Since our last post, Tom and Trey have witnessed two aftershocks in Jimani. They are safe, and the clinic and orphanage didn’t suffer any damage. However, the Haitian patients and refugees are frightened. They moved from sleeping inside the building to outside. During the first aftershock, many jumped from second story windows because they were scared the builiding would collapse on them.

Tom and Trey had not been able to travel into Haiti yet, but they were exactly where they needed to be. Saturday morning around 2 a.m., the entire facility’s water system shut down. With close to 1,000 people relying on this water system, this was a huge problem. Tom and Trey worked for several hours, and were able to reestablish water at Jimani. Check www.haitifooddrive.blogspot.com to find out more about the Jimani project and how Tom and Trey helped.

Yesterday (Sunday), they finally made it in to Port-au-prince, where they set up one water purification system at one of Harvest Field Ministries’ facilities. They are returning today to set up another system. Most of the roads into outlying communities are impassable, but Tom said the main roads are cleared and aid is starting to be distributed more easily.

Here are some excerpts from emails Tom sent last week:
“Most of the afternoon we helped move the hurt. The children are mentally the hardest to serve. Many missing limbs.”

“So far we are holding up, and we feel good that there is so much for us to do here while we wait to get into Haiti. We are staying busy. I think Trey will agree that this is the most extreme mission ever, and we are not to ground zero yet…Thank you for praying for us.”  

Tom and Trey arrived in the Dominican Republic yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. They traveled to Jimani, which is near the Haitian border, to a hospital sponsored by The Jimani Project, one of HERO’s partners. They were unable to purchase the car batteries for the water filtration systems because yesterday was a national holiday. Today, they should be able to buy the batteries and cross the border into Haiti to begin setting up the systems.

We will update when we hear more! Thanks for your prayers and generous contributions.

To donate to SIFAT online, click here. Please follow the directions for designating contributions. You can also donate by check – 2944 County Road 113, Lineville, AL 36266.

Plans have changed so many times during the past few days as we plan how SIFAT is getting involved with the Haiti relief effort. We told you our first plan on Monday. We always tell mission teams to remember to be flexible – and flexibility has been key this week. However, God is opening doors for SIFAT to take water purifiers that will give clean water for up to 10,000 people per system per day.

Ten water purifiers are on a plane. They were supposed to get into the country yesterday, but didn’t. We hope they make it today. Tomorrow, our executive director Tom Corson and SIFAT graduate Trey Reed will fly commercially to the Dominican Republic and travel into Haiti.

SIFAT is partnering with several organizations to make this happen. To get an idea of some of what Tom and Trey will see and people with whom they may work, visit this blog.

Recent news articles about SIFAT and partnering organizations:

Blog from al.com with information about partnering ministries

The Randolph Leader’s article about SIFAT’s response

We have more news from some of our graduates and friends…

William Hatcher is back in the States. He and his team all made it home safely.

Pacius, a 1996 graduate, lives away from Port au Prince, but he has opened up is small home – 20’x20′ – to 30 people needing a place to stay. His daughter was in the city when the earthquake hit, but she was not hurt.

Anne, who was part of the 2009 field study, runs a school with 300 children and also works with a vanilla bean project for the community. She was in Haiti during the earthquake. In an email, she shares that every single person has lost someone or has someone missing. The pain, sadness and despair is overwhelming.

On Friday afternoon, our executive director Tom Corson and 2009 graduate Trey Reed were given an opportunity they couldn’t turn down – a chance to leave Thursday, Jan. 21 to travel to Haiti with a group of medical personnel and relief workers from HERO, Haiti Emergency Relief Organization, a nonprofit based in Huntsville. Air travel will not be a problem, because Remote Area Mission – RAM – will be providing a plane and pilot to take the volunteers and their supplies to the Dominican Republic. From there, they will travel across the border and into Haiti. HERO partners with the Jimani Project and Hunstville Haiti Congress, so they have a base camp from which to work.

Tom and Trey will be taking water purifiers from New Life International. These purifiers run from car batteries, which can be recharged using solar panels. The purification system uses electricity and table salt to chlorinate the water, making it safe to drink for up to 10,000 people each day. The systems last for several years, and Tom and Trey will train local people to maintain them.
An individual unit costs $1000. The recommended system costs $2500 and provides a larger capacity of clean drinking water. We need your help now! To donate to our effort to take purification systems to Haiti, please visit the donate page on our website or our cause on Facebook.  Email our accountant Claude, hurttc@sifat.org, to designate your online donation for Haiti. Checks can also be mailed to the SIFAT office, 2944 County Road 113, Lineville, AL 36266.

** As with any disaster relief effort, sometimes plans unexpectedly change. Tom and Trey’s travel is dependent on RAM and HERO at this time. We will keep you updated if the airports close. As of now, they will fly out on Thursday, Jan. 21 .