It continues to be an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved here. Today seems a little surreal, I have taken the seven teenagersfrom the transition house to Kaliko beach resort. Chad and I had to take a day of R&R to recuperate from the 18 hour days we have been working since getting here. It is strange to be at such a beautiful, peaceful place when only miles away, death and destruction is everywhere.
Currently King’s Kids and GLOW International are feeding 5900 people and supplying them with clean drinking water and toilet facilities. We continue to run into frustrations obtaining food aid for our camps due to the bottle neck at the Port Au Prince Airport. We know that the food is available, but it seems impossible to get hold of. The WFP has over 9000 tons of food that they are having trouble getting to because of safety concerns and one of the warehouses is only being held up by the food stacked inside. We now know we are not the only small NGO’s that are having difficulties. We have spoken to numerous organizations that have given up on obtaining Aid trough the UN and are arranging for it to be shipped in through the Dominican Republic or are buying supplies locally. We pray that the aid promised to us comes soon, as we only have about one week worth of food left.
We have spent the last two days traveling around Port Au Prince and Petionville looking for 1000 gallon water tanks to store drinking water at each camp. They are quite difficult to find and are very expensive. We finally found tanks and have shipped them to two of our camps. Our next real concern is shelter. These camps are made mainly from bed sheets, stretched over sticks, they will not stand up to inclement weather. February is the start of the rainy season in Haiti, so we have very little time to avoid an even bigger disaster when people find themselves coping with no shelter and very dirty conditions. There is also the concern that the water that the rain will bring will contaminate the groundwater, increasing the chances of water born diseases such as Typhoid and Cholera.
The problems are only just beginning for the people here. Entire parts of the city will have to be bulldozed and rebuilt, new infrastructure will need to be installed. Many people are moving to the countryside stretching the abilities of these small communities to cope with the influx. A friend of mine did a small inventory of schools in an approximately 2 block area of Port Au Prince and found that 7 schools there were destroyed and approximately 3000 children would not have a place to go to school. That was just in a small area, implying that the need for this is colossal. I am sure that I’m only scratching the surface of the problems that are developing and will develop in the future.
We as a country and an International community must not let this huge human tragedy fall out of the collective consciousness. We must continue to aid this ravaged nation and do everything in our power to aid them in the reconstruction of their country. It is not only necessary it is a moral obligation!
Frank King RN
President
King's Kids Worldwide
Port Au Prince, Haiti
Update January 20th 8:00PM PST
Frank and Chad were roused from their sleep this morning by a significant 6.1 aftershock. While all our programs remain intact there are reports of further damage to buildings and people. How much more can the country of Haiti withstand?
Today Kings Kids was offically registered with the UN Emergency Operations Center of Haiti, which should allow us access to the international aid that is flowing into the airport. Having more people to distribute the aid can only be a good thing!
We are happy to hear that some children already in the adoption process have started to be moved towards their forever families and safety, but we have deep concern about those who are unable to contact the government to find assistance.
King's Kids is promoting the need for "humanitarian parole" for the children of Haiti. The goal would be to move children who are orphaned into safe places (ie other countries) until the country of Haiti becomes more stable. We will provide more information soon. Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti.
Your donations are making the difference: without your help Frank and Chad could not be on the ground feeding thousands of people! It is wonderful to see so many organizations working together towards one goal: GLOW, haitibabies, Global Aid Network, Kings Kids and many others! Together we can make a difference.
Esther King of Kings Kids Worldwide Ministries
Update January 19th 9:30AM
Good Morning,
Things continue to be very very busy in the King household; both in Haiti and Chilliwack! Frank and Chad continue to struggle to find enough food and water for the people on the northeast edges of Port au Prince. They have obtained medical care for the two children they cared for two nights ago, but it appears that amputation is going to be the only option for many of these children. AFter 6 days with no medical care, all wounds are now infected, and we could anticipate that the death toll will begin to rise again as the secondary infections start to kill of the surviving injured.
Frank and Chad would like to go back to the refugee camp they delivered food to but they do not have a source of food to take. They have provided additional medical care.
On the blessings side, we did hear from Farah's family and they are all alive! Farah's older sister has 4 broken limbs and is in a hospital in Cite du Soliel. It is not safe for Frank to go. We also heard directly from Sebastien's mother. While they are well, she is desperate to get Sebastien out of the country so we will try and help. You can imagine how difficult it would be to move around in the rubble with a blind child! With the new rules relaxing a bit, we may have luck! King's Kids will make ourselves available to any evacuees that required help.
