A successful mission trip (with many challenges)

Thanks to the support of our generous donors, our team of 8 volunteers/students accomplished their first mission trip and was able to deliver the construction materials and essential items to the victims of the earthquake in the small village of Tiby.

The trip was much more complicated than anticipated. A police car escorted our big truck loaded with heavy construction materials and a small bus with people, through areas where armed gangs were roaming. The road to the top of the mountain was terrible and the group arrived in the dark, at 9:00 PM and was forced to sleep in the bus. The walk to Tiby, which is situated on top of the mountain, would take another 1.5 hour and the path was small, rocky and dangerous, and inaccessible for the vehicles.

The next morning, community leaders and beneficiaries arrived and everything was divided and distributed. Some people carried the items on their heads, others on donkeys. Our team learned that Tiby has no public services, at all. No health services, no government presence, no latrines or water treatment systems. The nearest hospital is a 2 hour drive away, in Petit-Troux. Injured victims of the earthquake had already been transported to Port-au-Prince. The medical students used their time to teach the local people about safety during disasters, basic health care, and hygiene. They gave medical supplies to a graduate nurse in the community.

There is a lot of need! We plan to go back with our water engineering students and help build a water treatment system and bring more construction materials. Drinking water is a problem as the current situation creates a high risk of water borne illnesses.

Please read below (part of) a report from Witchelle, the former KCH student who initiated this mission. We are still processing all the challenges and are planning another trip that will focus on a water treatment project that will benefit the whole community.

We are extremely grateful for your concern and generous support.

Love,
Astrid
Founder Kids Connection Haiti

Report by Witchelle, former KCH student, mission trip coordinator:

About one hundred families have received either:
- a construction kit for 25 families
- a hygienic kit for 51 other families and
- a bag of menstrual pads for 100 women
- blankets for 100 families
- a medical kit for a graduate nurse so that she can help some injured people.

The beneficiaries were very happy with our support and hope that we will come back and help them to rebuild their houses, build a drink water system, latrines and a small health care center.

We said that we can't promise anything but we hope to be able to help with sustainable projects in the future.