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IMO PHYSICAL LOCATION FOR SHIPPING ONLY:
(***NOTE: We do NOT receive mail at this address***)
International Missions Outreach
306 Elk River Rd North
Clendenin, WV 25045

UPDATE MONDAY 2-01-2010

Haiti, a land filled with tears. Tears of heartache from lives and lifetime possessions lost. Tears of joy to find the loved ones that are alive. Tears of unknown times ahead. Tears as an offering of thanks on the alter of an Almighty God that is trusted to bring provision.

Two and a half weeks after the initial 7.0 Earthquake and Haiti begins to fade out of the news. Reporters have gotten their big story and big photos and now return home. Meanwhile, across Haiti, millions are still without food and shelter. Many have never seen the first big of relief efforts. Large organizations have food, but do not possess the ability to get it distributed. IMO and other long term organizations in Haiti have the ability to distributed food and relief supplies to thousands, but can't find a way to receive aid. Organizations have their agendas. Shipping lines are dictated to supply the large organizations first. The process of bringing supplies across the Dominican border leaves a trail behind it, and the order for supplies arrives much less than was orginally placed.

IMO has organized relief efforts and a plan to be implemented as soon as possible. Food, construction supplies, tents, generators are beginning to arrive at our warehouse in West Virginia. Individuals are contributing and joining with us to make this effort come together. Tools and generators are donated from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Supplies are being dropped off at local businesses and school to be sent to Haiti. Food, medical supplies, and monetary donations arrive from Virginia through a drive at a salon and spa. Hulda Huff, a 90 year old soldier of the Lord in Detroit, has pledged to make 100 quilts and blankets. She is over half way there. Various Construction companies are joining together to get lumber, construction materials, and equipment to start rebuilding. And so many have reached out with donations to help us get things moving.

We have been able to begin the assessment of damages to our locations. We have lost many, many lives and hundreds are in hospitals throughout the country. And we have as of yet to get a report or make it to all of our locations. Some of our injured have been taken to the North to get help at hospitals there. The pain can be seen in the eyes and face of the Haitian people as the come to tell us of their devastation in their part of Haiti.

Initial (but not complete) Assessment of Damages

Bois Leger Church - cracked and we are looking to what we will have to do to keep the building and make repairs.
Drouillard - we have the same issues there as Bois Leger
LeFevre - major damage - We will have to replace the Church, School and Pastor's house there
Guibert has Damage to church and school
Robin Church has some damage but not major
Piallant - we have not heard from
Ducrabon - will need to be replaced
Blanchard I - will need major work on them
Blanchard II - will need major work on it and school
Boutin - will need some work on the church and the clinic - but not a total loss
Perisse - Parsonage will have to be replaced, Walls on both sides of property barriers will need replaced
Ferrier - has major damage
Bon Repos - new property The buildings on the new property will need a lot of work on them and roofs. All standing block around the front gate came down along National 1 Highway. Most interior walls have come down, along with a water tower.
All Others - We are still waiting reports from there.

SCHOOLS:
The schools have been shut down for a couple of weeks. The Haitian government is wanting all schools not affected by the earthquake damages to remain open. Due to the unstable conditions,and the constant aftershocks, we feel it is best to not allow the children around any potential falling buildings. The loss of one child would be one child too many.

We will continue to feed children every day in each of our school locations. They have food that has been distributed to them prior to the earthquake, and we will continue to feed them. During this time, we must continue to pay our teachers and directors. Please continue your sponsorship of your children during this time. We will be out money for the administration regardless of the children physically being there.

SHELTER FOR HOMELESS:
IMO personally has hundreds, if not thousands, of families that are homeless and without shelter. Haiti will move into the rainy season in the next few weeks. We need tents URGENTLY. We will be establishing a Temporary Shelter at Boutin. We will be taking in between 1,500 and 2,000 people to live at our Boutin area of ministry. Some of our buildings have damage there. Our round church building has lost about a 1/4 section of the building. There is also repairable damage to the clinic there. However, we have a well, a kitchen, a dining hall, school, and housing for disabled people there already. We will put up tents to help provide shelter from the sun and rain. We are purchasing 15 20'x20' vinyl tents from a maker in Tennessee. He is discounting the price of the tents. They are vinyl. He is putting curtains around them all. We are getting the lumber and steel poles to put them up. Everything we need to raise the tents. It is going to cost us $1,000 per tent for the 20'x20'. We are also getting a 30'x60' tent. This one will cost us $4,000. We are going to need much, much more than this. We are starting with these, but we will purchase as many as we have funds for. We need your help to do this!

FOOD: Food has been given to those that we can. Our warehouse is extremely limited at this time. We have received a truckload of food from World Food on Friday Jan. 29th. We also received a shipment of food purchased by a church in Huntington, WV that was brought over from the Dominican republic. We have given out everything that we have been able to do. We have a container with 40,000 lbs of rice that was given to us by Feed My Starving Children in December as was at the port when th earthquake hit. We are trying to find out from the military and Haitians working that are of the status of this food. And Efforts have been hampered by food availability. We believe that this is going to continue to change so we can get food to those that are starving. We are saving all those that we can and serving all the ones that we are able to.

Our WV office is accepting food donations. We need tons of food. That is literally TONS of food. We need you to join in this effort by providing funds to purchase food, purchasing food for Haiti, or purchasing a container of food. We need you to join with us long term in helping to relieve the devastation of the people here.

STEPS TO BEGIN REBUILDING:
We have purchased the cement and block to repair and secure our IMO headquarters at Delmas. We are thankful that we were able to find these supplies. We purchased cement and block for a repair that cost $16,000. This was merely a section of our security wall. The cost of materials in Haiti is astronomically expensive. We need lumber, and other building materials purchased in the US and shipped to us. We can get the heavy cement and block here, as the weight of the cement would hamper being shipped in a container. We were able to get gas and fuel, but the cost of replenishing our fuel supplies was $88,000. Shipping costs are going to run in the neighborhood of $10,000 for each container from West Virginia to Port Au Prince.

Please help us. We desperately need you. The task ahead it great, but we are called for such a time as this!

Donations can be made through our website at www.imohaiti.org or our mailing address is PO Box 1145, Clendenin, WV 25045. Please be sure to let us know that it is for the earthquake.

***EARTHQUAKE RELIEF - DONATE HERE***

Faithe Claxton
IMO Director of US Operations
304.548.7009