'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK
The Miami Herald, BY CURTIS MORGAN,Posted on Sun, Oct. 24, 2010
The earthquake that left Haiti in ruins and killed more than 200,000
people may not have been the ``big one'' and almost certainly wasn't the
last one.
New studies published Sunday point to a previously unmapped ``blind''
fault as the likely trigger for the catastrophe nine months ago and found
no evidence it had eased more than two centuries of increasing seismic
strain along the island's major pressure point, which geologists call the
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone.
If anything, the studies conclude, Haiti now faces a heightened risk of
repeat quakes along the Enriquillo fault -- particularly near the heavily
damaged, densely populated capital of Port-au-Prince.
``Even if this earthquake did not occur along the entire fault, it's
certainly an indication that stress has built up in the area,'' said
Andrew Freed, a Purdue University geophysicist and co-author of one of
several papers published online in Nature Geoscience. ``It's locked and
loaded. My concern is that we are in the beginning of new cycles of
earthquakes.''
What scientists stress they can't pinpoint with certainity is when or how
frequently temblors might again shake the devastated country. Before the
January's 7.0 magnitude quake, Haiti was last rocked by significant
earthquakes in 1751 and 1770.
But University of Miami earthquake expert Timothy Dixon, who co-authored
another study in the journal, said the series of quakes in similar
``strike-slip'' fault zones in places like Sumatra and Turkey strongly
suggest it won't take centuries for the next big quake.
Typically, he said, other large quakes follow within decades and at
either end of the fault zone, where earlier quakes can increase tensions
between massive, slow-moving tectonic plates. The sudden, violent shifts
that finally relieve that strain are what generate the intense shaking of
an earthquake.
``There is another shoe waiting to drop at one or both ends of the
rupture zone,'' said Dixon, a professor of geophysics at UM's Rosenstiel
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. ```We can't say very much about
when that other shoe will drop. It could be 100 years from now or it
could be next month.''
The studies, published in a special edition of Nature Geoscience focused
on the Jan. 12 quake, are among the first peer-reviewed research on the
quake's origins.
The findings echo concerns many geologists had raised before and after
the quake. They also underline the difficult rebuilding challenges that
face Haiti, where aging, weakly re-enforced and poorly constructed
buildings multipled the death toll and left 1.5 million people homeless
and living in tents.
Hispaniola, the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, sits
atop two major faults -- borders between the North American and Caribbean
tectonic plates, which grind against each other as they move about one
inch per year. The 200-plus years of pent-up strain in the Enriquillo
fault, which runs from Jamaica east through southern Haiti and the
capital city into the Dominican Republic's Enriquillo Valley, has long
been considered a trouble zone.
Dixon and colleagues authored a paper in 1998 warning of serious seismic
instability in Haiti centered along the Enriquillo fault line. In 2008,
Freed and Purdue colleague Eric Calais, a study co-author on leave in
Port-au-Prince to serve as science advisor to the United Nations on
Haiti's recovery plans, produced another study predicting an impending
7.2 quake near Port-au-Prince.
That's why geologists initially made the Enriquillo fault the prime
suspect.
But months of field observations and measurements taken from global
positioning systems, satellite images and radar-and-light ranging
systems, found little change along the main fault line.
For one thing, despite widespread structural damage, there were no major
surface ruptures or sideways landscape shifts that are telltale signs of
quakes in ``strike-slip'' faults. The patterns of deformation instead
pointed to a parallel, previously unknown fracture running along the
coast, now dubbed the Leogane fault line.
Anthony Crone, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in
Denver who co-wrote one of the studies, said it's not unusual for an
earthquake to reveal a ``blind,'' meaning unknown, fault in boundaries
between tectonic plates that can stretch for a hundred miles or more.
``There is a lot of squeezing and grinding and crunching going on,'' he
said.
``It's not totally surprising that you are going to have much larger
features in these very complex structures.''
Though confined underground, the seismic ruptures were powerful enough to
raise coastal elevations along a 50-to 60-mile stretch west of Carrefour,
Crone said.
Researchers found small, near-shore corals that normally grow no higher
than low tide levels suddenly exposed above the waves -- in some spots
thrust as much as two feet higher.
The consensus view is that Enriquillo fault remains -- as Freed put it --
``locked and loaded'' and a serious seismic hazard. The risk is
particularly pronounced in sections east of the epicenter that are
closest to Port-au-Prince.
Dixon stressed that the studies amount to a preliminary investigation and
it will take more research to definitely determine the origin of the
quake. There is the possibility, for instance, that some strain may have
eased in deep, unobservable sections of the Enriquillo.
