Sacrifice was owned by a very good friend of mine, Reginald Turnier, who “sacrificed” it to us for a very reasonable price.

Sacrifice’s location is east of Jakmel, 10 minutes by car, a little of the only paved main road in the South of Haiti, Route National 208, and nestled under the protection of a rock formation which forms the base of the mountain range Kap Wouj (Cap Rouge) On paper the land measured 47 centiemes when we purchased it, but after the official land measurement executed by Arpanteur. Jean Maxo Bazile it turned out that the land actually measures 48 centiemes.

In Haiti one measures land in Carreaux. 1 carreau equals 100 centiemes, 1 centieme equals 128 square meters. 1 Carreau equals 3.19 acres…

This system of land measurements stems from the French colonial times. In any event, the land is beautiful. The earth is made up of red clay which is very fertile. Great for our future vegetable garden.

Since the land is on a slight tilt we have a beautiful far view on Jakmel and the mountains across from the Bay of Jakmel. The sun rises behind us, and sets right across from us, so the future holds many many beautiful sunsets. Our surroundings are very green, in front of us lays an ocean of palm and coconut trees.

The land itself has several fruits trees already, like mango, lime, korosol, coconuts, grapefruit and sour oranges, which are great to marinate meat with.

Lots of children are living in this area and behind us we find many little trails  for our kids to explore in the future. A big healthy exciting difference from the dusty area where we live now in St Helene, Jacmel.

I am madly in Love……………………….

with our new car:  A great Toyota Granvia minivan, diesel, 4 cylinders, 3 liter engine, imported straight from Japan by a local car-dealer, year 1996, only 80,000 miles on it   This car makes such a difference in our life, makes life so much less stressful, gives us freedom and a little more normalcy in life again, even-though the orphanage still lives in tents.

Toyota Granvia minivan

The orphanage has never had enough funding to buy it’s own car, so I have always put my own personal car to work for us, from hospital visits in Jakmel and/or PaP, weekly grocery shopping, to and from school, and of-course fun outings for our kids.

During our last “fun outing” to the local play ground in the center of town with our 5 oldest kids, last January 12th my car got completely destroyed by the earthquake. Since then life has been very difficult and challenging, living in tents, while trying to continue our life as normal as possible.

Not having a car available to you makes all of that even harder, and you realize that it is a must to have a good car to manage an orphanage with 13 little kids, of which 2 handicapped. No car means no more fun trips to the beach or playground, high expenses for a “for American standards” unacceptable car that functions as a taxi here, even before the earthquake, for our many hospital visits. Walking our groceries shopping home with a wheelbarrow all the way from the center of town to where we live. Etc etc……

But thanks to  my dear friends Gosta and Patrick and their yoga center http://svahayoga.com/ in Amsterdam we were able to buy this great family-car for the orphanage. They have specifically fund raised to replace my car, and this new car is so much better than my old car ever was.

So thank you Gosta and Patrick and Svahayoga. JAI MA. The first trip with our new car was one afternoon to the beach in Jakmel, last Monday 26 April and after that, last Wednesday afternoon 28 April we had a great birthday party for Melinda’s 8th birthday on the beach of Raymond Les Bains. We spend the whole afternoon playing in the water, playing soccer on the beach and instead of the traditional birthday cake we had fresh grilled fish, with fried plantains and piklees and lots of soda’s. The kids loved it.

When we came home later that afternoon Melinda said to me that this was the best birthday she ever had, and that from now on she wants to celebrate this way every year.

And for all our other kids these 2 afternoons away from the tents and dusty street, playing in the water, running their little hearts out on the beach, just having fun as kids, worked a miracle on their moods, they had a great time and were just so happy!!!!!

Life is still challenging for us of course, but it is a whole lot less difficult with this great new car. Mesi anpil!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You would think that the flood of media images would have appropriately set my expectations, but they couldn’t suppress the visions of the suffering witnessed by buildings like these:

There are tents everywhere now.  On fields, by the side of the road, and even on median strips of major city streets.  Three feet and a thin sheet of Coleman Nylon is all that separates people’s “bedrooms” from honking, speeding, diesel-spewing, 24/7 traffic.

New too are the signs for help.  Some of them are simple, hand-scrawled signs saying HELP! and a phone number.  Those with more resources post more elaborate listings of their losses:

Although Jacmel wasn’t subjected to the same scope of descruction as Port-au-Prince, many landmarks are gone or shadows of their former selves:

The local Kindergarten is destroyed along with the house next to it shown above.

One of the four gas stations in and around town.

Hotel Florita, built in 1888.  Only one of the shutters remains of chambre trois, the room I stayed in during my last visit.

About 3,000 of the displaced found temporary shelter in a camp set up by the Venezualean army on a soccer field.

One of the homeless there is Tektek, a friend of Lia’s.  I happened to run into him in town and he took me to his new “village”.   His new “house” there is a 6 by 8 foot section of tent with a mud floor and a rip in the roof:

Our current digs consist of a 400 sqft. UNICEF tent and a few smaller tents arranged around a central play area, all wedged between a public road and a hotel.

