A
great day!
PDG Amos and family are safe! Ted Lazarre has been found and is ok!
A very productive day as well. Supplies and money came in in great quantities
from everywhere. Our District as always did the extraordinary. One club raised
over $39,000 at their meeting, and another one matched it!!!!!! Supplies and
funds in every region under the regional coordinators is coming in quickly and
in great quantities. Great work clubs and Rotarians. I am sorry that I can not
give you exact figures but the funds are going to a number of regional accounts
and I am not sure of everything and would not want to mislead you.
Still using Satellite phones to communicate. Caleb, Claude, Guy and Ted. This
Disaster Investment has been a life saver. Some protocols to work out yet but
generally what a great thing!
On the lighter side, we had one flight leave from Nassau to Haiti with medical
supplies and a Doctor Ageebe and a Nurse Fountain. Not everything went as
planned but we made progress. The plane got there with the supplies which were
picked up, but we lost the Doctor and Nurse. OOPS!
We finally found them but the old challenge of communication was interesting. I
got a mixed message that they had been dropped in Port de Paix. I could picture
them standing on a vacant dark lonely runway looking for someone they may be
comfortable staying with until they were found, but in fact they had been left
in Cap Haitien at a hotel whose name they did not know and no phone contact for.
The good news is in texting them on their Bahamian cell we were able to
ascertain where they were and it was the same hotel we had stayed at when we
visited the Cap Haitien club so we were able to use the satellite phone and
communicate with Rotarians on the ground in Haiti and by tomorrow at 11:00 they
will be on their way to Pignon to help the wounded at Dr. Guy Theodore's
Hospital.
The challenges remain that the Port is closed, the airport in PaP is over taxed
and on occasion has to turn flights away, and the communication systems are
restrictive. We are working around those. We are working with D-4060 (Charles
Adams) on a plan to ship by sea to the DR and tranship over land from the DR to
Haiti. We need to overcome the availability of trucks, the boarder and the
inland challenges but with their help I am sure we can.
In speaking to Shelter Boxes they expect to have 2900 on the ground over the
next few week. 900 are there now, and 1000 are on the way with the balance to
follow.
We have a container of medical supplies in Atlanta that is going to be
transferred to a DC-3 tomorrow and will be in route to Haiti by Sunday. A number
of relief flights from other countries have gone in as well. Our Jamaican
Rotarians in concert with the Jamaican Government and Coast Guard have sent in
an army of supplies and people and are continuing to build their relief efforts.
We have 4 flights (Twin engine) leaving Nassau tomorrow for Haiti followed by a
DC-3 on Sunday. The 3 Beechcraft from North Carolina to Haiti are due early next
week and we will have 4 planes on the ground in Nassau for the remaining 2 weeks
available to us and all we need to cover are the fuel costs.
The DAF is set up and we have full exposure on the international Web Sites
Tomorrow is another day!
Successes to follow!!!!
PDG Dick