If there is a positive message from the work, he said, it's that the
country has time to prepare for the next one.
``You probably have a few decades to enforce your building codes and
build stronger and better.'' But, scientists cautioned, when the
Enriquillo fault inevitably goes, it could generate far more force than
the January quake.
``This was a small event,'' Freed said. ``We are talking much larger. The
historic earthquakes were 7.5 or 8, orders of magnitude more.''
Under the complex algorithm of the scale, an 8.0 quake would produce 30
times the energy of a 7.0 quake. A 9.0 would generate 30 times that --
meaning 900 times stronger than what Haiti endured. Researchers stressed
they were not being alarmist but simply reporting the hard facts of the
country's unstable seismology.
``Unless we've just really got it wrong about what has happened in the
past,'' Freed said, ``it's not going to be two centuries until the next
one. It's going to be a matter of decades.''
Monday, October 25, 2010
'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK
'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK
The Miami Herald, BY CURTIS MORGAN,Posted on Sun, Oct. 24, 2010
The earthquake that left Haiti in ruins and killed more than 200,000
people may not have been the ``big one'' and almost certainly wasn't the
last one.
New studies published Sunday point to a previously unmapped ``blind''
fault as the likely trigger for the catastrophe nine months ago and found
no evidence it had eased more than two centuries of increasing seismic
strain along the island's major pressure point, which geologists call the
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone.
If anything, the studies conclude, Haiti now faces a heightened risk of
repeat quakes along the Enriquillo fault -- particularly near the heavily
damaged, densely populated capital of Port-au-Prince.
``Even if this earthquake did not occur along the entire fault, it's
certainly an indication that stress has built up in the area,'' said
Andrew Freed, a Purdue University geophysicist and co-author of one of
several papers published online in Nature Geoscience. ``It's locked and
loaded. My concern is that we are in the beginning of new cycles of
earthquakes.''
What scientists stress they can't pinpoint with certainity is when or how
frequently temblors might again shake the devastated country. Before the
January's 7.0 magnitude quake, Haiti was last rocked by significant
earthquakes in 1751 and 1770.
But University of Miami earthquake expert Timothy Dixon, who co-authored
another study in the journal, said the series of quakes in similar
``strike-slip'' fault zones in places like Sumatra and Turkey strongly
suggest it won't take centuries for the next big quake.
Typically, he said, other large quakes follow within decades and at
either end of the fault zone, where earlier quakes can increase tensions
between massive, slow-moving tectonic plates. The sudden, violent shifts
that finally relieve that strain are what generate the intense shaking of
an earthquake.
``There is another shoe waiting to drop at one or both ends of the
rupture zone,'' said Dixon, a professor of geophysics at UM's Rosenstiel
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. ```We can't say very much about
when that other shoe will drop. It could be 100 years from now or it
could be next month.''
The studies, published in a special edition of Nature Geoscience focused
on the Jan. 12 quake, are among the first peer-reviewed research on the
quake's origins.
The findings echo concerns many geologists had raised before and after
the quake. They also underline the difficult rebuilding challenges that
face Haiti, where aging, weakly re-enforced and poorly constructed
buildings multipled the death toll and left 1.5 million people homeless
and living in tents.
Hispaniola, the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, sits
atop two major faults -- borders between the North American and Caribbean
tectonic plates, which grind against each other as they move about one
inch per year. The 200-plus years of pent-up strain in the Enriquillo
fault, which runs from Jamaica east through southern Haiti and the
capital city into the Dominican Republic's Enriquillo Valley, has long
been considered a trouble zone.
Dixon and colleagues authored a paper in 1998 warning of serious seismic
instability in Haiti centered along the Enriquillo fault line. In 2008,
Freed and Purdue colleague Eric Calais, a study co-author on leave in
Port-au-Prince to serve as science advisor to the United Nations on
Haiti's recovery plans, produced another study predicting an impending
7.2 quake near Port-au-Prince.
That's why geologists initially made the Enriquillo fault the prime
suspect.
But months of field observations and measurements taken from global
positioning systems, satellite images and radar-and-light ranging
systems, found little change along the main fault line.
For one thing, despite widespread structural damage, there were no major
surface ruptures or sideways landscape shifts that are telltale signs of
quakes in ``strike-slip'' faults. The patterns of deformation instead
pointed to a parallel, previously unknown fracture running along the
coast, now dubbed the Leogane fault line.
