Here’s the latest news from Extreme Response partner, House of Hope, located in Port-de-Paix, Haiti…

The House of Hope in Haiti has begun to receive children who lost their parents in the earthquake and have no relatives who are able to care for them. Two young boys flew up from Port-au-Prince last week. Magloire (14 years) and Carlo (12 years) are cousins who will be staying at the House of Hope for the foreseeable future. When we first met them at the airport, they were very afraid and sad. They seemed so small and lost. I’m sure the thought of flying on an airplane with two strangers and leaving all that was familiar to them, was a frightening thing, indeed! We did start to become friends, though, when we gave them a sandwich, a drink and some Cheezies. The boys seemed to enjoy their first ride on an airplane, smiling the entire way, and they have settled in so well at the House of Hope. All of the other children have made them feel welcome and they are already part of the routines and life here. They look happy and confident…very different than the two scared little boys that we met just last week. The House of Hope has made a huge difference in their lives in just a few short days.

Another new arrival to the House of Hope family is little Carly who is 15 months old. Her parents were both killed in the earthquake while she remained buried under the rubble for several hours. A neighbor managed to pull her to safety and get her the care that she needed. Little Carly had 2 broken legs and several cuts and she has spent the last several weeks in a hospital in PAP. Carly arrived at the House of Hope on Sunday and, understandably, she was very unsettled. She must have had a dad who was very involved with her care because, at first, she would go to boys much easier than girls. Once again, the entire HOH family has gone out of their way to make her feel welcome and coax some smiles out of her. Everyone from the older kids to the younger ones can be seen carrying Carly around or offering her toys. 3 days after arriving at the HOH, Carly is much more calm, more settled, less anxious…and the smiles are not so hard to come by. The HOH family is now Carly’s family and, from our perspective, they all take this very seriously and really know how to “be” a family.

Here are some images sent from Haiti February 4, 2010. Our ER representative wrote some quick observations:
· Traveling through the city, destruction is everywhere
· It’s random - the houses that are flattened and those that are still standing
· People are getting back to life…people know how to survive
· The loss is evident but life takes precedence over death
· People are leaving…you see in one of the photos that they are walking away on foot

Collision Solutions Network was looking for an avenue to help those devastated by the recent earthquake in Haiti. After considering various agencies, they chose to direct their $10,000 donation through Extreme Response. ER was a good fit for their philosophy of helping others. CSN members are active in their communities, seeking ways to help their neighbours. Extreme Response wishes to thank CSN and their members for this generous donation.

John Goodlet, General Manager Simcoe Collision Centre CSN , Larry French, National Director of Sales CSN Corporate, Paul Cripps Extreme Response Canada

submitted by Paul Cripps, Director Extreme Response Canada

The earthquake in Haiti has the world scrambling to help. I (Jerry) have been inundated with phone calls and e-mails from friends, churches, and from people I’ve never met asking if we are sending teams that they can join, or if we will be accepting donations of food, water and clothing.

I have spoken with our partner, Lemuel. They are in need of funds for food, water, rebuilding their own facilities as well as staff housing. They, of course, want to help the people of Haiti survive the current crisis, rebuild their lives and homes.. They have asked that we do not send teams any time soon because they are having hard time surviving themselves let alone having to worry about visitors who do not speak the language, don’t know the country culture, safety issues etc.. The unknowns of day to day living are overwhelming right now. They have asked for donations so they can purchase supplies locally. Prices may be high but purchasing locally will help to re-stimulate their economy and at this time many of the supplies that have arrived at the airport are stuck there because of the logistical problems with all the damage of the roads and building.

Yesterday we got word from them that all but one of the boys they work with in Port-au-Prince were alive.

ER rep Jean David was scheduled to fly from Quito to Haiti yesterday. We have not heard if he arrived or not. The current plan is that he will assist with the distribution of aid alongside the Ecuadorian military…. more details to follow.

We are accepting donations that will be distributed in Haiti at the discretion of our partners. If and when they are ready to host work teams we will begin planning and sending teams. My guess is that it will take 3 to 5 years for them to rebuild to the pre-quake situation which was not good by any standard. We will have plenty of time to send teams when the rest of the world had forgotten and moved on to the next disaster. This is a long term project. Right now it’s the crisis - recovery and first-response efforts. Much will need to be done with this phase has ended. Thank you to all that have already donated.

