On Tuesday, October 18, 2016, a very small team of volunteers traveled with us to Ayiti to bring humanitarian aid and help build a couple of shelter homes in two areas in the South of Ayiti affected by hurricane Mathew.
Using our gift bags from our 2016 Art Day Celebration event, we prepared 20 bags filled with a flashlight, toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, toiletries, adult and children cold medicine, antibiotics, sanitizer, dry milk, oatmeal, rice, beans, canned tuna, oil and spaghetti and distributed them to 20 families in Cazeau, a mountainside of a little town called Arniquet between Les Cayes and Port-Salut.
Thursday, October 20th – We traveled to Fonds des Negres and met Pastor Jean-Claude Laborde who assisted us in assessing who could we help. We identified a small shack whee an elderly man lived with his wife and 2 grandchildren. We purchased materials to include wood, aluminum tins, cement and sand to help them build a safe sheltered home.
On Friday October 21st –We got on the road to Les Cayes, and as we passed Cavaillon, a small village in Aquin we witnessed homes and businesses destroyed, crops lost due to flooding from a torrential rain the previous Thursday night.
Saturday and Sunday schedules were filled with early wake-up and having all hands on deck. We assisted Pastor Laborde and his church family clear out the water that flooded their church sanctuary, distributed the kits, along with clothes, shoes and stuffed animals to the 20 families. We then purchased aluminum tins, wood, nails, cement and sand to help with the building of 1 sheltered home for a family of 4 whose makeshift shack was severely damaged by hurricane Mathew. We fixed the roof of 1 home of a family of 5, and provided materials to build a portion of the destroyed house of a blind man who lives with his wife, 2 children and 2 nephews.
We could not have done all this without you our wonderful supporters. So we thank you for your generous gestures of monetary and in-kind donations.