While the kids are fairly healthy and content for now, as soon as the rains arrive in April and the hurricanes in August, life will become hard.  Keeping thirteen kid, many with major health issues, safe, happy, fed and educated in a tent is a major feat.  Hats off to Lia for managing the day-to-day

The staff is already stressed by the added strain

While I was there, we covered the area as best as we could with a huge tarp to keep the sun and rain out,

Relief to this situation was supposed to arrive while we were visiting.  This brings us to the major disappointment of the trip: the domes never arrived while we were visiting.  One delay after the next has kept them in a warehouse in Miami till now.

A huge positive development, though, is the fact that the orphanage secured the perfect piece of land for the orphanage:

It’s one and a half acres in a rural area just outside Jacmel, near the airport, nestled among small farms.  There is plenty of room for our dome, a house for Lia, a guest house for visiting volunteers, a garden, play area…

Here we are, celebrating the signing of the paperwork that makes the property ours (from left to right: ?, Frantz, Lia, Gala, Katherine of Bumi Sehat, Reginald, my mother Erika):

How are Rochel, Frantz and Ambroise, you ask?  Just fine, actually.  Here they are resting after a long day at work:

Our rescued dog Toutous is doing well also.  Despite her paralyzed back, she gets around and is very playful.

On Wednesday, we attended the grand opening of Bumi Sehat, a birthing clinic just down the street from us.  Reginald is the administrative director:

A part of their clinic is housed in the exact same dome that we are expecting.

Reprinted from: Financial Advisor Magazine

People who give to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti can claim the donations this year under recently adopted tax provisions, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Taxpayers who itemize deductions on their 2009 return qualify for the special tax relief provision, which was enacted January 22, according to the IRS. Only cash contributions made to these charities after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, are eligible. This includes contributions made by text message, check, credit card or debit card.

“Americans have opened their hearts to help those affected by the Haiti earthquake,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a prepared statement. “This new law provides an immediate tax benefit for the many taxpayers who have made generous donations.”

The new law only applies to cash, as opposed to property, contributions, according to the IRS. The contributions must be made specifically for the relief of victims in areas affected by the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. Taxpayers have the option of deducting these contributions on either their 2009 or 2010 returns, but not both. To get a tax benefit, taxpayers must itemize their deductions on Schedule A. Those who claim the standard deduction, including all short-form filers, are not eligible.

The IRS noted that taxpayers need to be sure their contributions go to qualified charities. Most organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible donations are listed in a searchable online database available on IRS.gov under “Search for Charities.”

Some organizations, such as churches or governments, may be qualified even though they are not listed on IRS.gov, according to the IRS. Donors can find out more about organizations helping Haitian earthquake victims from agencies such as USAID at www.usaid.gov.  Contributions to foreign organizations generally are not deductible, according to the IRS.

http://www.fa-mag.com/fa-news/5117-haiti-donations-eligible-for-09-tax-returns.html

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to We Can Build An Orphanage today!

We Can Build An Orphanage is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All contributions are tax-deductible. Our EIN (tax id number) is: 20-8660929

If you prefer to send a check, please send it to our US office:

WeCanBuildAnOrphanage.com
1291 Will Geer Road
Topanga, California 90290

Arjan van der Veen of the Commercial Boats sailing from Den Helder we got the offer to be shipping goods to Haiti, with the schooner brig “Tres Hombres”.

Soon the 28th day because they would all leave. Lia had been specifically stated that we currently need them and so we had power to collect from all beaten. Resulting in a large trailer full of diapers, vitamins, soap, footwear, apparel and stationery, and some surprises. Wednesday we got this stuff on board and took up about 2.5 m3 cargo space. Tents had already Lia of the Marines, so that we could strike action.

Meanwhile it the “Tres Hombres” and absent when the wind changes, they will leave the ocean. The anticipated time is approximately 4-6 weeks. Advantage of this method of transport is the stuff that the crew itself will solve the port of Jacmel and delivery, it is faster than we stuff through a container with an ordinary freighter would send and then the spot would still have the problem how at the orphanage to get. Except for the Lia “Tres Hombres” is about 50 m3 of supplies on board for a hospital and orphanages.

A special initiative of Captain Arjen van der Veen and commercial vessels sailing the foundation which we are very happy. More information about “Tres Hombres” and sailing on Commercial Boats: http://zeilendehandelsvaart.homestead.com/Algemeen_Tres_Hombres.html

Amawanda Pierre on October 17, 2007, her first day with us, severely malnourished and dehydrated

In our care she spend about 2 weeks in the hospital on oxygen and a drip, and came totally back to life, to become a very healthy, beautiful big girl.  In the summer of 2009 we had located her mother’s aunt up in the mountains far East from Jakmel, a place called Macary. After assuring she would be well taken care of by her family we reunited Amawanda with her family.

