is in country. We have some very exciting ideas, we just need the funds and supplies to keep this all going. We want to make a Long-term recovery plan, and be able to abide by it. The worst thing we could do to these people would be to build them up and give them false hope. If you are at home and are interested in coming over here, email me! Nothing is in the works yet, so figure it would be at the very least a month before we could get this running.... Off for now
What an extraordinary day!!! My good friend Marc is from Haiti but moved to New York. He still has many family members living here, including his younger brother and cousin's. We were able to meet with them last week and today to provide food. One of them, Eddy, brought me a gift to say thank you for helping him and his family. He said that I was like an angel, and God sent me to Haiti. He said I am here to protect them, to save them, to help them and to love them. That I will be forever blessed, and he could never repay me. We gave each other a long hug, as we both cried. It was then, in that moment, that I knew exactly why I do what I do. No paycheck could ever provide that amount of joy....We were able to distribute 4 boxes of food to the neighbor, as they have 22 people living in tents. They were all very beautiful, intelligent people with the most adorable children. We got a few loose ends tied up, as far as emails and responses. There were a lot of shceduling conflicts as a result of being so ill for 3 days...we still have SO much to do!! We are hoping Al Jazeera is here tomorrow so that we can film the food distribution and they can interview us about our project, PINP and our future plans. Friday is a day for UN pounding again...we need more answers!! I have many ideas about the People In Need Partnership, and one would involve incorporating a Volunteer Program. You would have to pay for your own airfare, as we are not set up with the funding to provide that. But once in Haiti we could provide transportation, lodging, translators if needed and a postion helping us within the tent cities and possibly working with some of our partners. This, of course, is all contingent upon funding approval. I would organize the details of this new program and oversee the projects, but might share responsibilities between myself, Heather and Myriam- depending on who is in country. We have some very exciting ideas, we just need the funds and supplies to keep this all going. We want to make a Long-term recovery plan, and be able to abide by it. The worst thing we could do to these people would be to build them up and give them false hope. If you are at home and are interested in coming over here, email me! Nothing is in the works yet, so figure it would be at the very least a month before we could get this running.... Off for now
We are both on the mend and doing much better now!! Heather is trying to upload photos, I know I have said this before, but I promise we are trying! We are waiting for money to be transfered and then we will make a huge food run. Our intentions are to buy almost 3 times the amount of food we originally purchased in order to continue doing food deliveries for weeks to come. We are trying to prepare Cajuste and Myriam for the time we are gone, to help maintain the trust level and security they feel with us. In the event we get funding from IOM, we can start to move forward with plans of volunteer positions here in Haiti. Heather and I have been working on a business proposal we will submit to the UN before leaving, and wait for approval. There are 8 specific requirements, so this takes time to research each one. We have a busy day of meetings, warehouse distribution, deliveries and interviews. We have to go to the tent city and let them know we will be back on thursday with a whole media team and camera crew to shoot footage of the site. Al Jazeera will then return to our facility to interview and shoot footage of the actual food distribution and how we choose to do it. We have a very safe, very dignified, and very personal way of giving the food. Very exciting things this week, and so much to do to prepare PINP for some changes. That's it for now, thanks for your support!!
This will be a short blog, as both Heather and I have fallen quite ill. I will apologize in advance, as my thoughts are totally scrambled. I have not eaten in 35 hours, but just ordered some food, as I feel most of my symptoms have past. Unfortunately for Heather, she is about 18 hours behind me. I pulled myself up by the guilt and responsibility to these people, and went to the UN again today. After 8 hours, we managed to get a Mack truck filled with 188 boxes of Military RTF (ready to eat food packages). I am not sure yet how to divide these up, so we will need to take time to sort that out. I am grateful we have this food, as we would have ran out of money next week if we hadn't. Cajuste and I again dealt with the disorganization of the compound at the Industrial park, but this time I was even more sleep deprived, sicker than I have been in a long time and it happened to be the hottest day in Haiti yet. I almost cried twice today out of pure exhaustion and frustration. Until one man looked into my eyes and could see I was about to cry, he put me on the back of his motorcycle and drove me around the facility until we found who I needed. Without him, I could still be wandering around the compound clueless. We hired 3 men to help us offload the truck, and I truly pulled some energy out of nowhere to do this. I was so relieved to return to the hotel for a shower. Heather was starting to feel better, but quickly took a turn for the worse. The waves are awful. I met again with the Al Jazeera crew, and they are going to do a piece on our NGO. They have scheduled a day (friday) to follow us into the camp sites and video our work. Their entire staff has been nothing short of wonderful to us, always offering support and medication. I am so honored they have taken an interest in our work. Very exciting things to come.... thats it for now! Oh, and I do apologize there has been no photos yet, we are still working on uploading them. I have found that NOTHING is easy here....
