69 News in Haiti

Something To Remember

I have never marched for anything.  I can't remember the last parade I was in.  But I just spent the last hour in a sea of people, singing their way through the streets of Port-au-Prince.  The crowd grew steadily larger as it went along...it was electric.  I could barely hear a thing, the singing was so intense.

Photojournalist Lee Jenkins and I shot our video, did a reporter standup and then soaked up the moment.  Usually as a journalist you are too busy gathering the story to do that. You tend to appreciate them after they have passed. Mostly while you are watching the video play-back.  In Haiti I have had a few moments like that. Small things like a Norman Rockwell-esque meal with the volunteers..Or big moments like the melding of Haiti's sorrow and joy in the crowd today.  For me, covering Haiti was a blessing. One I will always remember.  I hope I've left you with something to remember as well.

FULL STORY WITH VIDEO REPORT: Looking Back

FULL STORY WITH VIDEO REPORT: One Year Later

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The songs wafted across the street...

We just went to a tent service with 10 thousand people.  It was amazing. Everyone held their hands in the air as if they could touch God. The songs wafted across the street..people who couldn't get in the complex started gathering and singing where they stood. The only thing separating their voices was the occasional Tap Tap whizzing by.  You could feel the energy holding them together.

Christening of the Water Filtration System

We just went to the christening of the water filtration system at Mercy Village Clinic.  Pastor Ramon Crespo led the ceremony to honor those who died and to give the gift of clean water to Santo 19 schools and orphanages.

The Lehigh Valley doctors are seeing patients until tomorrow. Then they are headed back.

Mercy Village Clinic has so many plans for this neighborhood, including possibly hiring a nurse to attend to needs and do community education.

Crespo is also talking about a school down the road and other exciting things.  I'm sure he will do more good work here in Haiti.

Happiness Paints a Picture

After a long day of shooting video and riding in a tap tap all over the city of Port-au-Prince we sat down with the Lehigh Valley doctors, nurses and the water filtration crew for some burgers and salad.  Ramon Crespo and some of the older kids from the Mercy Village home hosted us.  Everyone was in the middle of assembling their plates, passing around the food and chattering happily.  I looked around the room at their smiling faces and just took pause to soak it all in.  This large family of former strangers, were now filled with joy because of the work they were brought here to Haiti to do.  If Norman Rockwell had been to Haiti..he would have painted a moment much like this.  They had no idea I was watching, trying to paint a picture of my own in my mind forever.

The Ozonator

The ozonator is a water filtration device put together by former Easton City Councilman Tim Pickel and Lafayette Professor and current city council member Roger Ruggles here in Santo 19.   Basically it uses a set of filters on the water before injecting ozone into it. The ozone kills any remaining bacteria and makes the water drinkable.  It's a big deal in a country that is battling a cholera epidemic.   It will be used by area schools and orphanages. A major blessing to the community.  

Pickel and Ruggles have assembled this type of system in many other countries with much success.It's really quite a task, lost of PVC pipe, wires and filters to connect.  They smile and joke around while they work, just happy to be able to offer something valuable to the community.  It's heartwarming.

A National Day of Prayer For Haiti

Today is the one year anniversary of the earthquake.  A national day of prayer for Haiti.  This morning Lehigh Valley residents will be joining the Haitians to cut the ribbon on a water filtration system.   Then there will be a short service and a lot of singing.  Services will be held all over Haiti today, to remember those who perished and to pray for healing.

Pete The Dog!

Pete the dog is doing well.  The kids at Mercy Village play with him and he gets a lot of attention from the many volunteer groups that come to visit here at the orphanage.

On Our Way To The UN News Conference

Today we rode in a tap tap to get our credentials for the UN news conference.  The ride was especially bumpy...there are potholes the size of sinkholes everywhere you go and it's a free-for-all on the roads.  It's like the 1970's movie Rollerball with neon colored Toyota trucks.  You think you're gonna get smacked every five seconds and you're bouncing around in the back.

So.. after spending and hour and a half on what would take us 20 minutes in the Lehigh Valley, we finally made it to one of several UN complexes to get our credentials.

The sun was beating down, I could feel the pink of sunburn flushing on my arms.  We walked around the complex looking for the media liaison for about 20 minutes and I was amazed.  The complex was so huge, it was a city all by itself.  We ducked into a cafe with chattering journalists and NGO workers and saw that the special was a BBQ sandwich.  We finally found our liaison and got our credentials.  Wow.. UN credentials.  I can't wait to go to the news conference.  I doubt anything they have to say will impact the Lehigh Valley...but I do know that many of the people from the Lehigh Valley I have talked to say they have some questions for the UN.  Questions about what the agency has been doing to help Haiti since it got here.  We should get some answers soon...the UN plans to release its progress report at the news conference.

These boots are made for walking...

You know how they say if you keep something long enough it will come back in style?  Well, I'm not sure how "in style" the boots are that I am wearing in Haiti, but I have had them for a long, long time.  They keep my feet dry and have helped me navigate some incredibly rocky terraine.  I'm glad I begged my mom to buy them for me... in high school.

Mercy Village

The first two times Photojournalist Lee Jenkins and I traveled to Haiti we followed a group of Lehigh Valley doctors and members of LifeChurch.  We stayed at the Rescue Childrens Orphanage, which though independent, was sponsored by LifeChurch.  That same group created LifeClinic a few blocks away from the orphanage.

Before the earthquake, many of the 10 thousand non-governmental agencies now operating in Haiti were specialized.  They focused on feeding, or on shelter, or on literacy, etc.  After the earthquake, the needs of the country were so great, these NGO's started doing everything.  In some cases these new directions caused fractures in the organization because of different opinions on how to accomplish all the new goals.  So new groups were formed.  This is what has happened to the group of folks Lee and I have been following.

Pastor Ramon Crespo and his wife Luz now run the orphanage and clinic known as Mercy Village.  LifeChurch has focused its attention on another area of great need in Carrefour, about two hours north of Port-au-Prince.  The great thing of it is that members from the medical staff and the church continue to interact at Mercy Village and the new site to make sure they are doing all they can to help Haiti.  I haven't had a chance to go check out the new site for LifeChurch, but I am hoping to do so later this week.  It will be nice to see all the wonderful things they are up to and the new challenges they are meeting.

FULL STORY WITH VIDEO REPORT: Cleaning The Water