Refugee Shelter

In early March I returned to Haiti with a dual agenda:

1. to follow up on the field hospital we had set up near the earthquake epicenter, and
2. to visit La Gonave to continue the process of exploring the needs of that island.

I was interrupted, however. Somewhere in the middle of my visits and meetings I found myself spending time in an outpost of refugees, encamped on the top and side of a small hill outside Port-au-Prince. Living in makeshift shelters of bedsheets and clothing draped across branches, they were were barely surviving.

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Within days I returned to my very comfortable life, and shared with you my mental anguish over the wrongness of what I saw in that encampment. Children, old people, and babies. Families and the alone. All getting soaked with every rain that came. We devised a plan to respond by delivering tarps so they could cover up and stay dry. Crude but effective, they would provide an immediate, albeit temporary, fix to their misery.

Your response overwhelmed me... both in terms of how much you gave (>$10,000) but also in how fast you have it (just eight days). We were able to purchase, ship, and distribute 1,000 tarps to that hillside, enough to keep 500 families dry.

Do tarps fix the whole problem? Far from it... there are issues of permanent dwelling places, and water to drink and food to eat and illnesses to treat. But at least while others fill their God-appointed roles in addressing those issues, we... you and I have filled ours. Here. For this very specific and immediate need. This was our starfish.

Please pray for the people under the tarps.

Steve Edmondson