Tent City - Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

Rain. Rubble. Rebuilding. It's all still there...

(Tuesday, May 4)
The Shame

Less than an hour after entering Port-Au-Prince, I'm standing on what used to be an outdoor basketball court. The 100-plus families that now call this 80x40 space home have taken anything they could find to slap up makeshift rooms and kitchens. They let me pass through their response to January 12th's devastation in hopes that I would see enough to help, to bring some semblance of dignity back to their lives. That's what Nehemiah pleaded for from the king – a wall for his people to end their shame.

All around is rubble and pancaked homes where these people once lived, where everyone lost someone special, and where many bodies still lay hidden. Two bodies were pulled out today, with just the smell to lead them to an inevitable horrific reunion.

Fort National is at the top of a hill overlooking the city and was one of the hardest hit areas. It's estimated that 150 were killed in the quake, and still more are missing. Tonight I'm sleeping in a tent and I still have so much more than they.

And yet the young leadership that sprang up to collect people, take a census, carefully account for the children, and provide security has begun to build the wall of dignity around them.

They still wait for a government too in shock to bring a plan – it won't be anytime soon.

Tomorrow we will sit with these leaders and work together on a budget, find team leaders and construction volunteers go and buy materials, and side by side start filling some gaps. Three latrines have been cleaned out and back in service so sanitation is restored.

Reduce some fear, provide hope despite the storms brewing, cast off a little more shame – give them something worth getting up for. Mission of Mercy – a little Nehemiah plugging some gaps with some phenomenal partners.

I'm somewhere in Port-Au-Prince without a fear in the world. No wolves here, only people praying for a small step forward tomorrow. We'll take that step early and see where it leads. Pray for the many details and open doors.

(Wednesday, May 5)
Miracles "Under The Tree"

In my 20-plus years of working with the poor I’ve always felt the real work of ministry happens under the tree – that place where people stop, listen, discuss and decide – with a lot of negotiation in between. Today was a day under the tree.

After visiting a refugee camp called Fort National the night before, we all began praying that God would give us a “loaves and fishes miracle” so we could help the refugees not only in Fort National, but those concentrated near the town of Dubuisson as well. That’s exactly what happened. Through the efforts of one of Mission of Mercy’s Haitian partners, Dr. Manno, $10,000 had already been raised. Dubuisson used these funds to build 33 shelters, nearly half of the need we came to meet.

The next miracle we needed was the establishment of a budget that would be modest but also secure the needs of the refugees. By the end of our time under the tree we had a budget that would provide Dubuisson with 40 more shelters and 3 latrines and while also supplying Fort National with 20 more shelters and maintenance for 3 existing latrines. Under this budget, both refugee camps would get a sturdier roof and better sanitation.

All of this without going a dime over existing funds. Fishes and loaves.

By the end of the day Dubuisson had 10 shelters lined out with posts cemented in, and Fort National managed to buy their lumber. By the end of the week we hope some families will move into these shelters.

I have seen war zones with less destruction than Port-au-Prince is facing. I feel like we are only addressing a fraction of the total need that exists here, but this is the territory God has given us to care for. Two places of desperation waiting for someone to come along.

(Wednesday, May 5, Late Evening)
A Taste of the Tent City

We made a lot of progress today, but now the sky opened up. Rain.

(I don't think REI tested their tents in Haiti.)

Being in a tent like thousands of others, I now know a wee bit about how it feels. But there are thousands more under even worse shelters than this leaky tent - the type of shelters people live in here. Sticks and sheets, for months. So I can report the work we are doing in Fort National and Dubuisson is going to be a huge blessing.

Just pray. The rain might loosen the many slabs and crumbled homes dangling by rebar, crushing those who have pitched tents underneath.

Oh, and God bless Max's wife, who has a full plate of rice and beans waiting for me at night. Blessings also to the kindest woman and family who gave me a box of cookies, 3 guyaba (guava) fruits, and the sweetest juiciest mango I've ever had.

Crushing poverty, but people always give the best from so little. I never leave a Mission of Mercy country without receiving much more than I give.

(Thursday, May 6, Morning)
Pray for Plastic (Tarps!)

Thursday morning: Work continues at a fast pace though materials are running low. After a night of rain, people are excited and anxious as they see things take shape.

