Author: Elliott Tenpenny

Check out our partner, Oak Hill Coffee, and get some great coffee and help support Aid for Haiti at the same time!

In the aftermath of the earthquake, we’ve all seen photos of the destruction and chaos that is present day Haiti. Often it seems that reactionary relief groups are not well organized and donating money blindly to them doesn’t seem the best option to truly be of help. This has been confounded by the much-publicized corruption of Haitian officials.

After the quake, this team of doctors, nurses, and other volunteers deployed for Haiti. The group sought out an area that they felt had the greatest need. While most of the aid has been centered on the capital city of Port Au Prince, other towns have been neglected. They have set up a makeshift hospital in the town of Petit Goave (about 150,000 in population) which was decimated and had received virtually no aid.

Personally, I have been impacted by hearing about this group and from learning about their efforts through their blog. I have decided that along with giving to them personally, I’d like to use our coffee to help this organization continue to provide relief to the people of Haiti, and at the same time offer a unique blend for our customers.

From now until February 24th, Oak Cliff Coffee will be offering an ‘Aid for Haiti’ Blend, with 50% of the proceeds from sales going directly to ‘Aid for Haiti’. We will roast the blend every Thursday (Feb 11th, 18th 25th) and deliver next day for the next 3 weeks. In addition to this, we are offering free delivery anywhere within Dallas City Limits for all orders that include but not limited to the ‘Aid for Haiti’ Blend. If you are close to Dallas but outside of the city limits, please email us for possible delivery arrangements. February 24th will be the last day to order.

This blend of Central American coffees is a sugary sweet cup with bright citrus notes. It’s recommended as a drip or French press.

If you’re interested in purchasing the ‘Aid for Haiti’ Blend, please visit our website or click the link below.

Buy One Pound of ‘Aid for Haiti Blend’ – $16

I specifically chose to support ‘Aid for Haiti’ because of the organization’s commitment to Haiti prior to the earthquake, because of the goals of their mission, and because 100% of the donations they receive go directly to helping the Haitians in need (and not overhead costs).

Update: Full handover to the new AFH medical team has gone smoothly.
The medical challenges came full force as soon as they hit the ground. Within the first two hours “we had Chloroquine toxicity and an eyelid laceration I closed in the dark by flashlights and flies. The city is heavily damaged. People kept stopping us to ask if we were there to help them. This is going to be an interesting week” said one doctor. Becoming entrenched as the major source of medical care for the large city continues to pose new challenges to the new team of five doctors and nurses. “Traumas are rolling in around the clock, mostly motorcycle accidents and I think that we have delivered multiple babies each day” said one doctor. “All at once I had what would have been four level one trauma patients involved in a accident where a motorcycle ran into a person. Five minutes later I had
two burn victims with much of their body burned, five minutes later I had a nine month pregnant pt with severe high blood pressure. I never thought I would coordinate a mass casualty event in haiti” said another. One eight year old child with second degree burns and infections proved especially difficult. Unable to find any other care for the child, the team was forced to create a makeshift intensive care unit in the newly built clinic space. Groups of nurses and doctors were assembled and worked in shifts throughout the night keeping the child alive until help could be found in the morning.
Thank you for the prayers. The entire first team arrive back in the United States safely and little worse for wear. Please pray that plans will continue to provide medical care for the people of this region for the next few critical months. God is opening many doors and we pray He gives us the courage and strength to walk through them. Aid for Haiti is growing by leaps and bounds each day, please pray that this continues and we work diligently to
be the organization that God desires.

If you know of any doctors and nurses that are interested in going to Haiti as part of a relief team please contact us. In addition, if you know of any medical supplies, we have great need. Lastly, as always this could never have been done without your faithful support. Thank you

Please forward this to anyone else who would be interested. Sign up for email updates at www.aidforhaiti.org

2/5/10 UPDATE: Medical ministry continues in Petit Goave, Haiti. As the first team has been relieved, and is leaving the country expert work has continued by professionals from Washington University in St. Louis. Today the new team of doctors began
working at our newly constructed clinic. One of the first patients seen was a newborn who had a unique problem. Soon after the earthquake, the little girl was born in the streets of of the city. Without proper training the family that had helped delivery the child the had her umbilical cord cut much too short. A fistula has developed, allowing her intestines to be freely exposed to the outside environment. Treating her with many antibiotics that were recently purchased with donations from our supporters we were able to treat the infection, but the condition remains. As you read this, a newborn child is being emergently taken to Port au Price to locate a surgeon to care for this problem. Please pray for the life of this little one.

