Our family friends the Pasternak's just returned from Haiti - or Hades as Mark posted in the subject line of an email he sent to my mother. The Pasternaks were there on a goodwill mission - teaching the Haitians self sustaining rabbit farming. It was Myriam's fifth trip this year - she has been volunteering in Haiti for the past four or five years. This time she brought along her husband and two daughters to show them all the fabulous work that had been accomplished.
The Pasternak's have shared their eye-witness story with us. It is an incredible tale and nothing short of a miracle that they survived. Here is a link to their website with many more photos of the earthquake damage. www.devilsgulchranch.com They say, the media can't begin to capture the true destruction and devastation. This photo is of the school they were on their way to visit, luckily they were running late that day. The earthquake hit when they were riding in a van, just a few blocks away from the school. They spent the next twelve hours pulling survivors and giving medical care. They saved about 25 students, the rest- about 900 died. Myriam is a veterinarian and was able to use her medical training to perform triage.
My sister and dad started helping Haiti a couple of years ago, after Myriam shared her moving stories with them. Check out my sister's blog www.helping haiti.typepad.com to see what life was like in Haiti prior to the earthquake.
My dad has been to Haiti. He designed a solar clinic there that is being built by Engineers Without Borders. Dad says the greatest tragedy here isn't Mother Nature, but that the building codes and standards are routinely not followed there. It is common for reinforcing rebarb to be stolen from a job site and concrete to be watered down, weakening buildings even more. My father pointed out that in 1989 we had a huge earthquake in the SF Bay Area - almost as big as the Haiti quake and 64 people died not 100,000 people, the latest number that they expect to be the death toll in Haiti.
Though this is a horrible tragedy, there is also a great opportunity here to rebuild Haiti the right way. Yes, they still don't have any top soil, after years of abusing the land and a series of hurricanes. Myriam's Rabbit Project is a great solution. See her the heading Rabbit Project on her website www.devilsgulchranch.com for a description and photos of the work she has been doing in Haiti.
McMillin's Aquaculture/Agriculture Talapia Fish Farming
There is also a great opportunity here to Teach A Man To Raise A Fish -a nickname I use to describe John McMillin's sustainable aquaculture and agriculture system. The sustainable farming practices he created for Ethiopia in 1989 while working with World Vision would work great here. A key ingredient is water, and Haiti has plenty. John is currently in Honduras working with an endangered valley of residents who are on the brink of famine.
Recent Comments