- Updates from the Islands -

- - Haiti - -

• From: Gert van Dijken <gert AT vandijken.com>
• Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 12:59:38 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 12:10:18 +0000
From: Rachelle Cole

copied from CP24.com
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20040925-009/page.asp

Help From Afar

Dr. Eric Pierre is a dentist by trade. But he wasn’t seeing any patients on
Saturday. Instead he was boxing and bagging the generous donations of the
community. Their destination: Haiti and its hurricane ravaged population.

“We are packing clothes, food, baby diapers, medicine. We are planning on
shipping it to Gonaives sometime this week or next week,” says Pierre, the
honourary consul for Haiti.

While aid has been arriving in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, it’s
been an arduous chore getting it to the coastal city of Gonaives to the
northwest. Roads are underwater and safety is an issue. And when the relief
supplies do manage to get through, flood victims are fighting for them with
all their remaining strength, only to be pushed back by aid workers.

To make matters worse, Haitian gangs have been looting distribution centres,
forcing the United Nations to beef up security.

These problems only begin to describe the direness of the situation in the
Caribbean island nation, where tropical storm turned hurricane Jeanne has
claimed at least 1,500 lives and uprooted whatever sense of normalcy there
was in this badly impoverished nation.

If you wish to help the people of Haiti by donating to Dr. Pierre’s relief
fund, you can drop off goods Monday to Friday between 10am and 6pm at 902
Bathurst Street at Bloor. The items they need most are facemasks,
antibiotics, and seeds so flood victims can plant crops next year. They’re
also still looking for a way to transport everything to Haiti.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Here’s all the information you need to donate:

PIERSPECTIVE ENTRAIDE HUMANITAIRE
TD CANADA TRUST TRANSIT #: 1096
ACCOUNT #: 0510-5203333

Also contact:
Haitian Consulate
902 Bathurst
Dr. Eric Pierre
416-538-3282
also drop off goods Monday to Friday between 10am and 6pm at 902 Bathurst
Street at Bloor.

To buy cookies to help eight-year-old Bilaal Rajan’s relief efforts here in
Toronto:
Call 416-888-8038
Cookies are $5/dozen

• From: W W <pilotmaf AT yahoo.com>
• Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 09:31:39 -0700 (PDT)

Attached are 4 pictures of the flooding in Gonaives,
Haiti.  These pictures were taken Sept 21.  The rain
started Sat night and Sunday.  The news reports say it
was due to storm Jeanne.  From looking at the track of
the storm it was well north of Gonaives.  The flooding
may have been more due to local thunderstorms in the
hills north of Gonaives.  Due to the deforestation
here the water just rushed down and flooded the area. 

In one of the town pictures you can see people have
moved to the tops of houses to live.  The airstrip
picture show our terminal building and the strip is
under water. The strip is toward the lower part of the
picture and the road to town at the top.


                
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Gairstrip.jpg

Groad.jpg

Gtown.jpg

Gtown2.jpg

• From: Chez Toto Online <contact AT cheztoto.com>
• Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 12:44:55 -0500

We have been "blessed", I guess as much as we could have been.
Last night we had little wind but very high seas.
Some Beach front houses  partly destroyed. Road to Marigot has received 
big blows
a good 100 to 150 meters is threatening to collapse.
I have not heard yet of loss of lives.
Sea is still high and wind is just starting.

Patrice Talleyrand

• From: Francois Duclos <geolocura AT yahoo.ca>
• Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 09:48:09 -0400 (EDT)

Good morning,
Ivan has been good to us so far.  It is now at the CPA
and we still have only a light rain and some light
wind.  This weather have been here for abour 16 hours
but the rain isn't heavy enough to cause any problem. 
Generally speaking, people in Port-au-Prince have been
reasonnable.  They removed most of the things that
could be dangerous under strong wind and most
activities are stopped since yesterday afternoon. 
Even this morning, people are staying home untill they
are sure everything will be all right.

That's it so far!
François Duclos


================================


===================================================
 François Duclos, Port-au-Prince, Haïti
 Coopérant Volontaire SUCO, geolocura@yahoo.ca
====================================================
 Le développement d'une société passe par le
 développement personnel de chacun de ses individus.
====================================================

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

• From: "Will & Julie White" <pilotmaf AT yahoo.com>
• Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 16:42:28 -0500

• From: "Will & Julie White" <pilotmaf AT yahoo.com>
• Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 16:42:03 -0500

• From: "Caleb & Debbie Lucien" <Lucienscd AT starband.net>
• Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 15:34:29 -0400

Hi Gert;
Just a quick note, I live in the central plateau region of Haiti in a small
community called Pignon.
This past week we've had increasingly heavy rain and thunderstorms.
There has been no flooding in our area (as we are high) but lots of
lightning.  There was a young 12 year old girl who was killed while sitting
inside her home two days ago.  There are some mudslides making travel
treacherous overland but otherwise it is pretty normal up here.  My friends
in the northern city of Cap Haitien report the rains have let up there so
the flooding is pretty restricted to the south.
from Pignon, Debbie LUcien