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Earthquake Relief Update #3



This is the 3rd and final update for phase 1 of GCF’s relief efforts.

Two and a half months have now passed since a 7.2 magnitude earthquake stroke the southern peninsula of Haiti, and based on our team observations, the situation is still overwhelmingly dismal. GCF completed its 10th week of relief effort as we are stretching our resources to the max. As of October 30th, through the medical relief efforts, we've cared for 6,676 victims in 32 distinct locations. We distributed water, food and hygiene products to close to 1000 families. The need is still enormous! Trust that your financial and in-kind contributions have already touched thousands of lives. None of what we’ve accomplished so far would have been possible without your trust and support.


Medical Relief

We continued with our medical relief efforts and have been going to locations recommended by the Minister of Health and Population (MSPP). In GCF's response plan, we estimated that we would have cared for 2000 victims. As of October 30th, 2021, in collaboration with local Doctors and Nurses from Klinik Fonfred, FHHH and HANA-I, we have exceeded our expectation more than three fold and have cared for 6,676 victims. We’ve seen many cases of skin infections due to the worsened living conditions. We also noticed many cases of the chronic conditions that are rampant in Haiti: unmanaged Hypertension, Diabetes, Vaginitis and Gastritis. The demand for medical care has magnified and many of those we cared for, especially the children, are in need of psychological assistance. GCF is still exploring the possibility of integrating 1 to 2 Psychologists at Klinik Fonfred for the next few months to help provide a space for some victims to receive group counseling on site, and for a minimum period of 3 months. Thank you to our collaborating partners:

Klinik Fonfrèd was instrumental in providing logistics, transportation, medicine, staff, and overall management of all Team GCF mobile clinics.

MSPP (Ministry of Public Health and Population) provided guidance and overall management of medical relief efforts in the South.

HANA-I (Haitian American Nurses Association International) contributed experienced local nurses to Team GCF mobile clinics.

FHHH (Foundation for Hope Health in Haïti) contributed experienced local doctors and nurses to Team GCF mobile clinics.

NJ4H (New Jersey for Haïti ) contributed a mission team of local doctors and nurses, with medicine, to Team GCF mobile clinics.

Matthew 28 provided a mission team of local doctors and nurses, with medicine , to Team GCF mobile clinics.

Team GCF Mobile clinic was composed of 12 to 18 doctors and nurses from multiple collaborating organizations. The support team included:

  • 3 GCF Board members on the grounds

  • 30 local volunteers who took turns to support our mobile clinics, handle our storage logistics, as well as prepared and distributed the kits

  • 20 volunteers in the US who handled shipping, logistics, communication, social media and provided moral and spiritual support


Family Kit Distribution

We distributed food, water, and hygiene kits to about 1000 families. Our approach is simple:

  • Department de la Protection Civile Sud (DPC-Sud) shared with GCF the communities to be prioritized. We insisted on getting our priorities from DPC as they knew the communities that had not yet received any humanitarian relief.

  • Our team visited those communities to assess the need and identified the victimized families.

  • During that assessment, we delivered a 5-gallon water bottle for each family

  • In areas near Les Cayes, we also gave the head of each family a coupon to redeem their kit at a local distributor's store. For the more remote areas, our team personally delivered the food kits. We adopted this strategy, as much as possible, to protect our team and ensure the real victims received relief, as well as to avoid large crowd distributions.

We prepared about 500 additional kits. Each family received a kit consisting of rice, corn grown locally, beans, salmon, spaghetti, and oil to cook a meal for about 2 weeks. So far every community we've served, we were the first one there. The need was so great that we decided to increase the quantity of food and hygiene kits. Our last round of distribution took place last week as we‘re currently in the midst of transitioning into the second phase of our response whose focal point is rehabilitation.


Next Steps - Kick-off Phase 2

With the end of Phase 1, we are kicking off Phase 2 and focusing our effort on reconstruction of temporary shelters, fixing Klinik Fonfred's damages, and selecting homes for rehabilitation. We are also working with MSPP to rehabilitate 1-2 « dispensaires, » so they could continue to provide services to their local communities. We have estimated $200,000 for phase 2 of our response.


Challenges

  • In spite of the shipping bottlenecks and bureaucracy, donated supplies from Northside Hospital Atlanta Georgia, Boynton Beach and Broward County were received and delivered to our site in Les Cayes. Because of the inherent delay due to above mentioned reasons, we had to utilize Klinik Fonfrèd's reserve medical supplies and purchase medications in Les Cayes to keep the medical relief going.