At this point we have increased our collection services from money to include specific medical supplies. Things like gauze, tensor bandages, antibiotic cream, sutures, and tylenol and ibuprophen. Any antibiotics will be accepted now too. We do not have a way to get these into Haiti at this second, but we will send them in the first shipment....
Thank you again for your ongoing prayers and support. Frank says he can feel those prayers in Haiti!
Esther King
CEO
Update January 17th, 2010
As I write this update I have still not heard from Frank and Chad. I hope to hear soon as the time difference of three hours ahead makes it so that it will be dark in Port au Prince soon. I know that Frank had plans to go into the Dominican Republic tomorrow to try and get fuel but it is unclear right now whether that will be a feasible option. They have little cash left and no way to get more cash with no power and no banking services. Unfortunately, I am getting information as fast as you are via the internet with not a lot of direct contact with anyone. Now that it has been four days without power, most cell phones and computers must be running out of power with no available way to recharge them. Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and those who are trying to help them.
Esther King
Update January 9:00am 16th, 2010
We have finally managed to talk to Frank and Chad via computer for more than a few second! They are both well, and safe. Both feel "indescribable" feelings about what they are seeing and smelling....
The teens are safe! and we have moved them to a safe house out of Port au Prince. They were so tired and slept as soon as they felt safe! We know that Dorothy is safe, but has a lot of damage to contend with.. She is tending to sick children as well as the current country devastation.
We spoke to Sebastien's aunt who has heard that he is ok, but his mother and sister have been injured.
We have lost one of the children we care for: Nikki was 14 and killed under a wall. He will not be forgotten as one of the many lost in this crisis!!!
Frank feels his biggest concern right now is fuel. They can't get it, or if they do they are only getting small containers and paying huge amounts of money. The UN police have apparently positioned themselves at every gas station to try and control the chaos. They currently have enough food and water, and are going to distribute stores that are coming into Port from the north today. Please pray for safety as many of the Haitian people have been without food and water for four days.........
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Esther King and KKW Board
Update January 3:00pm 14th, 2010
I am happy to report that Frank and Chad have been able to make contact with us and they are safe! They have now heard from all projects directly, except the REscue house that all the children are OK. Praise God! They will not travel any more tonight as it is dark now and unsafe, but in the morning they will head back into Port au Prince to find Dorothy and the children. We do have a safe place to bring them, outside of the city and will move them as soon as possible. Please continue to pray for the children of Haiti and the people who care for them. We will provide support as we are able based on funds indefinitely.
Thank you.
Esther King
Displaced people carry a wounded man out of the clinic as aftershocks occur , following a major earthquake on Jan. 13 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. *Images from above and below taken from here.
Update as of 5:30pm Jan 13, 2010
Kings Kids Worldwide would like to update you on the status of the terrible events of January 12th's major earthquake which was recorded up to 7.5 on the Richter scale. This was a bit of a surprise to Frank King, president of Kings Kids, and Chad Snyder, vice president, who were already en route to Haiti to review our current projects. Their flights were re-routed to Santo Domingo in the middle of the Dominican Republic and from there plans were up in the air for the moment. At the time that this is being written we have had communicated with Frank and Chad, and they have partnered with 2 Danish reporters and a UN doctor to fly into Port tomorrow morning. They are unable to take any luggage with them on the flight.
We are relieved to know that two of our projects are okay despite extensive structural damage to walls and buildings.
Our Transition house with 7 teens has still not been contacted, nor have we been able to contact Sebastien or Romain. Please pray with us for the safety of all those who have touched the hearts of Kings Kids teams.
With the UN being so badly hit with human losses, commanding leadership in turmoil, and the destruction of the main Haitian jail, relief aid and prayer is important to keep those in need there, and for those who helping in the Port au Prince area.
***image taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world news/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/6983873/Haiti-earthquake-hundreds-of-thousands-feared-dead.html
When orphanages are established in developing countries, it is usually because someone sees the urgent need and steps forward to help some of the millions of children who die every day from preventable diseases. It is a hard job, because
King’s Kids Worldwide Ministry Principles
We believe that children are the future
We believe that the foundation of adulthood begins at birth
We value the role of the family
We believe that all children deserve to be loved and nurtured to become the best they can be
We respect all children regardless of their abilities, culture or religion
We are driven by faith to create hope in the children of the world
Mission Statement
To make a difference in the world by helping children to achieve the best possible outcome for their life’s journey.
Purpose Statement
King’s Kids Worldwide believes that children everywhere deserve equal chances at success: to be loved and cared about with the basics of life including food, safety, shelter and medical support. We strive to support those already providing care for children worldwide and to seek justice for children everywhere.