As the Marines completed work our our new clinic building they gave us an additional gift. They agreed to donate supplies and lumbar enough to double our medical capacity on the grounds of the base. This doubles our size and greatly increases the number of patients our clinic can help. Construction will continue over the next few weeks by our teams at the mission.
Unfortunately, almost one month after the earthquake, AFH continues to be the only source of medical care for the 150,000 residents.
Recently many international aid organizations have stopped into our hospital and praised the work being done but were uncertain when help would arrive. We are committed to the long term with the people here. Without another hospital to rely on, we can not abandon the Haitians who live here. AFH continues its commitment to express the love of christ to these forgotten people of Petit Goave.

Please pray for the safety of our teams as they travel in and out of the country. Also pray that our resources to help these people increase. Our commitment to the city is currently more then we ever thought possible, but with God we have come to truly understand anything can be possible. Please consider further support of this ministry. Thank you for your friendship.

2/4/10 UPDATE: Ministry continues to the Haitian people of Petit Goave. As the Marines circled around the edge of the compound this morning, a large water container came crashing off of its supports and barreled toward a group of onlookers. Most scattered, but a solitary young man was struck directly in his chest. The man was quickly unable to breath and turned blue. Using supplies donated from supporters like yourself, Dr. Caleb and team diagnosed the problem as a tension pneumothorax, a punctured and collapsed lung. A large chest tube had to be placed which returned a large gush of air signifying that the life threatening condition was relieved. Now able to breath, the patient was air lifted to a larger hospital at the main airport in the capitol. Stories like this continue to happen each day as we serve as the main source of medical care for the city.
New “recruits” showed up to work today. The marine medics of the area had heard for days what work was being done on the base and decided to lend a hand. The were able to experience a full day of debriding wounds, suturing, and triaging patients to appropriate care. Stating that they had more fun working directly with the Haitian people here then anywhere else, one marine plainly stated “I just wish we could move in with you guys.”
Petit Goave and the surrounding area need care for much longer than just a few days. With no large scale medical operation planned by major aid organizations, plans have set in motion to ensure the people are not among the “forgotten” masses of those effected by this earthquake. As you read this, a team of three additional Emergency Medicine physicians along with multiple nurses have arrived to staff the newly built clinic and to relieve the beleaguered team that has provided the majority of care for this city during these critical weeks. Aid for Haiti plans to continue rotating teams of American doctors in and out of this city in 10-14 day periods to ensure that Petit Goave and its 150,000 residents continue to receive medical care for the months ahead. To do this we need your help. If you know of anywhere we can access medical equipment, such as cardiac monitors, EKG machines and ultrasounds please reply to this message and inform us. In addition, if there are any physicians that would like to come and help with this rebuilding process please contact us.
God has given us the favor of the people here. Seeing the amount of work that has been done and hearing the plans for continued help from Aid for Haiti has resulted in much appreciation from the people of Petit Goave. We could not have done this without your support. Please continue supporting us in our ongoing work and telling others about this ministry.