  • Traveling to the south is still considered unsafe due to social and political unrest, and fuel shortage.

  • The need is overwhelming. In order to maximize the impact of our resources, our team on the ground continues to be disciplined and innovative.

Money Update - Thank you to all our supporters!

To date, we have raised more than $225,486, of which $ 81,656 have been spent to complete Phase 1. We are less than $25,000 away from reaching our fund raising goal of $250,000 for phases one and two of our relief. THANK YOU!




For a list of all our donors, please visit the GCF Earthquake Relief Fund


Expenses



How can you help?

Please help us meet our $250,000 fund raising goal for phases 1 and 2 of our response. We are only $24,514 away from our goal. Share this link with all your friends and family www.gaskov.org/gofundgcf


Follow us and share our posts:

Instagram: @gaskovclergefoundation

Email us: info@gaskov.org

###


With our deepest gratitude,

GCF - Team 2021 Earthquake


 
 
 

Earthquake Relief Update #2 - Phase One

Updated: Dec 31, 2021


It's been a month since a 7.2 magnitude earthquake ravaged the south of Haiti, and based on what our team is observing in Haiti, the situation is still overwhelmingly dismal. In coordination with OneDiaspora/Haitian Diaspora Emergency Response Unit (HDERU), GCF completed its 3rd week of relief effort and we are stretching our resources to the max. As of September 17th, through the medical relief efforts, we've cared for 3,073 victims in 16 distinct locations. We distributed water, food and hygiene products to over 500 families. We've decided to increase our target to distribute food-water-hygienic kits to 1,000 families from our original target of 500. The need is enormous! Trust that your financial and in-kind contributions have already touched thousands of lives. None of what we do is possible without your trust and your support.


Medical Relief


We continued with our medical relief efforts and have been going to locations recommended by the Minister of Health and Population (MSPP). In GCF's response plan, we estimated that we will care for 2,000 victims. As of September 17, 2021, in collaboration with local Doctors and Nurses from Klinik Fonfred, FHHH and HANA-I, we have cared for 3,105 victims. We are seeing many cases of skin infections due to the worsened living conditions. We are also seeing many cases of the chronic conditions that are rampant in Haiti: unmanaged Hypertension and Diabetes, vaginitis and gastritis. The need for medical care has magnified and many of those we cared for, especially the children, are in need of psychological assistance. GCF is exploring the possibility of integrating 1-2 Psychologists at Klinik Fonfred for the next few months to help provide a space for some victims to receive group counseling on site, and for a minimum period of 3 months.


Food, Water, Hygiene Kits Distribution

We have distributed food, water, hygiene kits to about 500 families so far. Our approach is simple:

  1. Department de la Protection Civile Sud (DPC-Sud) shares with GCF the communities to be prioritized. We insist on getting our priorities from DPC as they know the communities that have not yet received any humanitarian relief.

  2. Our team visits those communities to assess the need and identify the victimized families.

  3. During that assessment, we deliver a 5-gallon water for each family

  4. In areas near Les Cayes, we also give the head of each family a coupon to redeem their kit at a local distributor's store. For the more remote areas, our team personally delivers the food kits. As much as possible, to protect our team and to ensure the real victims receive our relief, we avoid large crowd distributions.

We also decided to distribute food, water and hygiene kits to several communities that we felt are in real need of relief. From passed lessons learned, we've implemented the coupon system as a way to keep our distributions safe and orderly. Each family received rice, corn grown locally, beans, salmon, spaghetti, oil to cook a meal for about 2 weeks. So far every community we've served, we were the first ones there. The need is so great that we have decided to double the number of food and hygiene kits. We will be preparing 500 more kits for distribution next week. That will be our last round of distribution as we will be transitioning into the second phase of our response by next week which will focus more on the rehabilitation. We have estimated $200,000 for phase 2 of our response.




Challenges

  • Donated supplies from Boynton Beach and Broward have cleared customs. They will be delivered to our site when it is safe to travel to Les Cayes. Thanks to your timely contributions, we were able to purchase medication, food, water and hygiene products in Haiti.

  • Shipping bottlenecks and bureaucracy are causing major delays in receiving supplies from the Diaspora - to date, we had to utilize Klinik Fonfred's reserve medical supplies and purchase medications in Les Cayes to keep the medical relief going.

  • Traveling to the south is still considered unsafe due the social and political unrest

  • The need is overwhelming. In order to maximize the impact of our resources, our team on the ground has to be disciplined and innovative.

Money Update - Thank you to all our supporters!

