Life in a flooded tent city
I’m hopping a plane today. And, along with a small team of bloggers, I’ll spend the rest of the week in Haiti. As we go we’re asking the question, “What is life like in a Haitian tent city now that the rainy season has arrived?” Benny Veale tells us in this blog:
At Pastor Brevyl Innocent’s church I kept getting distracted by looking out the door. This is what I saw across the street.
A week before, one of my translators made a comment about “middle class tent communities.”
The more I thought about the statement, the more I realized in an odd way it’s true.
There are higher, middle and lower class tent communities.
Under that are tarp communities…
However, under that there are bed sheet
communities.
Some of these people live in parks, in street medians, on old garbage dumps or really any where they can find. These communities have “houses” made of sticks and bed sheets. They’ll literally rip pieces off of their bed sheets to use as strings to tie the rest of the bed sheet to the sticks that make up their house. They’ll dig through the garbage to find the next best thing to build with. You would be surprised at the ingenuity of some through this process.
However, the truth of their condition still remains. The winds are coming more frequently and they are bringing the rain spreading the diseases and bringing the mosquitoes…
Those that have found rocks to make a bed find themselves sleeping on ground not completely sopping wet.
Those lucky enough to find some cardboard, might even have somewhat of a cushion on these rocks or broken pieces of rubble.
Then there are those who just have mud or cardboard to work with and hope that they can weather the storm.
We took these pictures this month, four months after the earthquake. This community still hasn’t received a tarp or help from an organization.
Here are the facts:
There are 3,462 people that live in this community.
They live in 577 “shelters” …not to the tarp or tent level yet.
That means that each of the little shelters above on average houses 6 people.
The name of this community is Ktadb and they need your help.Please pray for the leader of the community and the pastor who lives nearby.
They live in 577 “shelters” …not to the tarp or tent level yet.
That means that each of the little shelters above on average houses 6 people.
The name of this community is Ktadb and they need your help.Please pray for the leader of the community and the pastor who lives nearby.
Pastor Brevyl
Innocent
is on the leftAlcindor
Jn.
Samson,
the village leader is on the right
Innocent
is on the leftAlcindor
Jn.
Samson,
the village leader is on the right
If you are led to donate money to get
resources and food to this community, or if you would like to go
yourself to Haiti to help out, you can click here:
(To get money to Ktadb specifically, you’ll have to write “for Ktadb” on the memo of your check or on a note with your payment.)
Comments (4)
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Can’t wait to read the blogs you and your team will be sending out. anticipating our return to Haiti later in the year. will probably wait til after the rainy and hurricane season, not because I want to, but that’s what our church has decided. thanx for going now.
db
Oh Seth, my prayers are with you and the team!
Thank you for being strong enough to make the trip and touch those who need you. May the Abba be with you in the house and lift you up with all that you touch!
Seth thank you for this update. I pray for you and the team daily and seeing the need helps me know how to pray and give.
I love the people in this community. I’m going to tell people about the conditions that they are living in, in hopes that people will be moved to continue supporting Haiti.
I asked one of the translators how people are placed in one “shelter” community rather than another(I did not get a clear answer). Do you know why or how some people end up in the higher class communities rather than the bedsheet ones?