New Message from Ile a Vache February 5th, 2010 Message received from Jean Phelix Joseph on Ile a Vache. OceansWatch Director Donna Lange visited Ile a Vache last year to set up contacts for our Sail Aid to Haiti/Helping Hands project. We were already planning to send OceansWatch member boats there to help this year, the earthquake just made it so much more important to go now and bring food. First boats are departing Key West Feb 10. Please help us fill the second fleet leaving in 4 weeks with food and AID. SV Tranquility and other OceansWatch members are organizing more sponsorship and donations to get the boats there and back safely, docomenting the “SAIL AID TO HAITI” for others to see how’s it’s done and how we can continue with these missions in the future. Negative impact and needs of help for the island’s Western side of Haiti has been severely affected. In Port au Prince, the capital of Haiti almost all the buildings: like national palace, justice palace, IRS national office, churches, schools etc are collapsed. According to Haitian newspapers more than 200000 people are dead. The earthquake hit the island of Ile a vache, but it did not destroy anything, nor killed anybody. It frightened people on the island when it passed; it shook houses, trees, etc. it fell down many people by the dizziness during its passage. True it did not kill people on the island but it has negative impact on Ile a vache. Many people fled away from Port au Prince and are returning to Ile a Vache for sheltering with empty hands; life becomes expensive on the island. A sack of rice of 150kg that cost 22.5U.S $.the price for a sack of rice of 150kg is at 37.5 U.S $ now. Doubtless it is going to be up and up, the fact that we have no authorities to regulate the price, people who have merchandise to sell are trying to make more money without thinking of the others, with that we think that sooner or later if we have no correction on this matter there should be riot of hunger everywhere in Haiti. The city hall of Ile a Vache is doing a census to identify the numbers of Ile a Vache, of victims people who were at Port au Prince, coming in at Ile a Vache forced by the earthquake. This census is for the twenty six large villages on the island.trusted by the local leaders. This work has to be done quickly so that informations must be ready and available in case of humanitarian organizations need. The island of Ile a Vache is an island lack of resources. Its situation is going to be worse according to some people. To explain it, they talk about dependence of the island from the main land. So whatever people on the island need they have to go to Les Cayes. There the basic foods are expensive, people on the island is under black-market from the mainland sales commodities. Ile a Vache knows bad moment because of the earthquake of January 12, 2010. There are many people from IIe a Vache who were at Port au Prince either for study or work who lost their lives. There are families who have lost deadly four (4) members. They are also families on the island who do not have news about members of their families who were at Port au Prince; these people are counted in the list of disappeared people. In a family where there were 5 or 6 persons before the earthquake pass to 7 at 8 after the earthquake, people who come down on the island increase the family. People on the island worry more of the future of the island. We have people on the island who come in with broken legs, broken arms. We have dead persons too. I know a family not living far from me, two of her daughters die. not being able to stay in Port au Prince any longer after the earthquake many people come down in the twenty six large villages of Ile a Vache in numbers from time to time. These people went in Port au Prince for many things. Some went for study, others for work in order to be able to help the others members of their families who are impoverished. Now they return empty hands. There is a family on the island, four members in it dying: a mother, a baby of two yrs, a brother and a cousin when the house where they lived, fell on them we do not find their bodies to bury. This thing saddens so much the rest of this family. It is a case among many cases of dead persons of Ile a Vache people living at Port au Prince People, who die, were a big hope for their family at ile a vache. Because, each times a sister, a brother or someone else called them for a case of sickness, hunger, debt, etc, they always made efforts to send some money, food or a somewhat thing for them. They are in a state of being not able to help themselves and the ones that they are used to help in their needs. Ile a Vache is going to be more victims ahead in a country where things are getting worse and worse. Seen that Ile a Vache is let alone by itself, empty almost of everything, be in help to this island on all the faces are necessary in a dream for hope returns on this island. we need some micro projects to help the farmers, the sales women ,fishing materials, medicine for the sickness people with help of nurses, doctors, medical professional in general to care the patients; school supplies for the children at school when it is reopened, food to help the most needy persons on the island. People who can resist to the negative impact on the earthquake are those who have a parent abroad either in United States, Canada, Europe, and the Antilles that each month send money to them. Details for the numbers of people from Port au Prince come in to the island of Ile a Vache; you will have it as soon as we have the complete result of the census for the city hall of Ile a Vache, even if I can give you a partial result assessed at 3000 people come in to the island. Thanks so much for your determination to help the people of ile a vache. I am broke. All help and aid needed. Yours in Christ, Jean Phelix Joseph Please help OceansWatch deliver food and aid to the small islands and villages of Haiti like Ile a Vache. Make a donation on our web site through PayPal and 100% of the funds you give will buy food and supplies and deliver them directly to the people who need them:
Please donate through www.oceanswatch.org
Or to donate to SV Tranquility to help us get the vessel to Ile a Vache to deliver Aid and continue to help and work along side with OceansWatch and Jean Phelix Joseph. Please donate through www.endangeredplanetfoundation.org Pay Pal account number – https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=LlTZM-pL7wHB1zKkCfAZHCiW-N2cxLs9GmjzoX9o25dV5utnBB7uxz2gu6G&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1fc53a056acd1538874a43d73a07f26b2caf7353d6a9263490
