The following is an update from Joe Knittig of the Global Orphan Project on January 12:
Haiti’s in chaos right now. Port au Prince is a disaster. The palace, parliamentary building, etc., etc. collapsed. On some streets, more buildings lie in rubble than are standing.
I spoke with Dony, one of the leaders of El Shaddai, our primary in-country partner. Cell communications into Haiti are cut. He has communicated w his brother, Louis, via wufuu. Louis fled his house in Cayes from fear of collapse. Shook for about 35 straight seconds. There are buildings and homes down, even in Cayes. There’s a great deal of panic.
There’s some early good news… It appears that all children we have in the south are safe and sound. We’ll know more tomorrow. Keep praying for that.
We’ve had no communications into Gonaives. We’re hopeful and optimistic things are well, there.
Our greatest concerns right now focus on PAP. We have 3 specific prayer requests:
- We have 106 children in care in Carrefour – in PAP. They’re at Ground Zero. We have no communications to know what’s happened there.
- We have 109 children in care in Croix de Bouquet, about 15 mins outside PAP. We have no communication there as of yet.
- Moise Vaval, our C3 Field Director in Haiti, lives in PAP with his wife and 4 children. We have no communication with him to know whether he’s OK.
Many of you are contacting us ready to help, wanting to know how. Thank you. From our hearts, thank you. As needs surface that we can smartly manage and execute on, we will definitely bring them to you. For now, remain informed with us via the news and our blog updates, and continue in prayer.
One step we are taking is to work with our field partners, however possible, to buy an addl 1-2 month supply of food in and for our kids in the Cayes and Gonaives regions. We plan to pull the trigger on this in the morning, God willing. Even if the damage proves to be largely centered in PAP, food prices (and gas prices and everything else) will likely skyrocket over the next 72 hours. Pray that this all goes smoothly.
We’ll be back to you soon,
Joe Knittig
The Global Orphan Project