Anthony Crone, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in
Denver who co-wrote one of the studies, said it's not unusual for an
earthquake to reveal a ``blind,'' meaning unknown, fault in boundaries
between tectonic plates that can stretch for a hundred miles or more.
``There is a lot of squeezing and grinding and crunching going on,'' he
said.
``It's not totally surprising that you are going to have much larger
features in these very complex structures.''
Though confined underground, the seismic ruptures were powerful enough to
raise coastal elevations along a 50-to 60-mile stretch west of Carrefour,
Crone said.
Researchers found small, near-shore corals that normally grow no higher
than low tide levels suddenly exposed above the waves -- in some spots
thrust as much as two feet higher.
The consensus view is that Enriquillo fault remains -- as Freed put it --
``locked and loaded'' and a serious seismic hazard. The risk is
particularly pronounced in sections east of the epicenter that are
closest to Port-au-Prince.
Dixon stressed that the studies amount to a preliminary investigation and
it will take more research to definitely determine the origin of the
quake. There is the possibility, for instance, that some strain may have
eased in deep, unobservable sections of the Enriquillo.
If there is a positive message from the work, he said, it's that the
country has time to prepare for the next one.
``You probably have a few decades to enforce your building codes and
build stronger and better.'' But, scientists cautioned, when the
Enriquillo fault inevitably goes, it could generate far more force than
the January quake.
``This was a small event,'' Freed said. ``We are talking much larger. The
historic earthquakes were 7.5 or 8, orders of magnitude more.''
Under the complex algorithm of the scale, an 8.0 quake would produce 30
times the energy of a 7.0 quake. A 9.0 would generate 30 times that --
meaning 900 times stronger than what Haiti endured. Researchers stressed
they were not being alarmist but simply reporting the hard facts of the
country's unstable seismology.
``Unless we've just really got it wrong about what has happened in the
past,'' Freed said, ``it's not going to be two centuries until the next
one. It's going to be a matter of decades.''
The earthquake that left Haiti in ruins and killed more than 200,000
people may not have been the ``big one'' and almost certainly wasn't the
last one.
New studies published Sunday point to a previously unmapped ``blind''
fault as the likely trigger for the catastrophe nine months ago and found
no evidence it had eased more than two centuries of increasing seismic
strain along the island's major pressure point, which geologists call the
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone.
If anything, the studies conclude, Haiti now faces a heightened risk of
repeat quakes along the Enriquillo fault -- particularly near the heavily
damaged, densely populated capital of Port-au-Prince.
``Even if this earthquake did not occur along the entire fault, it's
certainly an indication that stress has built up in the area,'' said
Andrew Freed, a Purdue University geophysicist and co-author of one of
several papers published online in Nature Geoscience. ``It's locked and
loaded. My concern is that we are in the beginning of new cycles of
earthquakes.''
What scientists stress they can't pinpoint with certainity is when or how
frequently temblors might again shake the devastated country. Before the
January's 7.0 magnitude quake, Haiti was last rocked by significant
earthquakes in 1751 and 1770.
But University of Miami earthquake expert Timothy Dixon, who co-authored
another study in the journal, said the series of quakes in similar
``strike-slip'' fault zones in places like Sumatra and Turkey strongly
suggest it won't take centuries for the next big quake.
Typically, he said, other large quakes follow within decades and at
either end of the fault zone, where earlier quakes can increase tensions
between massive, slow-moving tectonic plates. The sudden, violent shifts
that finally relieve that strain are what generate the intense shaking of
an earthquake.
``There is another shoe waiting to drop at one or both ends of the
rupture zone,'' said Dixon, a professor of geophysics at UM's Rosenstiel
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. ```We can't say very much about
when that other shoe will drop. It could be 100 years from now or it
could be next month.''
The studies, published in a special edition of Nature Geoscience focused
on the Jan. 12 quake, are among the first peer-reviewed research on the
quake's origins.
The findings echo concerns many geologists had raised before and after
the quake. They also underline the difficult rebuilding challenges that
face Haiti, where aging, weakly re-enforced and poorly constructed
buildings multipled the death toll and left 1.5 million people homeless
and living in tents.
Hispaniola, the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, sits
atop two major faults -- borders between the North American and Caribbean
tectonic plates, which grind against each other as they move about one
inch per year. The 200-plus years of pent-up strain in the Enriquillo
fault, which runs from Jamaica east through southern Haiti and the
capital city into the Dominican Republic's Enriquillo Valley, has long
been considered a trouble zone.
