{"id":431780,"date":"2010-03-15T17:23:10","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T21:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogs.rj.org,2010:\/rac\/\/2.2569"},"modified":"2010-03-15T18:37:57","modified_gmt":"2010-03-15T22:37:57","slug":"on-the-ground-in-haiti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/431780","title":{"rendered":"On the Ground in Haiti"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post first appeared at RJ.org<\/a>.
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Haiti2.jpg\"<\/span>In the
\nmiddle of the night, I awoke to the sound of rain on my window, which is
\ntypical this time of year in Port-au-Prince. From the comfort of my warm bed,
\nthe sound of the rain on the window was pleasant and soothing. That is, until I
\nwoke up and remembered where I was and that all around me there lay thousands
\nof families sleeping in tents that are ill-equipped to provide adequate shelter
\nfrom rain, winds and floods sure to sweep through the region during the
\nhurricane season. <\/p>\n

These tent
\ncities have emerged all across Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. They
\nhave sprung up in every inch of space available – empty lots, front lawns,
\nsidewalks, parks and even in the streets blocking traffic. In some cases, these
\ntent cities are well-funded. When driving through the city, you may notice an
\norganized grid of strong, durable tents and sanitation systems, organized by
\nNGOs (including UNICEF, UN Foundation or Feed the Children) through funds
\nreceived by individual donors or organizations like ours. However, more often
\nwhat you see when driving through the city is a series of make-shift tents,
\ncobbled together with rope and sticks, tarps and bed sheets. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Upon a
\ncloser glance, you will see “regular” street life continuing as best it can in
\nthese horrific conditions. Groups of women sit together in the hot sun, cooking
\nrice and beans and washing clothing. Children pour soapy water over their heads
\nas they stand in buckets, bathing. A group of men huddle together to watch a
\nsoccer match on a small tv set that has been setup on the sidewalk. Or, an
\nimprovised “storefront,” selling three mangoes, a pair of flip-flops or a
\ncouple bottles of Coke – whatever items the owner may have in excess.<\/p>\n

\"Haiti1.jpg\"<\/span>In Port-au-Prince, we walked through one of these tent cities. Criss-crossing
\nour way among family tents, we played with the children and heard stories from
\nsurvivors. One man, trained as a carpenter, can’t find work to support his
\nfamily. Another was turned away from rescue efforts immediately following the earthquake,
\ndespite his disaster relief training (he even showed us a certificate to prove
\nhis training). A mother told us that for safety reasons, she won’t allow her
\nchildren to leave the immediate area surrounding their tent. And many spoke of
\nfamily members lost or misplaced in the chaos that is today’s Port-au-Prince. <\/p>\n

One woman
\nspoke of the rain we had the night before. She pointed to her family’s tent and
\nexplained that during the night, the roof tarp leaked and the ground became so
\ndamp and muddy that the children wouldn’t lie down. Instead, her family stood all night<\/i>. <\/p>\n

These are
\nonly some of the tragic stories I heard and the horrific conditions I
\nwitnessed. I went to Haiti on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism to conduct
\na needs-assessment and identify how we can best provide aide. But when there
\nare so many needs, so many lives lost and such grave poverty, where do we even
\nbegin? <\/p>\n

To date,
\nthe Union for Reform Judaism has raised more than $1.17 million. These funds are
\nbeing allocated to short-term emergency recovery and long-term rebuilding
\nefforts to construct safe and secure family homes, reopen schools, create
\nemployment opportunities and provide much-needed social and medical services. I
\nam honored to be part of a community that is taking serious action and truly
\nmaking a difference. Learn more about the Union’s efforts and how you can help
\nby visiting our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post first appeared at RJ.org. In the middle of the night, I awoke to the sound of rain on my window, which is typical this time of year in Port-au-Prince. From the comfort of my warm bed, the sound of the rain on the window was pleasant and soothing. That is, until I woke […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4316,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431780\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}