JUST MERCY
One Tiny Life and now….Hurricane Matthew!!
Berill and his baby
Berill, a man who had just started working with us that morning was doing a really good job but about noon he disappeared and I was wondering where he went. A little while later he came back and I could see he was about to cry.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“My baby is sick and about to die!” he replied.
“How old?” I asked.
“About 2 months.”
I hunted down some pedialite (children’s hydration fluid) and headed off to see exactly what the situation was. When I arrived at the house, the yard was full of people which is not a good sign. It usually means someone is dying.
A lady was sitting on the porch surrounded by a host of people holding the baby. I made my way through the crowd to see him. He was lethargic, malnourished, and dehydrated. I didn’t think there was much time before we might lose him.
Everyone one was moaning and didn’t know what to do. Mama wasn’t nursing. Didn’t have milk so the baby hadn’t nursed for a while. No wet nurse to be found. I knew we HAD to get this baby to the doctor quickly.
I called the director at Bonne Fin, a hospital on the mainland that have helped folks we sent there before. He said to bring them on over.
I replied, “It will take us three hours at least. We have to get a boat to take us across 7 miles of sea to the mainland. Then another hour in tap taps and motos.” (motorcycles used as taxi’s)
“We will be closed by then but we take emergencies. Come on”
He gave me Dr. Gitio’s number (The pediatrician there. I knew him. He helped us with Christela. Nice man and knew his stuff.) I gave him a call. He confirmed the urgency of getting the baby in ASAP.
“Berill, get the baby ready. Meet me at my house NOW. I will go look for a boat. ” (There are faster boats than ours on the island so if we could find one of those, it would be better.)
Headed to the mainland on the boat with the baby
No boat taxi to be had. So we headed out to get the Just Mercy boat to the shore, a 22 foot Haitain sailboat. We put the15 hp Yamaha 2 stroke on it, hooked up a tank of gas. and were ready to go when Berill and the baby showed up five minutes later. The boat isn’t really fast but it’s what we have.
After the voyage across, we supplied the funds for the taxis to get to the hospital and off they went. I thought, “Now it is in God’s hands.” They made it to the hospital and the baby was put on an IV. He is home now and the hospital is supplying formula. We are grateful to God for his mercies. – Bill
As I was preparing this update, we received word that category 4 Hurricane Matthew is headed to Haiti! It is going to be devastating! Winds are around 140 mph and not expected to decrease. Storm surges will be 7 – 10 feet above normal tide. Rainfall amounts are estimated to be from 20 – 40 inches!! The eye is expected to go directly over the area where JUST MERCY’s base is on the island of Ile a Vache.
The villages on the smaller islands will be wiped out! The people have been being evacuated to the mainland but the losses will be catastrophic. Homes will be destroyed, especially the grass huts. Trees will be down. Gardens will be wiped out causing grave food shortages. Hopefully loss of life will be minimal. The needs will be great!
Bill is currently home but was scheduled to go back Tuesday along with our son Jesse. That flight has already been cancelled and moved to Wednesday. We hope it will go on time since Bill is anxious to return as the people on Ile a Vache will need JUST MERCY’s help. There is no FEMA. There are no bulldozers or trucks or chainsaws (except ours) to help with the clean up. Possibilities are for Katrina-like devastation with no help in many places!!
The sawmill is located in a fairly protected spot and we are hopeful that it will escape damage as it will be NEEDED with trees down and people homeless. Funds will be needed for food, water, and shelter. We don’t know exactly what we will find, but we know it will be bad. If you can make an emergency donation at this time, please prayerfully consider doing so. JUST MERCY has the will and the position to make a difference in disaster relief on the island of Ile a Vache where ten to fifteen thousand people live directly in the path of the eye of Hurricane Matthew.
We will keep regular updates posted on JUST MERCY’s FB page so if you want to receive those, please “like” it so they will post on your timeline. Please pray for the people of Haiti and for us as we return to Haiti to a poor nation hit once again with a major disaster. May God have mercy and give His children in Haiti peace and courage in the eye of the storm!! Blessings on you all!
Sunday 8 pm Hurricane Matthew trajectory