Somewhere, over the vast, rolling waters near the equator, warm winds began swirling, gaining strength. Soon, the counter-clockwise rotation showed up as a hurricane on the radars of weather forecasters around the world. They called it Matthew. As the world watched, Matthew grew, intensified. He adjusted his course. To my increasing horror, each updated model showed Matthew’s path headed directly for Les Cayes, Haiti.
Les Cayes is that beautiful, tropical city on the south side of the western peninsula of Haiti that I wrote about a year ago in Beautiful Ministry in Haiti. It is the place that my daughter, many of my friends, and I have visited in the past to work alongside our dear friend Ashley, who has been living and working with the orphanage for several years. In the past year, since I posted that article, the orphanage added a school for the girls that live there and many children from the surrounding area. Also, one of the older girls has begun medical school in the Dominican Republic.
When Matthew began bearing down on Les Cayes, evacuation orders were issued. But, in order to evacuate, you need someplace to go and the means to get there. Instead of evacuating, Ashley moved the 20 girls from the orphanage into her home because it seemed to be a safer location. The two women directors of the orphanage stayed in the orphanage– itself a safer location than many of the surrounding homes. Throughout the night, we prayed and waited for word. Communication was hindered by power outages. Finally, the next day we received word that the people that we knew in Les Cayes had survived.
Eventually, as damage was assessed, we received word of flooding, homes destroyed, roofs missing. Ashley updated with some immediate needs: roofs, water filters, mosquito nets, clorox, hand sanitizer, soap, and food, food, food.
Then, the news came that the church up the mountain, where two of our pastors had just the week before been training people, that held the only school for children in the area, was gone. Nothing was left but a pile of rubble.
The death toll in Haiti from Matthew has passed 1000. Illness and security are issues in this crisis. The food and rebuilding needs will be ongoing, since many have lost their whole means for feeding themselves this growing season.
Below, I am sharing some pictures of the destruction
Les Cayes, Haiti — Aftermath of Matthew Pictures:
Damage to the gate at the FEP orphanage, Les Cayes, Haiti
Damage to the roof of Ashley’s home
View of the damage caused by Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti
Total destruction of church
Only rubble remains at site of church and school on mountain
“I know life goes on and it is hard to remember a disaster that happened far away from you, but please remember that this, for now, is what everyday looks like in Haiti. I am so amazed at all the support we have gotten, but we still need more. Roofs are expensive and we need a lot of them. We have over 25 families we are trying to help and food and supplies add up. Please keep sharing and raising funds to help in this way.”
Ashley
How to Help:
Perhaps you have seen the pictures of the devastation in Haiti, but you are not sure how to help. Maybe you don’t want to donate to some of the “big” organizations because you have heard that too little of the donation actually is used for relief. If you would like to financially help the relief effort in Les Cayes, Haiti, I can personally recommend the following organizations:
Hearts and Hands of Heroes —
Hearts and Hands of Heroes is the non-profit group that manages support for Ashley, her ministries in Les Cayes, and the orphanage- including sponsorship of children. They have promised that all of your donations (less any amount deducted by paypal or other form of payment) will go to Haiti for relief. You can donate at any of these three sites listed below.
GoFundMe account for Hearts and Hands donations
Web Page with updates and Donation link
Little Footprints, Big Steps —
At 18 years old, instead of heading to college, Morgan Weinberg moved to Les Cayes, Haiti to work with orphans and street children. My daughter has helped briefly at one of her safe houses, and Ashley has worked with her to find help for street children in Les Cayes. Before the hurricane, Morgan was going door to door to notify people of the impending storm. Many had not heard, just hours before, that Matthew was coming. Her organization promises 89% of your gift will be used in Haiti.
Read about Morgan and her work in Haiti, and Donate Through LFBS Website
Feed My Starving Children —
Feed my starving children uses donated money to buy bulk food, which is then packed into meals by volunteers here in the US. The packaged meals are then regularly sent to food-needy countries around the world. When relief finally arrived in Les Cayes, a couple of days after Matthew hit, Ashley and a team of people were able to take food to many because of Feed my Starving Children. When my daughter was in college, she regularly helped pack the food with a group from her campus. Over 90% of your donation will go directly to feeding the hungry.
3 Ways a Donation to FMSC helps hurricane Matthew survivors
Feed My Starving Children Website
Please consider helping in some way, big or small, in Les Cayes.
With Joy,
Kathleen
Oh my gosh I have helped with feed my starving children and I know schools do them sometimes to make kids aware. It’s an awesome out reach!
Yes, It is awesome! And, it was great to hear from someone I know personally on the receiving end how helpful and timely they were.
Such a tragedy. People tend to forget things too quickly. Thanks for telling people how they can help.
We do forget so quickly, and yet the rebuilding in Haiti is going to take such a long time. They lost so much.
Thank you for continuing to share what has happened after the news has already moved on to other stories. Praying for all those affected, who lost loved ones, and are needing to rebuild and encourage each other along the way.
Great idea to share some trusted donation sites. It’s difficult to know who to trust these days.