L’ESTERE, Haiti – We started the day off with a small UN escort to L’Estere. It was scorching hot and a 2-hour bumpy ride brought us to sector 5 where we were to deliver the first food distribution.

The narrow road to the shelter was a busy one, both sides filled with bustling roadside vendors selling food items. As we came close to the shelter we were hoping to see tents, but to our surprise, the hurricane victims were placed in a clinic that was still under construction. The corridor inside was full of scaffolding and the masons were working busily on the roof, splattering cement everywhere and not paying too much attention to others around them. About 250 displaced hurricane victims are being housed in this hot, muggy, hazardous building without electricity. All of the victims lost their homes to the hurricane.

We met Jacky, the woman leader of the shelter who was explaining what happened to her and those living in the shelter. She said when the hurricane hit, the water was rising fast and they had to flee their homes. The only thing they carried with them were important documents. “We have no clothes, no hygiene kits, and no food,” Jacky told me. “Living in this shelter is miserable and we can’t get back home,” she said.

We handed over to her bags of rice, beans, oil, corn, and milk powder. She was so glad to receive these items for her people, but she told us that they have no fuel to cook the food and no spices. Immediately we took her to the market and bought the necessary items for cooking. Just before leaving, she mentioned that they had not eaten for a few days and asked if we could help them purchase some meat.

When we returned to the shelter, Jacky put the other women to work cooking, while Tony and I spent time with the children, asking them about their experiences and having a time of laughter and singing. In a couple hours, there was a long line of children anxious to receive a nutritious, hot meal.

I met 18-year-old Christiana who had a small child in her arms. She lost everything in the storm and was simply trying to survive. I asked her what she did when she had no food, and with a sorrowful face she said, “I was begging.” After a nice meal she said with a smile, “I am so full, thank you very much.” These words made my day.

The food items we left with them will last for few more days, and hopefully by then, the water will have receded and they can go back to their homes.

We spent the entire day with this shelter, while our partnering Humedica team went to different shelters and dropped of food. A total of 5,000 people received food today.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 26th, 2008 at 2:46 pm and is filed under Caribbean, Hurricane Relief, Kumar Periasamy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.