Saturday february 20, 2010
We have made it to Petionville and checked into a hotel. I took a 20 minute shower that felt like heaven. We have been non stop vigilanties since we arrived, and now the quiet and enclosed walls of the hotel surround us. It blocks out the devastation just beyond the front steps, and makes us feel isolated. We have not taken the time to reflect or let the emotions sink in. I think there is a part of me that is so afraid of allowing that to happen. I have fought back tears on so many occasions, trying to remain professional and focused. But the truth is, I have never been in a more sensitive, volatile, emotional and heartbreaking environment. I sit here now, and tears stream my face as I think of all the lives destroyed by this earthquake. This nation had very little prior to January 12th, and the everyday struggle to survive today is absolutely unimaginable. The everyday luxuries that we assume and take for granted are staggering. Something as small as walking into a room, and flipping a switch, and lights turn on. That we can flush a toilet. Electricity, running water, and high speed internet. Yesterday at the UN, we asked if given the entire population of Port Au Prince, what percent would you say have received proper aide? Their response was less than 20%. Every organization is trying as hard as they can, but nothing is easy here. I have been given something most critical to evaluate and ponder. A possible partnership with IOM in helping to manage the smaller tent cities. Any location or site that has less than 100 people, are overlooked, or as they say "-not tracked". This is the specific reason why our tent city, Delmas 75, has received no aide. After spending 18 hours fighting for assistance for them, I realized I am THEIR voice. I am their advocate. Not only do we need you to help us survive, but they need me in order to see this through. If you are already a partner and wish to help, contact Geoff. If you are a friend or a newcomer to PINP and wish to donate, your funds will help me get attention to the hundreds of people I have met and so desperately need your help. I came here with the intention of providing food and water. I quickly realized that those needs can only be met temporarily. I do not intend on supporting more people than we can handle, but as it is now, we have gone beyond our means. If I remain focused on these specific groups, I feel I can take on a role of "social worker and advocate" for them. If you have ideas- please feel free to express them or email me directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). In regards to partners, we are planning another food delivery next week. Marcel has been out daily keeping tracks on all of our children and has been posting updates. Myriam has had a key role in helping me translate and organize all the information. I could not accomplish anything without everyone here helping me. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, and ask for strength, patience and wisdom to see this through. For my family and friends who send emails of love and support, I thank you more than words could ever express. I could not get through this experience without you. Sometimes, in the blackness of the night... I cry. And I remember my love that waits for me at home, and I feel your love here. I will always be ok, because I have you....
We have made it to Petionville and checked into a hotel. I took a 20 minute shower that felt like heaven. We have been non stop vigilanties since we arrived, and now the quiet and enclosed walls of the hotel surround us. It blocks out the devastation just beyond the front steps, and makes us feel isolated. We have not taken the time to reflect or let the emotions sink in. I think there is a part of me that is so afraid of allowing that to happen. I have fought back tears on so many occasions, trying to remain professional and focused. But the truth is, I have never been in a more sensitive, volatile, emotional and heartbreaking environment. I sit here now, and tears stream my face as I think of all the lives destroyed by this earthquake. This nation had very little prior to January 12th, and the everyday struggle to survive today is absolutely unimaginable. The everyday luxuries that we assume and take for granted are staggering. Something as small as walking into a room, and flipping a switch, and lights turn on. That we can flush a toilet. Electricity, running water, and high speed internet. Yesterday at the UN, we asked if given the entire population of Port Au Prince, what percent would you say have received proper aide? Their response was less than 20%. Every organization is trying as hard as they can, but nothing is easy here. I have been given something most critical to evaluate and ponder. A possible partnership with IOM in helping to manage the smaller tent cities. Any location or site that has less than 100 people, are overlooked, or as they say "-not tracked". This is the specific reason why our tent city, Delmas 75, has received no aide. After spending 18 hours fighting for assistance for them, I realized I am THEIR voice. I am their advocate. Not only do we need you to help us survive, but they need me in order to see this through. If you are already a partner and wish to help, contact Geoff. If you are a friend or a newcomer to PINP and wish to donate, your funds will help me get attention to the hundreds of people I have met and so desperately need your help. I came here with the intention of providing food and water. I quickly realized that those needs can only be met temporarily. I do not intend on supporting more people than we can handle, but as it is now, we have gone beyond our means. If I remain focused on these specific groups, I feel I can take on a role of "social worker and advocate" for them. If you have ideas- please feel free to express them or email me directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). In regards to partners, we are planning another food delivery next week. Marcel has been out daily keeping tracks on all of our children and has been posting updates. Myriam has had a key role in helping me translate and organize all the information. I could not accomplish anything without everyone here helping me. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, and ask for strength, patience and wisdom to see this through. For my family and friends who send emails of love and support, I thank you more than words could ever express. I could not get through this experience without you. Sometimes, in the blackness of the night... I cry. And I remember my love that waits for me at home, and I feel your love here. I will always be ok, because I have you....
Ideas from Geoff
Founder, PINP
Last entry: May 17, 2010
Founder, PINP
Last entry: May 17, 2010
News from Allison
Assistant Director
Last entry: May 17, 2010
Assistant Director
Last entry: May 17, 2010
News from Jennifer
Head Coordinating Director
Last entry: Mar 20, 2010
Head Coordinating Director
Last entry: Mar 20, 2010
