Inspired by Love at Manta Orphanage

When Cindy Haviland heard about a team going to serve at an orphanage in Manta, Ecuador, she knew it was something she had to do. The orphanage has become an important partner to Extreme Response International, and especially to Extreme Response Canada.

Each year, teams go to Manta to throw Christmas parties and help with light maintenance and distributing gift and food bags. Cindy, who lives in the small town of Waterford, ON, Canada, has volunteered on three trips. The teams also have helped with even larger parties in several impoverished areas of Quito, Ecuador.

The mother of four leads an active life, volunteering at school, helping lead Bible studies, assisting her self-employed husband, and sewing, knitting and quilting items to be donated to missions. Yet the trips to Ecuador have allowed her to serve in a whole new way.

“I’ve always had a heart for kids, but most of the trips I knew about focused on construction,” she said. “But when this trip to Manta came up and I heard what previous teams were saying, I felt I should go.”

Cindy has been inspired by the way young lives are being transformed.

“The orphanage at Manta is run by the Por Amor Foundation,” she said. “The way the orphanage is set up, national couples live in each house. The kids call them mom and dad. A lot of these kids have never had their own bed or a home.

“The love for the kids is phenomenal. Every kid has their own story, but they found a home at the orphanage.

“We’re helping by showing love to the people. The trips give us a chance to meet them in their own setting and come along side them.

“I want to share what ER is doing, how it is working with its partners, and the passion those partners have for their people. It’s not about us.”

by Tim Fausch

On April 21, African Hope Trust’s new safe-house opens its doors for its very first child. African Hope Trust founder Bill Eames wrote:

Tonight we received our first homeless child into the new safe home in Masiphumelele. His name is Simphiwe and he is 20 months old. His mother deserted him (by walking out of the house never to return and leaving him alone and unattended) when he was only two months old. Since then he as bounced from one institution to another or from one temporary home to another. Until tonight!!! Now he is home!!! He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t say anything. But he clings to Rachel for dear life. And she just can’t quit smiling.

I will sleep well tonight and tomorrow I need to go buy some diapers – something I haven’t done for a very long time.

Click here for more information on this partner

Chester Van Ness Collects Junk to Help Orphans

Chester Van Ness has a weird hobby. He picks up junk – mostly scrap metal – at businesses located near his home in Scotland, ON, Canada.

Some guys pick up scrap to make a few bucks on the side, maybe to help pay for hockey tickets or a nicer truck.

Chester recycles scrap because it helps pay for a few basic necessities for the kids at the Montanida Verde Children’s Home in Monta, Ecuador. It is run by the Por Amor Foundation, a partner supported by Extreme Response.

The idea for the recycling came during a discussion among the youth of the church Chester attends. The group wanted to become involved in giving back to those in real need, but did not have the financial means to do so.

“I told them if they were willing, they could ask for scrap to be dropped off at my place and help process it, then I would recycle it for the cash,” Chester said. “The idea blossomed and now if the youth feel the call to participate in something like Extreme Response, they have a means to do so.”

Chester hasn’t always been into recycling scrap metal. The idea came to him after returning from one of the four or five (he’s lost track) trips he’s made to Ecuador. He became determined to do more after seeing the orphanage’s lack of food, clothing, and educational supplies.

Chester has seen poverty in Canada too, but the magnitude and lack of options in Ecuador caused him to make some life-changing decisions.

“Children who come to the orphanage have no parents, or parents who cannot take care of them. Often, they were living on the street,” he said.

“The newest child there is two and one-half years old. Her name is Diana. She was beaten by her family and made to sleep outside at night. Whether or not she ate depended on whether she could scrounge food.

“It’s a pretty sad situation - heart tugging. Diana is such a beautiful child, ready to love on anyone willing to pick her up and hold her. I could have very easily put her in my suitcase and taken her home,” Chester joked.

“I have a great appreciation for the house parents. They give the children stability in their own country and culture. It’s better to give them a hand up in their own country.”

Witnessing the extreme needs first-hand in Manta and Quito, where Chester and other volunteers help throw parties in impoverished communities, has impacted his family profoundly.

“Working with Extreme Response has made me realize how important it is to give back to the world, not just people in my own country. I now try to do something in my country and other countries. It has caused my wife and I to look hard at what are truly our wants versus what are truly our needs.

“I was encouraged on my recent trip by the new community leaders that ER has come alongside and partnered with. That’s huge for me to see ER partner with on-the-ground organizations indigenous to the area.