Then after a few months her deceased mother’s sister Gina came for her from Port au Prince.  She took little Amawanda back with her to live with her in PaP, put her in school and raise her for her sister’s memory.  We thought it was a beautiful ending to that story.  We were so happy for Amawanda, even though we miss her a lot, she was such a presence in our Kay Angel.

Now today Monday 25, January 2010 we still have not been able to get in touch with Gina or Gina’s aunt in Macaryto know if they and Amawanda are okay.

We are praying for her and will continue to look for her until we know she is hopefully okay……………

This morning at 6.02 AM a big aftershock that luckily only lasted for about 4 seconds, but everything was shaking a lot. Around 10  AM 2 people from WFP came to see us at the orphanage and were able to tell me that it was a strength 6.

Yesterday afternoon we saw a lot of planes coming in. The 2 beautiful air-shots of the first Canadian plane are taken by our 8-years old Youseline who is a very talented photographer. I had already learned from an e-mail from our SoutheasternHaitiHealthNetwork who is locally in charge of receiving the in-flown aid. So I called that person who then told me that they will not be able to distribute anything today Tuesday 19 Jan. Maybe tomorrow. I went to the airport anyway, because you never know.

We really need a big tent, or at least a few big pieces of plastic so we can build our own tent. At the airport I had someone write down all our info and what we need ASAP, but I received nothing. Then I went to the WFP again, and the floor manager who is in charge of the big depots they have there said he could not give me anything without authorization from higher up. And higher up was out on an emergency. Meanwhile  I see so much stuff inside of the big depot tents they have there……….. frustrating!! Since I know the “higher up”, David and had met with him the day before already I called him again, and was lucky to find him on the phone. He then authorized for them to give me 5 big pieces of tarp.

Today Wednesday 20 January I have spoken again with Gwen, who is part of the local  NGO’s who are receiving the aid, and she promised me that I can come and get things this afternoon. A new item we are really in need of now is diapers, we still have 6 kids in diapers, and our washable diapers are mostly worn out by all the hand-washing. It is getting also more and more difficult to do laundry, because our water reservoir is almost empty.

But we were visited this morning by 2 people from WFP and they will have a meeting at 11 AM to organize the distribution to all of us in need.

They arrived this afternoon and delivered the supplies to the Hopital St. Michel.  As far as we know, Luke is now headed back to the DR for another supply run, this time to get large tents, generators, solar-powered lights, etc.

This quick and decisive relief effort was made possible entirely by your contributions!  In the name of those who were helped by this shipment, we thank you for your support!

-Martin

The last 2 nights we have slept inside the TV room of the hotel across the street. There is a rain front coming over us since Saturday night, so we are lucky the hotel lets us use their space, but we are not able to stay there. They will need their space back soon.

Crossing the street to the hotel

Also up until Saturday there were still many aftershocks and then Sunday afternoon it was said, if your house was not damaged it was safe to go sleep inside. But then yesterday we still felt light shocks, and not all of our staff is comfortable to spend the night inside, even though the hotel is not damaged at all. Almost everybody in Jakmel is still sleeping in the streets.

Plan Parrinage has started to hand out small red Coleman tents.  We have claimed the little piece of land across the street from us, that belongs to our landlord and have started to clean it up.  We are planning to build a big secure tent there, as soon as we find the materials for it.  That will then be our home for the time to come.

We have been all over for help, Minustah, WFP, Plan, UNICEF.  So far without any concrete result, only a lot of promises that they will do there best to find a tent for us, or lots of pieces of plastic. Tameko Donatien from UNICEF told us he would do his best to help us, because this is a crisis, but he said normally UNICEF does not help orphanages. I did not know that.

To make life feel as normal as possible for our kids I had asked our school teacher to come back to work and continue school for our 3 girls that are home schooled. For the other 4 kids that are in kindergarten, their school is severely damaged so for them school is closed.

Pazapa, Martin’s school is standing on the front outside, but inside and the back is completely destroyed. Our dog Toutous is doing very well, actually our kids right now have even more affection for  her, they are padding her all the time.

All our kids are in very good spirits, Youseline and Estania are playing beauty parlor with each others hair extensions, and lots of beads.

Who would guess by looking at this picture of these 2 beautiful girls that they are orphans, HIV+ and homeless They look soooo happy, don't they?

Yesterday I ran into a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Rhoads, who took my interview and today I ran into another journalist, Jacques Guillon, of AFP Agence France Presse, and he also interviewed me and will write about us.

Our nurses are continuing helping some hurt people in our neighborhood, and of course “our” patient Wilson.

Digicel, the cell phone company has stopped giving free service to us, we have to buy the cards again, and now it is not so easy anymore to call international.  Phone cards are hard to find.

“Can I ask you guys to please continue to post my e-mails since it is impossible for me to do from down here. But I am telling everybody to continue to follow out story via the blog, I want to stay in touch with everybody but do not have the time to respond to all e-mails I will have stories and photos to send quite often.”