Jenny from House of Hope Orphanage writes…
Today was another busy day, trying to connect people with their loved ones. Again some good and some bad endings, but we are glad to be able to help. We communicated with Dr. Boucher, and he sounded much better today. We are still trying to get our kids out of PAP and up here. We have received numerous requests to keep people who have survived and have no place to go. We are happy to do so, and so are waiting for them to start showing up. We imagine our family growing quite a bit over the next few days, and we are happy to be able to help out in this way.

The hospital we are connected with(CMB) is starting to fill up with wounded that have been able to make it out here. We’ve sent all our extra medical supplies to them because they will run out quickly (dear friends at Simcoe {Extreme Response Canada}– your medical supplies are being put to good use!). Dr. Mozart was exhausted this morning, so you could pray for him and the other Dr.’s and nurses as they treat these wounded. They were told they’d get some extra nurses from the government, but so far we haven’t seen them yet.

Please give toward to the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti

Donations towards HAITI RELIEF
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Today Extreme Response President Jerry Carnill met with representatives from Lemuel (ER partner project in Haiti) to discuss immediate and future relief needs. The Lemuel building in Port-au-Prince was damaged, but not destroyed. They still have not received word on the status of their people in the capital. Extreme Response is collecting funds (see donate button below) to partner with Lemuel in a relief effort. These funds will be used as Lemuel begins to assist their “neighbors” after the current initial recovery mission begins to subside and long-term assistance is ready to begin.

Extreme Response is also sending a representative to Haiti to help with the relief efforts there. Jean David is a Haitian that is currently living in Ecuador. Jean David is scheduled to go with ER partner HCJB Global to help with translation and logistics for a medical team that is currently trying to get into Port-au-Prince. Today he was also asked to assist the Ecuadorian military in transporting 50,000 rations of food and water. Because of the chaos at the Port-au-Prince airport, the HCJB medical team is waiting in Miami and the Ecuadorian military plane is still in Quito. Jean David is scheduled to leave Quito on an Air France flight Friday afternoon. We will keep you informed as new information comes in.

Today’s update from Jenny at the House of Hope orphanage in Haiti says…
One of our kids, Carl, wasn’t at school (in Port-au-Prince) day before yesterday as he had finished his exams and had a few days off (he was supposed to come up here today on the bus, go figure). He said his school was ripped in two, and all the students who were there were buried underneath and they’ve not been able to get any out. It was such a God thing that he was at the Boucher house when the earthquake happened, because he had to rush in to get their middle boy out. He got hit on the shoulder, but saved the boy’s life!……One piece of good news we got today was that someone has spoken with Miss Marie Ange. She was our last young adult in PAP that we hadn’t heard from. So all of our kids who live there are alive and accounted for..

Please give toward to the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti

Donations towards HAITI RELIEF
Enter Amount $

For His Children is an orphanage which has been operating in Quito, Ecuador for 19 years with over 550 orphans having been cared for in the home. There are currently 45 children in the Quito home. A new home has been opened this year in the city of Latacunga, Ecuador, about 1 ½ hours from Quito, in order to help the orphans in that area of the country. Children are brought to the home by various means such as the police, who often find them abandoned in the parks, from hospitals, where the mothers give birth and leave the children, or from the court systems. Schooling is provided for all the children, including the many special-needs kids. While the new building is still under construction, the first floor is in use with 19 children. They expect to have 35 – 40 children eventually with room to increase up to about 70 children if needed. Work teams are coming from the US and Canada to help with the ongoing construction of the house. Extreme Response is offering to help them with the teams and short-term workers who desire to serve at the home. This will take a lot of the burden off the directors and give them more time to concentrate on the needs of the children. That’s what we do at Extreme Response.

by Mike Bishop

The senior high youth group from Richvale Bible Chapel in Richmond Hill, Canada served with Extreme Response in Quito, Ecuador June 25- July 4th. The group of twenty teenagers and adult sponsors served with ER partner Nuevos Amigos in a very depressed part of the city. Their mornings consisted of painting the school building and several class rooms, also running a kids’ club for a total of three hundred kids in the afternoon. A highlight of the week was a morning of just playing with the children at the Zambiza dump day care center. This year’s team was the first ever from Richvale. Thanks for serving those in need here in Ecuador!