To date, we have raised $181,005. We are only $68,995 away from reaching our fund raising goal of $250,000 for phases one and two of our relief. THANK YOU!

Food, water, and hygiene products were all purchased locally. The kits that we distributed were assembled in Les Cayes.

  • More kits are being prepared by our volunteers for next week's distribution.

  • Some of the tents we purchased from the US will be delivered early next week.

  • An additional 300 tents are in transit and have not yet cleared customs

  • GCF is a 501c3 organization. Completed 990 form for 2019 can be found at www.gaskov.org


How can you help?

Please help us meet our $250,000 fund raising goal for phases 1 and 2 of our response. Share this link with all your friends and family www.gaskov.org/gofundgcf


Follow us and share our posts:

Instagram: @gaskovclergefoundation

Email us: info@gaskov.org

###


With our deepest gratitude,

GCF - Team 2021 Earthquake


 
 
 

GCF Update #1 - Phase One

Updated: Dec 25, 2021

In our update last week, we shared that we will be having a 3 phased approach to the disastrous earthquake that hit our home region on August 14th, 2021. We wanted to offer a quick update on what we've been doing to serve some of the impacted communities. Read the summary of our 3 phased response.


Mobile Clinics


GCF's Klinik Fonfred, together with local Doctors and Nurses sponsored by NJ4Haiti, Foundation for Hope and Health for Haiti, and Haitian Alliance Nurses Association International (HANA-I), led multiple mobile clinics to care for over 760 victims in Maniche, Kaskad Dubreuil, Church of Latter-Day Saints, and Landes des Gabions soccer field. We anticipate the need for basic care will increase during the next few months. Sixteen out of 42 public health facilities collapsed during the earthquake leaving many with no access to health care. Our goal is to provide assistance to 2,000 victims during phase one of our response.



Water Distribution

GCF distributed water to about 50 families in Maniche. We prepared food kits to provide relief for 500 families in impacted areas that have not yet received any help. Our team will work with local authorities to identify those areas and will plan to focus more on food and water distribution during the week of September 6th. Currently, over 30+ local volunteers from multiple local organizations, separated into 3 rotating teams of 10 members, are serving the impacted communities along with GCF and Klinik Fonfred. GCF plans to continue to serve the remote areas to provide temporary shelter relief when the tents and tarps arrive safely from PAP.

Bread Donation from Bainet, Haiti

The people of Bainet, through Help Bainet Foundation, drove to Les Cayes to deliver bread for over 1,000 victims and avocados for 200. That gesture epitomizes the essence of the Haitian people's spirit. They partnered with GCF to distribute bread to victims in various locations in Les Cayes. On behalf of all those who received bread, we say THANK YOU to the people of Bainet.

Challenges

This is by far the most complicated mission we've had in our entire 22 years of existence. The volatile environment in Haiti is dramatically impacting our ability to respond to the needs of those we can serve. We are still waiting for the tents and tarps we purchased to be delivered. The insecurity is slowing down the delivery of items purchased from PAP or those donated and shipped to Haiti. In addition, because we work mostly in remote areas, we are dealing with rough terrains that present a challenge to vehicles we are using for transportation. Here are some of the challenges we've had to work around:

  • Transportation to remote locations - We need 2 more heavy duty trucks

  • Volatile conditions from PAP are slowing down delivery of shelter materials and medical supplies

  • Shelter products are hard to find even when purchased from local vendors

  • We are purchasing medication locally, which is very expensive

  • Insecurity makes it very difficult to implement and execute any plan - we have to remain flexible and fluid


Money Update - Thank you to all our supporters!

We are humbled by the trust the communities we serve invested in us. We are equally humbled by the outpouring support we've received from so many individual donors and organizations. We are committed to openly share how your contributions are helping the victims in the South of Haiti. Our sincere thanks for your generosity and sympathy!

  • Food, water, and hygiene products were all purchased locally. The kits have been prepared and are ready for distribution to areas in need. Shelter items are delayed, but still in transit.

  • GCF is a 501c3 organization. Completed 990 form for 2019 can be found at www.gaskov.org

  • A complete list of supporters can be found at: www.gaskov.org/gofundgcf


How can you help?


We shipped multiple trucks of donated medical supplies and temporary shelter that are still en route. We still need additional funds to continue with the execution of our response plan. Please support at: www.gaskov.org/gofundgcf


Thank you to our Collaborators!



Follow us

Instagram: @gaskovclergefoundation

Email us: info@gaskov.org

###


With our deepest gratitude,

GCF - Team 2021 Earthquake


 
 
 
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