Dixon and colleagues authored a paper in 1998 warning of serious seismic
instability in Haiti centered along the Enriquillo fault line. In 2008,
Freed and Purdue colleague Eric Calais, a study co-author on leave in
Port-au-Prince to serve as science advisor to the United Nations on
Haiti's recovery plans, produced another study predicting an impending
7.2 quake near Port-au-Prince.
That's why geologists initially made the Enriquillo fault the prime
suspect.
But months of field observations and measurements taken from global
positioning systems, satellite images and radar-and-light ranging
systems, found little change along the main fault line.
For one thing, despite widespread structural damage, there were no major
surface ruptures or sideways landscape shifts that are telltale signs of
quakes in ``strike-slip'' faults. The patterns of deformation instead
pointed to a parallel, previously unknown fracture running along the
coast, now dubbed the Leogane fault line.
Anthony Crone, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in
Denver who co-wrote one of the studies, said it's not unusual for an
earthquake to reveal a ``blind,'' meaning unknown, fault in boundaries
between tectonic plates that can stretch for a hundred miles or more.
``There is a lot of squeezing and grinding and crunching going on,'' he
said.
``It's not totally surprising that you are going to have much larger
features in these very complex structures.''
Though confined underground, the seismic ruptures were powerful enough to
raise coastal elevations along a 50-to 60-mile stretch west of Carrefour,
Crone said.
Researchers found small, near-shore corals that normally grow no higher
than low tide levels suddenly exposed above the waves -- in some spots
thrust as much as two feet higher.
The consensus view is that Enriquillo fault remains -- as Freed put it --
``locked and loaded'' and a serious seismic hazard. The risk is
particularly pronounced in sections east of the epicenter that are
closest to Port-au-Prince.
Dixon stressed that the studies amount to a preliminary investigation and
it will take more research to definitely determine the origin of the
quake. There is the possibility, for instance, that some strain may have
eased in deep, unobservable sections of the Enriquillo.
If there is a positive message from the work, he said, it's that the
country has time to prepare for the next one.
``You probably have a few decades to enforce your building codes and
build stronger and better.'' But, scientists cautioned, when the
Enriquillo fault inevitably goes, it could generate far more force than
the January quake.
``This was a small event,'' Freed said. ``We are talking much larger. The
historic earthquakes were 7.5 or 8, orders of magnitude more.''
Under the complex algorithm of the scale, an 8.0 quake would produce 30
times the energy of a 7.0 quake. A 9.0 would generate 30 times that --
meaning 900 times stronger than what Haiti endured. Researchers stressed
they were not being alarmist but simply reporting the hard facts of the
country's unstable seismology.
``Unless we've just really got it wrong about what has happened in the
past,'' Freed said, ``it's not going to be two centuries until the next
one. It's going to be a matter of decades.''
Monday, September 20, 2010
Bright Eyes
To paint a picture of what it is like to purchase "off the grid," meaning not at a major grocery store, I will further risk boring you with the details. As it was I wanted pepperoni and Mozzarella cheese. I asked for pepperoni and the man replied, "no." I countered with, "salami?" He said, "Pa bon!" meaning that he thought the meat in the case had gone bad. I pointed at a large stick of salami and the man replied (in Kreyol mind you), "This has been here a long time," then wrinkled his nose to indicate he thought it might be bad too. I said, "slice some off and we will see..." He did so and I smelled the Salami. It smelled... sort of OK. I tore off a small piece and ate it, it seemed alright, though not refrigerated at all. I handed some of the sample to the small girl standing next to me and she popped it in her mouth and smiled. Then I realized that it was beginning to turn. I ordered Ham instead... There was some Gouda cheese and processed cheese. I asked for Mozzarella but knew before I asked that there was none. I ordered the American Cheese, a couple of boxes of milk and went to the front counter to pay for my groceries.
All the while the little girls walked with me and stood by me... almost like they were my daughters waiting for their papa. I paid and left the store. The little girls followed me. I waved goodbye and we left for home (Kristie and the kids were waiting in the car for me).
I wanted to help, but chose not to. I wanted to take the kids home with me and care for them to... but I didn't do that either.
I also have several young friends who are about to begin school, but do not have the funds necessary to even begin. They come to me and ask for help. I can't help them. I wish that I could.
I look into the faces of these young people and see the value God has placed in them. The little girls were God's little ones. Their the twinkle in their bright eyes will most likely be extinguished as they grow and live in this difficult country. So many of these young people end up having the stuffing knocked out of them by the time they are in their twenties. They have an infinite value to God. I can see it in them. They are looking for someone to take care of them... and to love them and find value in them, but I have to send them home hungry, every day.