Dubuisson has the skeleton of all 40 shelters finished; we still need to buy the zinc sheets for the roofs. Digging latrines starts today.

Fort National is a bit chaotic -- if you look closely at the photo below you can see the frame rising above the existing shelters. There is no place to put people, so they are constructing the shelters over them and then will shift people around a bit at a time. It's like renovating a kitchen while trying to live in it.

These shelters rely on plastic tarps for walls, but we are finding out it's a tough item to find. Tarps from the United Nations, UNICEF, Canada, and Samaritan's Purse blanket the city, but there's no stockpile sitting around to be had. We're going to try to hunt some down - would appreciate prayers for an open door to find locally or even someone to donate quickly from abroad.

A great side benefit of all this work is plenty of young men are being kept busy. Everyone is pitching in and feeling a part of the plan.

In the meantime, hundreds of yellow shirted youth with wheel barrows continue the painstaking work of clearing rubble on the streets, uncovering what's left of homes and shoveling out sewage drains.

It truly is a global effort here, and Haitians are the key to the recovery, however slow.

(Friday, May 7)
Fort National Wrap Up

By the end of the week we had made very visible progress on the structures. At Fort National, where they had to build on top of concrete and work around and over the existing shelters, they were able to put up the main posts and frame out about half of the roof. They had to build the roof quite a bit higher in order to create sufficient space above for ventilation. With over 300 people crammed into this area and with a tin roof it will generate a lot of heat so the extra space will allow that to dissipate.

I am really thankful for the generous donations that came in that allowed us simply to provide the cash and not rely on construction teams. Though teams are usually a blessing in this case it would have proven counter-productive. So many men are unemployed and desperately needed this project for their own  self-esteem and to put a few dollars in their pockets. It was interesting how they made sure to break the job down into as many small pieces as possible so that as many men and youth could be involved. There were certainly skilled workers overseeing every aspect but whether it was carrying in rock and sand, mixing the cement, carrying the blocks, cutting wood, or nailing each person had a role.

One touching scene was when they brought in a few boxes of locally donated high calorie/protein chocolate milk drink. The men in charge gently gathered all the children and began handing these out to the young ones first on up to the teens. Not one child was missed  – they didn’t allow a free for all. It was clear the men knew each child by name.

It was a type of order that often gets overlooked in so much chaos. We aren’t always privileged to see these moments so we often draw wrong conclusions about how communities function. The important thing was to not interfere and take away what little dignity they’ve been able to create for themselves. We expect within 8 – 10 more days this entire structure will be completed. The only tenuous part is finding enough plastic to cover the walls. It is in very short supply so we are scrambling a bit to get the tarps. Please continue to pray that God will provide tarps!

Camp Dubuission Wrap Up

Over at Camp Dubuisson, they completed the framing on all 40 structures. Keep in mind the living space per family is only 8x10 feet, as anything bigger would not have fit on the property nor make it less claustrophobic. They managed to put tin over about 5 of the structures. Here too we are facing a plastic shortage for the walls so are praying for some major provision.

Also, within 8-10 days they’ll finish the roofing and complete the building of the latrines to provide much needed sanitation. The leadership was very grateful and somehow managed to make a few thank you cards for me to bring home. This truly is remarkable in the midst of having nothing.

This community is now praying for the ability to build a temporary structure so they can start getting nearly 300 children back to school. One of the most touching scenes of the whole week – though I couldn’t take a picture – was a mother working with her daughter on a school workbook. Although they have no school in this area, it was very rewarding to see such an attempt by a mother to keep her daughter moving forward.

What’s Needed Now

One final note: I’ve mentioned already how many thousands of tents I saw. One would expect this after so many houses were destroyed. But the unseen factor in this is that even those (and I mean nearly everyone) who still had their homes intact also have set up tents in front of their homes to live in. No one really knows the extent of unseen damage standing homes suffered. But the reality is that everyone is still afraid to sleep under their own roofs. They still feel many tremors and of course with the evidence of loss and destruction all around them no one wants to risk a second time of survival in their homes.

No one knows how long this will be a way of life for these people. There is no government warning system that can be put in place to say it’s ok to go back in your homes. Maybe people will one day decide they’ve had enough of tent living or the tents will wear out and can’t be replaced and have no choice. But it’s a fact that there are emotional wounds from this disaster that simply may never heal without a supernatural touch.