This is an excerpt from the most recent update by our friends in Ouanaminthe, Haiti:
As you know, there have been numerous aftershocks following the major quake of January 12th. The aftershocks have simply caused the rubble to settle a bit more, with no physical damage in the regions a distance from the capital city, such as Ouanaminthe.
Joe succeeded in making his second trip to Port-au-Prince in the school’s pick-up despite its questionable road-worthiness. His extended family is now in Ouanaminthe, filling his house. Many, many other homes in Ouanaminthe have found additional occupants as the population continues to leave Port-au-Prince . The city of Ouanaminthe has swelled with many new faces appearing on the street.
The schools continue to be closed. The phones are working again. The market functions here in Ouanaminthe with some slight increases in food and gas prices. It’s hard to find people locally who did not lose a relative or friend in the Jan 12th catastrophe in the capital.
The banks have recently re-opened, after a fashion. There are long lines in all four of the banks. People do not come to deposit, only to withdraw, which is a banker’s nightmare. Consequently, there is a strict limit for withdrawals: 100,000 HTG or $2,500 USD – two amounts roughly equivalent. This ceiling does not do a lot to help businesses or schools resume their normal functioning, nor does it do much to encourage account holders to make large deposits for fear that they will not have access to the funds when they need them in the future.
We will resume our trips to Port-au-Prince to take assistance and to relocate quake victims who have family here to the north and particularly to the Univers Medical Centre. We can do this once we are able to receive funds from the U.S. through our new financial connection in the Dominican Republic . The physical cash we had in hand at the time of the quake has long since been spent. In addition, we now are debtors toward numerous businessmen in town when we loaded the bus for our first trip to the capital city.
To contribute to this effort to help Haiti, send contributions to:
COCINA
PO Box 12695
Columbus OH 43212
