Predeparture Meeting Update

Today we had our predeparture meeting for the trip. I am really going. Up until now, this whole trip seemed very abstract. Everything has been phone conversations and emails and reading things on the internet. Today, the trip really started to take shape. I met the rest of the people on the crew. I have plane ticket and an itinerary. I know where I will be going, where I will be staying, and what I will be doing. Surprisingly, there is not much for me to do to prepare. I basically just need to pack and wait, but not necessarily in that order. I will wait to pack. I did however get a few books at the library to help me wait.

Thanks so much, for all your responses already. It has been a long day, so I am going to leave you in some suspense regarding the trip details. But to tide you over, below I have included the latest BGF update from Haiti which mentions a bit about our trip.

Two BGF reconnaissance teams return safely from Haiti

In L'Acul, BGF founder Jack Stoner and Board Vice President Mike Stoneking along with several members of our partner group, CODEP, assessed the earthquake damage to compound buildings, several of the kays and the Siloe school. Thankfully, there are no known fatalities within the project area. Hiking hours into the mountains, Jack and Mike found that BGF kays survived the quake, some sustaining a bit of damage from landslides. The Siloe Secondary School sustained much damage. Trip photos can be found here.


Our next team heads to L'Acul on Friday, February 26th for a week. Based on CODEP requests, the team will work to repair the exterior wall of the compound, repair minor damage to three kays and work on the foundation of Clement's house. Mike Boggs will lead the team comprised of Louise Finger, Henry Graff, Curtis Hoffman, April Leese, Taylor Quarles and Vinny Valentino. March and April trips are in the works. Contact Ethan for more information.

On Sunday, February 14th, our team returned from a trip to Thomassin. The participants included Executive Director Kelly Eplee, Board President Jack Horn, Jr., electrician Lewis Joachim, engineer Brian Koerner, team leader and architect Antonio Martinez and founder Howard Pape along with Sue Robinson and Dr. Leon Pamphile of the Functional Literacy Ministry (FLM).

The team delivered over 120 pounds of medicine, mostly antibiotics. They inspected the House of David Community Health Center and found it to be sound. The team fixed the center’s generator and learned the meaning of degaje, a Creole word that means "make do with whatever you have." While the generator makes electricity, an exhaust pipe takes diesel fumes to the roof top. It is made of a pipe, hard won in a bargaining session, bought on the street in front of a collapsed hardware shop, stocked with products recycled from earthquake debris. The cap that keeps rain out is made of a tomato can.

The team inspected a school run by the FLM and found it to be sound. The Haitian government is not allowing children to attend classes because of concerns about unstable structures. When the decision is made to allow a return to school, the teachers at FLM will have peace of mind knowing that their building is safe. The group was moved by the National Day of Mourning, observed on Friday, February 12th. Find trip members' personal accounts of the experience of extremes on our Stories of Haiti page on the website. Our team was honored to travel with Dr. Leon Pamphile and Sue Robinson and to see the clinic up and running. We continue to plan with the Functional Literacy Ministry for the next phase of rebuilding.

Thomassin team

The Quick and Dirty Skinny

I am going to Haiti with BGF to help rebuild some damaged buildings that are a part of CODEP, a project run by Haiti Fund, Inc. I will be leaving Charlottesville next Friday, Feb 26 and returning on March 6. This trip was organized under obviously less than ideal circumstances and with a certain degree of urgency, so I still don't know many of the trip details. I only just found out that I would be going two days ago. I have a predeparture meeting tomorrow afternoon where we will be filled in with as much information as is available at this time.

So, there is not much time left for preparations. Fortunately, I have been in steady contact with BGF for the last few weeks and I have been preparing for this possibility. I have my passport. I have all my vaccinations. I've filled out the forms and read the handbook. Im very excited about this opportunity and amazed that what was just a crazy idea a month ago has so quickly become a reality. I am very grateful to have the skills and ability to help in this way. I am also very fortunate that my life affords such flexibility to be able to respond and act so quickly (thanks in large part to my awesome job and generous boss at MKR).

I am in a very unique position to be able help in such a concrete way (much of the work will actually involve repairing and laying concrete foundations) and I would like to share this experience. If you would like to help, I would most appreciate your prayers and encouragement. I may need a ride to the store to get some new work boots and I could probably use some help with a few other preparations when I know more details. If you are particularly interested and able to help with some of the trip expenses, I will have more specific information about that after tomorrow's predeparture meeting or you can contact me directly.

Thanks, and I will post more information when I have it. For now, you can check out the links to BGF and CODEP for the latest news and project status.