Many people have asked for the specifics of how to contribute to my May trip to Haiti. Below is the mailing address for Converge PacWest, the sponsors of this trip:
Converge PacWest
C/O Jeff Ashlock
1440 W. Roberts
Fresno, CA 93711
All you need to do is put "Steven Swihart-Haiti" on the memo line to dedicate the money to my particular fund raising efforts. Below, I will attach an e-mail that I got about what we are doing:
Greetings and thank you for your involvement in our Haiti project.
After the devastating earthquake which displaced millions and brought the tragic death of an estimated 260,000, our plans were placed on a short hold. As we watched reports of the destruction and the international aid efforts, we quickly discovered that we would have been more of a burden than a benefit by rushing in on our scheduled February dates. We are now back on track and scheduled to be in Haiti May 6-14.
Many of you have been curious to know what has transpired in the last 8 weeks and I wanted to fill you in. Converge Worldwide immediately set up a relief fund. Pastor Withny, who was in Port au Prince during the quake, made his way home to New York safely. He went back for the entire month of February and, along with a couple of Haitian partners, took part in relocating many families to safe places outside Port au Prince, provided food and medical supplies to schools, orphanages, and hospitals, and converted the 1 by 1 Haiti office and home in Port au Prince into a medical clinic to host teams arriving from the U.S.
All of the donations to the relief fund went immediatly to meet specific needs in Haiti, and are continuing to do so.
Upon his return to New York, Pastor Withny began working with our teams and the leadership at Converge PacWest to plan for our our return. The town of Maissade, about 75 miles north of Port au Prince,with a population of around 8,000 was inundated with people escaping the quake zone. Pastor Yoyo reported that homes that previously had 6 or 8 people were jammed with 15 to 20. The Melchizedek school had families lined up begging to let their children enroll, and they could not accommodate all of them. The feeding center, which last August was serving about 120 meals a day to the poorest children, must be inundated with hungry families.
Most of the families in Maissade relied financially on other family members living and working in Port au Prince. Almost 100% of the goods arriving in Haiti came through Port au Prince. The devastation of the quake was just the beginning of the suffering that is part of life in Haiti, and is now magnified.
I am happy to say that our plans are still the same. Our goal is to build the Boaz Home for boys on a piece of property we purchased right next to Ruth's Home for Girls. Rather than doing a one-time relief project in or near Port au Prince, we felt that it was better to continue the ministry we began years ago, in a town where we have strategic relationships to carry on the work all year. And this is especially important as the need in Maissade is greater than ever.
Again, thank you for your financial involvement, your support for the children, your prayers, and your friendship. There are still many immediate needs, and there is the ongoing expense of running the two orphan homes and feeding center. If you would like to help, there are a few ways you can be involved:
1. You can pray for successful and safe trips for our teams going in May
2. You can help sponsor a few new team members who still need to raise funds
3. You can sponsor a child at the Melchizedek School
4. If you sponsor a child already, you can send a small gift to your child. We will be happy to hand deliver it for you
5. You can make a donation to help with project costs so we can complete the boy’s home
6. You can make a specific donation to the feeding center, school, Ruth’s Home for girls, or Boaz Home for boys
If there is anything you would like to do, please feel free to contact me. If you make a donation, make your check payable to Converge PacWest and a tax deductible receipt will be sent to you.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
A Return Trip to Haiti!!! May 6th-14th
Believe it or not, I'm headed back to Haiti. This time with my father, like what was originally planned! The trip is for seven days. We are to be helping to build the Boaz Home, a boys home, in Maissade. I am so looking forward to working with my father! Now for the fever pitched pace of raising funds for a trip that happens in six weeks! Yikes!
We leave Miami on May 7th and fly back on the 14th. If you would like to help, let me know! I am also going to try and help out medically wherever I am able.
Thanks for reading,
-Steve
We leave Miami on May 7th and fly back on the 14th. If you would like to help, let me know! I am also going to try and help out medically wherever I am able.
Thanks for reading,
-Steve
Finally, my thoughts on Haiti
Finally, after being back for a month, I have time and brain power enough to relay my thoughts about the trip. I always have a hard time with it. Many things come to mind. I will lay them all out here.
First, a boy's life was save that may not have been if we weren't there. So thank you to all who contributed to the trip. Your contributions may have seemed small to you, but to this boy, it meant his life, to his mother it meant not having to endure more hardship without her son.
He was brought to us walking, the first time. I was pulled over to look at him due to my peds training as a nurse. He was able to walk, jump, all the things someone with an acute appendicitis should not be able to do. Also, his pain was not located to the right lower quadrant. After my assessment, and that of my new friend, Dr Dave, he was sent on his way with instructions that if the pain got worse or it was located over the right lower quadrant of his abdomen, that he was to be brought back to us. He was brought back. only about two hours later. Without a CT scan like we do here, we had the OR doctor come over. He did and agreed it was appendicitis.