2/3/10 UPDATE: In our greatest trials, God provides much more then we could ever expect. As work was beginning this morning we began to hear a strange screaming noise coming from the other side of the compound. Fearful that there was a riot taking place, we raced to see what was happening. As we arrive we witnessed the Haitian people all screaming at one individual and his workers. As we heard the story relayed, we realized that this man was the mayor of the city of Petit Goave. He had marched into the base with his contingent and began taking down the hospital tents around the many critical patients they housed. He began yelling that the Marines must have made a mistake, these tents were actually his and he needed to take them. Outraged, the people of Petit Goave began imploring us not to give in, telling us that this man was a corrupt, appointed government official who was sure to keep the tents for himself and sell them. Letting this man take these hospital tents would have left us with little area to house sick patients or for ourselves to sleep. Sensing the tension in the air we were reasonably nervous. As told by our director “I just gave up and began thinking of the words of Jesus when he said: Many who are first will be last, and the last, first, and he who loses his life will gain it. I began to think well if we lose our hospital, God will still provide.” Much to the amazement of both the Haitian people and the mayor, we began to perform the work of packing up the hospital tents and handing them over ourselves. Quite shocked, the mayor quickly left the base without saying a word. Using this opportunity to speak to the people that had gathered we began telling of a God that provides much more then we could imagine, a God that no matter what circumstances we are in, he will provide exactly what we need.
One hour later we we were requested by the commander of the Marines in the area. We were all understandably nervous. The Marine detail had just given us these tents to us at the hospital and we had allowed a corrupt government official to march in and take them. Seated when the commander walked into his office, we were shocked when the first words that came out of his mouth were “what do you need?” “I have ben watching what you have done here for the last few weeks, I understand that you care greatly for these people” he continued. Looking at the corporal next to him he ordered “bring in whatever is needed, take your men and build whatever they need. This time make it permanent so no one can walk away with it.” Within hours helicopters and trucks were bringing in lumbar and earth moving equipment. As the group of engineers began to level out land with bulldozers and heavy equipment, we began to praise God for the work he was doing before our eyes. Within a day the twenty marines had built a permanent structure on the base that will serve as a place of healing for many years to come. Equipped with private exam rooms, adjacent inpatient space, and pavilions for patients waiting, we have never been able to work as effectively. They have gone so far as to set up running water and a small emergency/triage room. With this major blessing, we have been given a place to directly care for this city and the surrounding areas throughout the next few months of earthquake relief and years to come. God is truly a God of abundance.

Thank you for your support of this ministry, again, without your continued support we could not possibly continue minister to these people.

2/2/10 UPDATE: The work continues in Petit Goave. Yesterday was a long day. 280 patients were examined and treated by our team. Leaders from the Haitian church continue to bring critically injured patients in for care. In addition, today these pastors were able to take something home to help their communities for the first time since the earthquake. After witnessing the effectiveness of this network of Haitian pastors and churches, the U.S. Marines have enlisted our help in large scale food distribution. there has been much tension in the city recently when food distribution sites have been set up. This has lead to a lack of resources by the Marine contingent to get aid out to the surrounding areas. Covertly, they have been providing large quantities of food for us to distribute to the community surrounding the towns. Most of these areas have not yet received anything since the earthquake. As prices on food in the nearby villages have more than doubled to record prices after the earthquake, these meals come at a critical time for these impoverished communities.
Today a well respected catholic priest who presides over the area walked into the hospital asking for help for himself and his congregation. “My church was destroyed in the first earthquake, my home is badly damaged and I have been unable to feed the many people under my care” He Said. I have been in touch with the major aid organizations and they all tell me they can not help, I have not been able to get aid from our own organizations, can you help me?” he asked the team. Gladly we were able to get help to him and his family and congregation find the food and supplies they lacked.
Plans continue to form for the upcoming weeks. Multiple physicians and nurses have stepped forward and said they want to be apart of future teams to this area. As plans are now being set, we will continue to care for this city until the larger organizations can help alleviate the suffering here. We expect this to take many months and are committed to be a beacon of Christ’s love for this “forgotten” city as long as needed.
Thank you for making this all possible. There are some specific needs right now. Most importantly prayer. Please pray for the team that is down there now. They have been worn quite thin the past few weeks with the masses of people that need help. Also, continue to pray for safety. The US marines are planning to leave in 8 days, and will be replaced with the Spanish Marines and then the German Marines. Please pray that these changes go smoothly and we continue to be able to minister to these people in peace. Pray that God would rise up the right individuals to continue this work as the first few teams leave. In addition, any medical equipment, such as ultrasound, lab equipment etc. is badly needed. As always we could not do this without your love for us and your contributions to this cause. Please continue to give in this critical time.

Thank you all for your prayers. Dr. Caleb is now feeling much better and is no longer sick.