Latest News
Rebuilding Efforts - as of June 2010
Rebuilding and Recovery Plans – Revised – June 25, 2010
Our recovery plan is based on a “humility of action” philosophy that emphasizes a realistic acknowledgment of our size, strengths and weaknesses. It means that we are not controlled by the situation or the huge amounts of aid and volunteer labor entering Haiti; rather, we proceed with humility, directing our help to the “HT universe” in an efficient, direct and meaningful way.
Thanks to tremendous support from our friends, we’ve built a healthy recovery fund. Collaboration with partners such as Mary’s Meals in Scotland, Holy Family parish, and donations from many schools, parishes and foundations help us cope with the huge task facing us. We need to rebuild our schools and HQ so that they can withstand future disasters. Recovery will take years and every gift we’ve received will contribute to the painstaking rebuilding of our schools and programs.
We cannot house short term volunteers at this time, but hopefully by September of 2010, we can create a volunteer community to mentor our Haitian staff and assist with our daily operations (go here for more info on our volunteer community). Meanwhile, there is so much we must do and we are trying to keep the work in the hands of the people most damaged. We will channel resources and expertise, but not deny Haitian residents the chance to earn income and rebuild their own homes and neighborhoods. We will use local residents and workers in all our projects. We will seek out special skill sets – i.e., engineers, medical people, mechanics, water well drilling technicians, solar engineers, and others to help train our native staff teams.
We established an efficient shipping and storage mechanism without expanding our size or depending too heavily upon imported goods and supplies.
Rebuilding, Rains, Hope - February 20 Update
After one month since the earthquake struck, we find ourselves living in tents and still shaky from the ongoing powerful aftershocks. Even though there are no bathrooms or showers or a kitchen, there is a spirit of hope among the small band of Hands Together people who are working together to help the people in Delmas and Cite Soleil.
Fr. Tom views the cleared away rubble from the residence.
Several weeks of demolition and cleanup work cleared away the rubble of our fallen headquarters and we can now begin construction of a new residence and volunteer center. Our temporary operations base is crowded with vehicles, equipment and supplies. But there is a lot of activity as we prepare food and hygiene kits, send our water truck to several sites per day, run two mobile clinics each day, and work to reopen our school campuses. By March 15 we hope to open some of our schools provide a much needed structure and a daily meal for the children and the elderly.
Earthquake Recovery Update - February 3, 2010
News and Progress- February 3, 2010
I know that many friends and supporters wish for news of Fr. Tom and for an update of how we are coping with the aftermath of the earthquake. In many ways we are still traumatized and badly shaken from the viciousness and uncountable loss caused by the initial quake and following aftershocks and tremors. Honestly, we are still sorting it all out and trying to make sense of it all.
The earthquake destroyed in thirty seconds nearly every program and structure built by Hands Together over the past 15 years. Fr. Tom and I had just finished reviewing our agenda for the next day’s 9:30 am meeting with Archbishop Bishop Miot. We wanted the Bishop’s help with some of our many problems relating to running our school system in Cite Soleil: the training of our teachers, the lack of space for more students, the conflicts and violence, and the licensing of the high school. But in the span of a few seconds all of this changed. Bishop Miot was killed when his residence collapsed and the destruction took away not only our buildings and programs but our “ordinary” problems as well.
Earthquake Recovery Plan - January 28, 2010
Dear Friends of Hands Together,
I just returned from a short “post-earthquake” work trip to assess the loss and damage to Hands Together. I was accompanied by Magnus McFarlane-Barrow, the CEO of Mary’s Meals, a Scottish charity providing funding for our school feeding and now pledging relief and rebuilding support for our recovery. Simply put, we face a long and difficult recovery, and we need your continued prayers and support.
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Reflection on the earthquake - Fr. Tom Hagan
This past week has been terrifying. I have lived through all the violence in Cite Soleil over the past years being shot at and having guns held to my head, seeing people close to me shot, but nothing can compare to this horror. Doug Campbell, who has been with me for over 20 yrs , had just arrived. We were to meet with the archbishop the next morning about the situation in Cite Soleil. Doug and I were sitting down talking when the quake began. I tried to get under a table which was only a few feet away but the floor was moving in the opposite direction. I felt totally disoriented and fortunately one of the young Haitians ran back into the house and grabbed me and Doug. It was unusually dark and I could hear screaming but also singing which seemed weird to me but I was told that the people were praying.