This child would have, like most Haitian children with appendicitis, died at home. The appendix, when inflamed, causes the pain. Once burst, the pain subsides for a little while as the infection starts. Once the infection starts, it is very difficult to treat. Usually the patient gets septic and dies if not treated.
My thought is this: from a spiritual stand point, Jesus said that we will always have the poor amongst us. He also healed the sick, many times before they could hear what he had to say. Physical healing is just as important as spiritual in many ways. It shows compassion, it extends life, it gives hope. Even people who are not "spiritual" can touch another's life. When that happens, many doors of a heart can be opened. God could even use that person to give them hope, that they can trust others again. All I have to say is this: go out, listen to your heart, help others.
There is a reward in doing this. That reward is not physical. It cannot be held or seen. You cannot put it on an award shelf in your library. But it is in your heart, it WILL change you...for the better!
Others that were changed were many young boys with hernias, a young boy with an eye infection. He actually came through my line and I consulted with Jennifer, an ophthalmology assistant. He had an eye injury a little while before, maybe a month or so. Jen called her MD boss in Connecticut and barely caught him. He told her what to use. The atropine part, she paid for on her own in Cap Hatien from an ophthalmologist there. Pastor Withny made some calls and picked it up in town the next day. She had brought the antibiotics on her own, just in case. By the next day he could already see fingers while, the day before, he could only see hands waved in front of his face!
There were many things we just didn't have the time or ability to do. Luckily, where we were set up as a hospital, we met many people that were also there to help. The grounds/ buildings we used were owned/operated by the Baptist General Conference of Haiti. Supporting them, and with their own respite care compound, was Hospital Haiti Appeal. They are a group out of the UK. They had originally come to have a respite care, taking in children with disabilities, working with them and their families. We ended up using their outbuildings as post-op recovery rooms and they used the Surgical Building for spinal injury rehab, taking many patients from a hospital in Milot.
The hospital in Milot, Sacred Heart, operated by a group called CRUDEM, was quickly and by default, the best hospital in all of Haiti. They had a smallish hospital already there and quickly turned one of their buildings into a pediatrics ward. An open space was turned into a field hospital, full of Army tents. Before we left, a new helicopter was donated to them with a couple German pilots on loan as well. We ended up staying about 10 feet from that hospital. I went over a few times to the peds ward and spent time with the kids with amputations, broken bones, etc. All were from the earthquake area. I will always remember the "Mayor", a girl of five or six years, walking around like she owned the place with her tiny walker, soliciting smiles and laughs from all her constituents. Or the nurse from St Luis that was going around to all the kids at night, playing lullabies on her flute, being followed like the Pied Piper.
The Haitian people are beautiful. Their spirits are tough and giving. They deserve better than what lot they have been given. They need to grow from the inside. They need the ability to grow their own food, not being undercut by free or cheap rice, etc.. If you believe in Human Rights, Haiti cannot be ignored. Your neighbor that lost their job cannot be ignored either, don't get me wrong. The difference between your neighbor and the Haitian people is that your neighbor has a much better chance here in America then the people of Haiti do in Haiti. $100 to your neighbor is groceries for a week. $100 to a Haitian family is food for a few months. Which is the better investment?
I will always have great memories of the group I went with. I knew no one when I went. I was the only one from Idaho. There were people from Ohio, New York, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, and Nigeria.
Please e-mail or comment if you have questions. I am working on a presentation that I can give in various churches and organizations. Haiti must not slip out of the international spotlight or out of our hearts!
Thanks for reading,
Steve
First, a boy's life was save that may not have been if we weren't there. So thank you to all who contributed to the trip. Your contributions may have seemed small to you, but to this boy, it meant his life, to his mother it meant not having to endure more hardship without her son.
He was brought to us walking, the first time. I was pulled over to look at him due to my peds training as a nurse. He was able to walk, jump, all the things someone with an acute appendicitis should not be able to do. Also, his pain was not located to the right lower quadrant. After my assessment, and that of my new friend, Dr Dave, he was sent on his way with instructions that if the pain got worse or it was located over the right lower quadrant of his abdomen, that he was to be brought back to us. He was brought back. only about two hours later. Without a CT scan like we do here, we had the OR doctor come over. He did and agreed it was appendicitis.
This child would have, like most Haitian children with appendicitis, died at home. The appendix, when inflamed, causes the pain. Once burst, the pain subsides for a little while as the infection starts. Once the infection starts, it is very difficult to treat. Usually the patient gets septic and dies if not treated.