Submitted by Dan Maloy

Lung Wah is a Chinese restaurant in Quito, Ecuador. A large group had gathered for dinner on a Saturday evening in December 2007. We had just participated in a Christmas party at the Zambiza Dump. I was seated next to Mike Bishop, Director of Human Resources for Extreme Response International. During the meal I mentioned that I was a nurse at a Home for the Aged in Ontario, Canada. Mike explained that he and his wife Carol had taken a little Nursing Home in Quito under their wing, and frequently visited and held programs for the residents. Mike mentioned they were looking for North American Nursing Homes to sponsor this little place. I came away with the thought in the back of my mind, but at that point was unsure how to help.

December 2008, found us back at the Christmas parties in Quito. This time our group from Ontario had the privilege of visiting the little Nursing Home called “Hogar Betañia”. Two other nurses from the facility where I work, were along on the trip.We all came away with our hearts touched by this little group, their surroundings and their needs. Without mentioning my thoughts, the two girls approached me asking if there wasn’t some way our facility could help. We proceeded to inquire about the needs of Hogar Betañia. At the top of their wish list, was physical therapy equipment. While at the Nursing Home we had been especially taken by a wheel chair we had seen. It seemed to have wheel chair wheels, but the seat consisted of a white plastic lawn chair. Not sure it would pass inspection in Ontario. Early in the Spring we discovered that June was actually Seniors month, with the theme this year being “Seniors reaching out to Seniors”. It was a perfect plan for a fund-raiser. With a visual display, and a replica of the wheel chair we had seen as our prop, we conducted our fund-raiser. The event was held on June 14, 2009 at Norview Lodge in Simcoe, Ontario the same day as our annual picnic for residents and their families. Each person making a donation received an Ecuadorian rose, donated by a local florist. Generous donations were received from residents, their families, staff, and volunteers. All donations will be sent via Extreme Response to Quito, Ecuador for the purchase of physical therapy equipment for Hogar Betañia.

Submitted by Kathy Dreyer

After months of planning and paperwork, fundraising and collecting of donated items, it seemed so surreal to finally be in Manta, Ecuador. I was part of a team of 11 Canadians from the Simcoe, Ontario area that flew to Manta to help put on the Christmas Outreach Events for 2008. We went loaded down with 22 suitcases, all weighing in at the 49.9 allowable pounds, ready to bring joy and encouragement to the poor people in the coastal area of Manta. We had brought with us toys, hygiene items, and school supplies to make up gift bags, for the approximate 600 children that we were to bring Christmas greetings to. We brought cash to purchase food supplies to make lunches for the folks at the parties and food baskets to take home with them as well. What a grocery shopping trip that was! Games were assembled for the parties. Simple things like plywood painted with cut out circles to allow bean bags to be tossed through. Stick fishing poles to play “Go Fish” were constructed. Plastic pop bottles filled with beach sand to toss rings onto. Laughter and love filled the room as the gift bags were put together. We were there in our minds, to bring encouragement to these forgotten folks. We just were not really ready for the 180 turn around that was about to happen to us as we set out for the locations of the Christmas parties. The big longing eyes, the smiles, the grateful hugs, the emotional out spring of thankfulness to us for coming. We saw children and adults together play our games, colour our crafts, and receive our gifts with enthusiasm as if we had taken them to Disney for the day. We thought we were to be the bearers of great joy, but I think we recieved just as much in return. I will never forget the encounter I had with one little guy and his mother. He had just received his gift bag, besides the toothbrush, toothpaste, face cloth, bar of soap, the bag also contained a little teddy bear and the “treasure of his eye” a shiny red Corvette Hot Wheel car. He turned to his mother so excited, she looked at him and then up at me. I asked our translator to have a quick conversation. The mother got up gave me a hug and told our translator…”thank you for coming far away from your home to bring us these gifts, I could never have enough money to be able to buy my son such a nice toy” To think that a hot wheel car that cost our team 64 cents a piece could bring so much joy. We all went back to Canada, lives a little changed…we live in the land of plenty, help us to be more generous to those who have nothing.