Haiti Solidarity Blog
Saturday, Mr. Michel Chancy, special Secretary of State in charge of the distribution of the food aid, contacted the Scouts of Haiti to ask for their help in the national effort. The coordinators of the crisis cell of the National Association of the Scouts of Haiti (NASH) immediately met with the person in charge of this distribution in order to plan their support contribution. Scouts will reinforce teams in each municipality and will participate in the transportation of food stuffs. In each concerned community, a contingent of three ministerial delegates establish relations with the city hall and identify the needs of the area, accommodation sites and also establish the figures assessment that the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) requires. The townships concerned for the moment are Port-au-Prince, Tabarre, Cité Soleil, Carrefour, Pétionville, Delmas, Léogane, Petit Goave. To accomplish their mission the Scouts have a list of vehicle owners that are willing to put them at their disposal at any given time.
Moreover, on Saturday a truck sent by the Dominican Scouts and a convoy of four vehicles of the Haitian Scouts were able to link up at the border. Thanks to the solidarity of the Dominicans the NASH has gotten 2500 bottles of water, 1000 canned foods, and 500 milk packs, which will allow the nourishment of the volunteer teams. The President of the Dominican Scouts and the Deputy General Commissioner of the Scouts of Haiti also met during this occasion.
Upon returning from the North, Nicolas Clervil, General Commissioner, indicated that the Scouts have been very present as moral support for the refugees who are finding themselves far from their places of origin.
The young man's name was Pierre Kesny. His membership card to the National Association of the Scouts of Haiti was found on his body in the Saint-Pierre corridor a few feet away from the French Embassy in Port-au-Prince. He was the secretary of his local group.
He is part of the tens of thousands victims that met their demise during the earthquake. Looking at his face we reflected on the injustice of a catastrophy of this magnitude and we thought, in prayer, about all the scouts who are combining their efforts, for the past week in the collective action to offer some kind of relief to the suffering of the haitian people.
Throughout the weekend the World Scout Bureau has been on the lookout for any news coming from Haiti and has been successful in contacting the representatives of the National Scouts Association in Haiti. Hundreds of Scouts visited the association's president, Gerard-Marie Tardieu, regularly, either to offer their assistance or to accept rescue missions. Below are a series of the efforts made so far, as reported to us by our brothers and sisters of the Haitian Scouts ( refer to the map).
The Scouts of Jacmel have helped the firemen to find and rescue victims trapped under rubble. They have also helped in the distribution of food and water to the victims.
The Scouts of Saint-Marc have put in place a makeshift clinic which provides primary care to the injured victims coming from Port au Prince.
The Scouts of the Saint-George group and Caleb have helped over 2000 survivors, to reach the borders of the Dominican Republic in their personal cars so that the wounded may be treated, despite the high gas prices (about 7-8 € per gallon or 6 litres). Through local committees, the two groups have been able to provide many of the survivors with food and shelter in their own homes.
The Scouts of the Gideon de Carrefour group have pulled out about 300 cadavers from under the debris and saved about 725 victims. They have fabricated coffins for the dozen scouts who died. Further more, they have dug a communal trench to bury 150 of the deceased individuals.
There is an ever present desire from Scouts around the country to come in aid of the population affected by the earthquake, which almost destroyed Port au Prince, Petit Goave, Leogane, Jacmel and Grand Goave. Despite this strong will, they are void of the necessary tools except for their own desire to help.
A mission for the evaluation of the International Scout Aid will leave Paris in a few hours to assess and re-adapt the plan of action designed last Friday to the needs of the current situation. The mission consists of a volunteer member of the Scouts et Guides de France, a journalist of the french magazine La Vie, and will be supported by the representative of the Movimiento Scout Catolico of Spain. World Scouting is also in collaboration with the High Commission for refugees and UNICEF.
Contact:
With the collaboration of the National Scouts Association of Haiti, the Scouts et Guides de France and the World Scout Bureau an initiative has been put into place which has mobilized the international scout fraternity.
For further suggestions or information you can reach via the focal point of the operation at the World Scout Bureau, at the following address:
After the violent quake which struck Haiti, World Scouting is mobilising in order to help the 30,000 Scouts of Haïti so that they can come to the aid of the stricken population. In the name of World Scouting, a message of solidarity and compassion, was sent to Haitian Scouts, even though it is very difficult to get into contact with them for the moment. A volunteer cooperation specialist from “Scouts et Guides de France” (Scouts and Guides of France) is on site in Port-aux-Princes, to support the coordination of the international Scout aid.
A precise indication of what the needs are of the stricken families in terms of goods of first necessity, has been made possible thanks to the contacts, although limited, that have been made at this time. In fact, the 30,000 Haitian Scouts are essential relays between the emergency NGOs and the local population. Their action during the hurricane of 2008, has shown their capacity to act efficiently in operations of clearing, cleaning, decontamination and also by taking care of children that have been left to their own devices, as well as by building emergency camps.
Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Scout Association of Haiti,
It is with horror and dismay that we heard about the tragedy which struck Haiti and it's people.
Fate seems to be ravaging your country which deserves anything but a new cataclysm of this magnitude.
On-behalf of the World Scouting Committee, the Word Scouting Bureau and your 30 million brothers and sisters around the world, I wish to share with you the sorrow and dismay that we feel for the Haitian population, and especially our friends of the Haitian Scouts who are in emotional and physical pain due to this adversity.
We address our most sincere condolences to all our brothers and sisters of the Scouts, and to the Haitian community, our deepest regrets for the loss of your brothers and sisters, throughout this crisis. To the injured, we wish for your rapid recovery and to the affected families, we address our sympathy. We are with you at heart and know that the same is true for the millions of Scouts worldwide who join us with their prayers.
We are behind you in action and have launched an global call for aid so as to support the Haitian Scout family and its efforts. Ever since the announcement of this horrific catastrophe, we have desperately been trying to contact you and plead that you get in touch with us as soon as you have been able to read this message. May God be with you.
Brotherly salutations,
Luc Panissod