My thought is this: from a spiritual stand point, Jesus said that we will always have the poor amongst us. He also healed the sick, many times before they could hear what he had to say. Physical healing is just as important as spiritual in many ways. It shows compassion, it extends life, it gives hope. Even people who are not "spiritual" can touch another's life. When that happens, many doors of a heart can be opened. God could even use that person to give them hope, that they can trust others again. All I have to say is this: go out, listen to your heart, help others.
There is a reward in doing this. That reward is not physical. It cannot be held or seen. You cannot put it on an award shelf in your library. But it is in your heart, it WILL change you...for the better!
Others that were changed were many young boys with hernias, a young boy with an eye infection. He actually came through my line and I consulted with Jennifer, an ophthalmology assistant. He had an eye injury a little while before, maybe a month or so. Jen called her MD boss in Connecticut and barely caught him. He told her what to use. The atropine part, she paid for on her own in Cap Hatien from an ophthalmologist there. Pastor Withny made some calls and picked it up in town the next day. She had brought the antibiotics on her own, just in case. By the next day he could already see fingers while, the day before, he could only see hands waved in front of his face!
There were many things we just didn't have the time or ability to do. Luckily, where we were set up as a hospital, we met many people that were also there to help. The grounds/ buildings we used were owned/operated by the Baptist General Conference of Haiti. Supporting them, and with their own respite care compound, was Hospital Haiti Appeal. They are a group out of the UK. They had originally come to have a respite care, taking in children with disabilities, working with them and their families. We ended up using their outbuildings as post-op recovery rooms and they used the Surgical Building for spinal injury rehab, taking many patients from a hospital in Milot.
The hospital in Milot, Sacred Heart, operated by a group called CRUDEM, was quickly and by default, the best hospital in all of Haiti. They had a smallish hospital already there and quickly turned one of their buildings into a pediatrics ward. An open space was turned into a field hospital, full of Army tents. Before we left, a new helicopter was donated to them with a couple German pilots on loan as well. We ended up staying about 10 feet from that hospital. I went over a few times to the peds ward and spent time with the kids with amputations, broken bones, etc. All were from the earthquake area. I will always remember the "Mayor", a girl of five or six years, walking around like she owned the place with her tiny walker, soliciting smiles and laughs from all her constituents. Or the nurse from St Luis that was going around to all the kids at night, playing lullabies on her flute, being followed like the Pied Piper.
The Haitian people are beautiful. Their spirits are tough and giving. They deserve better than what lot they have been given. They need to grow from the inside. They need the ability to grow their own food, not being undercut by free or cheap rice, etc.. If you believe in Human Rights, Haiti cannot be ignored. Your neighbor that lost their job cannot be ignored either, don't get me wrong. The difference between your neighbor and the Haitian people is that your neighbor has a much better chance here in America then the people of Haiti do in Haiti. $100 to your neighbor is groceries for a week. $100 to a Haitian family is food for a few months. Which is the better investment?
I will always have great memories of the group I went with. I knew no one when I went. I was the only one from Idaho. There were people from Ohio, New York, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, and Nigeria.
Please e-mail or comment if you have questions. I am working on a presentation that I can give in various churches and organizations. Haiti must not slip out of the international spotlight or out of our hearts!
Thanks for reading,
Steve
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
First few days in Haiti
Its been very eye opening! Can't wait to tell you more about it after dinner. Sorry, Just a teaser update!!
-Hungry Steve
--
"No trees were killed in the sending of this message, however a large number of electrons were horribly inconvenienced."
--
"No trees were killed in the sending of this message, however a large number of electrons were horribly inconvenienced."
Friday, February 12, 2010
Changing perceptions
The kids seated behind me on a flight from Phoenix to Ft Lauderdale were obviously flying for the first time. They were marveling at the cars as they watched them turn to the size of small toys, then disappear from view. The brother exclaimed "the sky is higher than the clouds?!", as we steadily climbed above the white fluffy ones now below us.
I am hoping that my perceptions will change as well. I've flown countless times. I've lived many years and witnessed poverty and suffering first hand. Noted, it has been in small doses. Nothing like what I am sure to witness in Haiti.
Speaking to my father on the phone last night he told me that people offered their children to him. These parents wanted what I want for my children. Health, happiness, opportunity, a better life. It's what those parents that gave their kids to the now imprisoned Baptist missionaries were hoping for. Am I ready for that?
I only have one way to find out. We live in so much priviledge here. When was the last time you had to think about the water you brush your teeth with? Or if your son was going to be deaf because he has had too many ear infections that went untreated by antibiotics?
