From staff reports
news@joplinglobe.com
Volunteers from Joplin on Monday reached Port-au-Prince with antibiotics, pain medicine and other supplies for a hospital operated in the region by the Haitian Christian Mission.
The group, associated with the local Haiti Relief Fund, arrived over the weekend in the Dominican Republic and took nearly 12 hours to cross the border into the earthquake-devastated country, according to Len Clevenger, a Joplin organizer of the Haiti relief effort. Clevenger did not make the trip but said he had been in contact with the group.
The group also went to the U.S. Embassy in the Haitian capital as part of its goal to find a way to reunite four children in Haiti with their parents, Robert and Sylvia Chery, in Joplin. The children, ranging in age from 12 to 20, had been living on the street in front of their former home, which collapsed in the Jan. 12 quake.
Clevenger, who has worked with the medical mission in Haiti for three decades, said there were 2,000 people in line at the embassy, mostly Haitians, asking for help.
Clevenger said the local Haitian relief effort has topped its $50,000 fundraising goal, including donated medical and support supplies, as well as cash contributions.
Thousands of dollars worth of new tents, stoves and lanterns were donated by several stores. Other supplies being provided by the Joplin group include portable toilets, crutches and blankets.
Some of the money that has been donated is being used to buy food, mostly rice and beans.
Clevenger said some of the material originally was scheduled to be trucked to Miami, Fla., and then taken by OceansWatch to Haiti.
“When they were en route down there, we found they could (transport the material) free on the boat, but it would take eight to 10 days to get there,” Clevenger said.
Because of the need in that country, some of the material is being transported by airplane, courtesy of Agape Flights, and is expected to arrive Wednesday.
The local team of volunteers includes Jacky Pierre, a Haitian who received a degree in accounting in 2006 from Missouri Southern State University. He is acting as translator.
Want to help?
Contributions may be sent to the Haiti Relief Fund, P.O. Box 2723, Joplin, MO 64803. Information may be obtained online at joplinhelpshaiti.com.
The AT&T; Pioneers organization will offer a benefit lunch for Joplin Helps Haiti from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the office at Eighth Street and Pearl Avenue. All proceeds will be donated to the Haitian relief effort. The cost is $5. Details: 417-499-1080.