“The leaders are the shepherds of their flocks. They are so passionate about helping their people. I have seen such a change in what we have been able to help them with in order to accomplish their vision. I don’t think we would have had the same ability to achieve what has been achieved without these partnerships.”

by Tim Fausch

A team of 7 traveled to India and Nepal - flying 49 hours, through six different countries and drove 54 hours on bad roads to put on 6 different Christmas celebrations.

Party #1 in Nepal was with 500 children from a local community and the outlaying slums. The kids had a great time watching the drama, the cultural dances and listening to the Christmas story.

Party #2 (Nepal) took place at a Hindu school high in the mountains and Party #3 was for a group of young Hindu mothers and their small children. The young mothers had a great time laughing and playing together.

Party #4 (Nepal) was for street boys who enjoyed the food immensely! We were able to give each one of them a warm wool hat.

Party #5 took place in India for a group of 100+ orphans ranging from 2-23 years old. They all enjoyed the Christmas story and loved the food and gifts.

Party #6 (India) was for girls who live in the slums. They put on their best dresses and came to get their faces painted and enjoy the food and fun.

Thank you for helping make these parties possible!

Since January 12, when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, Extreme Response has been involved in assisting our two projects there to help those around them effected by the quake.

After the quake, aid began to pour into Haiti.  Both ER projects, Lemual and House of Hope, were receiving sufficient food.  This allowed ER to look for other ways of helping those effected by the disaster.  One of our first moves was the purchase of a 2010 dump truck to be used at our Lemuel project.  This truck was initially used to clear rubble, repair roads and haul water.  Large cisterns were dug by hand by local Haitians on a work-for-food program.  The truck was used to haul away the fill. The truck has been a vital part of our efforts in Haiti,but it will also be able to provide a source of income to the project long after the rebuilding is finished.

Extreme Response was also involved in the shipment of three containers to Haiti.  Each container carried supplies vital to the rebuilding process. They contained much needed medical supplies, water filtration units, tarps, tents, wheelbarrows,picks, shovels and batteries.  With the shipment of the filtration units, the local community had access to clean drinking water.

Along with the items mentioned above, ER has used donated funds to:

ER will continue to work with our partners in Haiti.  You can still give to these efforts by helping to sponsor the reconstruction of a home for a Haitian family.

For more information, contact us at info@extremeresponse.org or infocanada@extremeresponse.org

submitted by Paul Cripps, Extreme Response Canada

The Kindle Orphan Outreach Katawi Clinic in Salima, Malawi is taking action to battle the recent measles epidemic. Kindle Directory Marilyn Barr writes: Malawi is in the midst of a widespread measles epidemic. The community around us is also affected, and we are seeing many new patients with measles, both children and adults, each day at the Katawa Clinic. There have been several deaths in the community because of measles. The government has launched a huge vaccination campaign this week, August 16-20, for every child aged 9 months to 15 years. Kindle is a part of this through our clinic and the health officers who work there. Every day they will be working long hours in the villages to make sure everyone is covered.

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.

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

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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

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The worst earthquake on over 200 years has left massive destruction in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Thousands are presumed dead. This morning we have heard from both Extreme Response partners in Haiti. The Lemuel project and staff in the Plateau in the Northwest region of Haiti were not affected by the quake (Manis, Judy & staff), but they have not heard anything from their project people in Port-au-Prince. They are fearful for the safety of their people there, but cannot contact them due to all phone service being down. We will keep you updated as we receive information.

We have also heard from Jenny at the House of Hope Orphanage also in Haiti…
Just a quick note to let you know we are safe. We felt the earthquake here, and both the aftershocks. We thought it was just a local thing, you can imagine how much all our kids were scared, and we’ve spent the whole evening telling and retelling our experiences (some of our kids were still in school, and had to fight to get out of the buildings – it was a bit scary for them). We’ve heard of just a bit of damage around here, and the hospital had at least one case that we know of. It was a little girl who was under a wall that fell down, she has a broken arm.
By now we’ve heard how serious it was in and around PAP, and so we are very concerned for all our friends, family and colleagues who live there. We can’t use our phones at all, but thankfully our internet it working. Thank you to everyone who expressed their concern, we do appreciate your prayers.

Extreme Response is working with our partners to begin relief efforts in the country. If you would like to give toward this effort, please designate your gift (online through this website or by check) for “HAITI RELIEF”

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