The US has given close to $200 billion dollars in Haiti over the last 40 years, and what do they have to show for it? Extreme wealth for a few corrupt politicians and extreme poverty for the rest. There really is no "middle class". All we can do is help the medically needy and extend opportunities for learning. Until their government takes action, or they are cut off, it will only get worse. This earthquake had just highlighted the problems that everyday Haitians face everyday.
Haiti needed this spotlight to hopefully expose the corruption and hopefully put an end to it. Until that happens, the money that is now going in to the country would be better used as toilet paper when the next crisis happens and the the world's media attention deficit disorder kicks in.
My evolving theory is as follows: we, as part of the "civilized", wealthy world, largely ignore situations like Haiti. As a country that is used to such a good life (and I am not blind to the ones here that are struggling), we would not dare give up our personal standard of living voluntarily. The three million or so residents of Haiti live in subject poverty because for them to live with the same kind of lifestyle we tout as our "Rights", there would be less for us. That goes for every other second or third world country as well. Yes, they also have massive corruption, etc., but they wouldn't be hard to overthrow. A lot easier than Iraq. And the people there aren't going to try to kill us with IED's either. I'm sure if they had oil, we would have done it years ago. And this way of thinking is new to me. Am I going rouge?
-Steve
P.S. More to follow (gotta change the laundry before the trip to Haiti in the AM)
I am hoping that my perceptions will change as well. I've flown countless times. I've lived many years and witnessed poverty and suffering first hand. Noted, it has been in small doses. Nothing like what I am sure to witness in Haiti.
Speaking to my father on the phone last night he told me that people offered their children to him. These parents wanted what I want for my children. Health, happiness, opportunity, a better life. It's what those parents that gave their kids to the now imprisoned Baptist missionaries were hoping for. Am I ready for that?
I only have one way to find out. We live in so much priviledge here. When was the last time you had to think about the water you brush your teeth with? Or if your son was going to be deaf because he has had too many ear infections that went untreated by antibiotics?
The US has given close to $200 billion dollars in Haiti over the last 40 years, and what do they have to show for it? Extreme wealth for a few corrupt politicians and extreme poverty for the rest. There really is no "middle class". All we can do is help the medically needy and extend opportunities for learning. Until their government takes action, or they are cut off, it will only get worse. This earthquake had just highlighted the problems that everyday Haitians face everyday.
Haiti needed this spotlight to hopefully expose the corruption and hopefully put an end to it. Until that happens, the money that is now going in to the country would be better used as toilet paper when the next crisis happens and the the world's media attention deficit disorder kicks in.
My evolving theory is as follows: we, as part of the "civilized", wealthy world, largely ignore situations like Haiti. As a country that is used to such a good life (and I am not blind to the ones here that are struggling), we would not dare give up our personal standard of living voluntarily. The three million or so residents of Haiti live in subject poverty because for them to live with the same kind of lifestyle we tout as our "Rights", there would be less for us. That goes for every other second or third world country as well. Yes, they also have massive corruption, etc., but they wouldn't be hard to overthrow. A lot easier than Iraq. And the people there aren't going to try to kill us with IED's either. I'm sure if they had oil, we would have done it years ago. And this way of thinking is new to me. Am I going rouge?
-Steve
P.S. More to follow (gotta change the laundry before the trip to Haiti in the AM)
Friday, February 5, 2010
Flight to Haiti leaves in t-minus 8 days...
Time is flying by! I board the plane for Ft Lauderdale on the 11th and out to Haiti on the 13th. Everyone I have dealt with so far from Faith Care have been to Haiti multiple times. This is a huge relief to me. They have given me wonderful advice as well.
My global phone from Verizon should be here Tuesday. The per minute rates are not cheap, but the text rates are very reasonable at 50 cents sending and 5 cents received. The phone itself is free to borrow provided I don't lose or damage it. I will try to update via text message at least once a day. (Still gotta figure that one out, looks straightforward enough)
Thanks to all for your support! So far, I can think that I may need is a small bedroll, a couple nights at the Days Inn near the Airport in Ft Lauderdale on the 11th, 12th and 21st, and a some long sleeve, lightweight shirts.
One update: from what I gather, we will be working in a hospital in Cap Haitien.
Thanks for reading and for your kind words. If you are able, please become a follower on the actual blog (if you are getting this by email) and pass along to your friends!
-Steve
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
It's coming together.
The flight from Ft Lauderdale to Haiti is taken care of. Now gotta work on the flight from Boise to Florida.
Found a different place for my travel vaccinations right around the corner. Now I just gotta schedule them.
People keep giving me money! It's very humbling.
I'll check in with you all later.
-Steve
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