It is difficult to live in Haiti.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Naked Babies
The long Journey from selling most of our possessions last summer to moving into our own house is almost finished. Kristie is so ready to have her own space and decorate, paint, spackle, or whatever her little heart desires. We have traded in our larger house for a smaller one… out of necessity. We are happy with it. The kids' rooms are painted and today we will start on the master bedroom. The house is still empty of furniture but we will soon remedy that… little by little. We were quoted $ 1000 US for a table and chair set by a carpenter… another case of the Haitian perception that all whites are rich.
My full time job seems to be setting up the house and working in Leogane two/three days per week. The heat just drains you. We probably sleep more than 10 per night, but the exhaustion is a constant companion regardless.
The food is great. We have been gorging ourselves on tropical fruit, avocados' (huge), coconuts, sugar cane, and the wide variations of rice and beans, peas, chicken, beef, fish… it has been good in that regard. Haitians know how to make food. I was hoping to lose weight.
People in need are taking its toll on our finances. I am afraid that I am not very good at turning aside from the problems of people we know here. Their kids can't afford to go to school, children are being shipped off to stay with relatives, and people are sick and need medicine. It is never-ending. I have to be more firm, but how? The only recourse I have is to rest on the fact that we truly don't have the means to help everyone. Case in point… I was in Leogane when a 15 year old boy comes up to me and timidly calls me by name. He said, "Do you have any work for me… I would like to go to school, but I have no money to do so. It has already been two years that I have been trying to find a way to return to school…" I sat there and considered his situation. It would probably cost $400 per year to send him to school. I have $400 and could pay for him to do just that. He looked like a nice young man. The problem is that there are thousands and thousands of kids just like him… some of them I already know. How can I give this kid money before some of the kids with whom I already have a relationship. Even if I could spare the money, it I spent all of my time trying to give kids work, or pay for their school, I couldn't live here. That being said… it still affects me to hear their stories. I care, and I would like to do something about it, but what? And so… I tell him to pray about it and I will too.
As I was rounding a trail near a small village, in the Leogane area, I came across the roof of a house resting on a twisted mess of rubble. At the far end of the roof was a tarp where an elderly woman was staying for lack of a better place. It was her house. Tyler Newman was with me. This little old woman walked out from behind the rubble with no clothes on her upper body. This is something I am used to seeing, so I merely talked to the woman and asked her about her situation. Tyler was looking intently away from the woman and seemed to be… almost holding his breath. She told me that she had several children, but none came to help her. She was still nursing an injury to her leg from the earthquake. I told her that I would try to return if I could do something for her. We are building a house for her sister already, but this old woman is not a part of any program. We shall see what happens for her.
We hope to soon have an address to send to you. We can accept care packages, but keep in mind that if it can fit into a large manila envelope it used to be that it was easier to get it without paying customs. All boxes will cause us to pay a customs fee, which is fine… just so you know. It is totally great to receive much needed items regardless of customs fees.
The kids are doing well. Naomi was bumped up into 9th grade for math, Brendan is in Kristie's class and will not raise his hand for anything, and Noelle is making friends fast, as she always does. They miss their friends from back home. The baby is having a good time, though he does not sleep well at night. He spends most of his time here mostly naked (with a diaper).
All is well…
In His hands,
Shane, Kris and Kids
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
On the Road
The Mattenleys are currently on the road to Florida. They are in Great Falls Montana, and too exhausted from travelling to send a long blog. Their plans are to make it to South Dakota (Mount Rushmore) by tomorrow night. The family flies to Haiti from Fort Lauderdale on the morning of August 9th. Much more is needed financially as well as a small quiet generator for the family as they work the first six months to make their home livable and safe.
Please look for news on their blog: http://www.mattenleys-in.haiti.blogspot.com
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Hello Everyone!
This is a recent report from a Missionary in Haiti (Judith d'Amico)
Haïti continues pretty much as it has been the last few months. The camps are even fuller than before, as people are either returning to PAP or choosing the camps over their homes because of some perceived benefits they might receive. Here are a few details...
Tent camps…There are presently 1.6 million displaced persons scattered in 1,342 camp sites in the earthquake affected areas of Haïti. In Port-au-Prince, there are about 1,000 of the sites. Fifty-four of the 1,342 sites have more than 1,000 households and these account for 29% of the displaced people. Two of those are in Pétion Ville, the town nearest to me. The commune (like a county) of Delmas, which is very close to the heart of downtown, has the highest concentration of displaced persons. There are 200 camps, 11 of which accommodate more than 1,000 families; and with a total of 315,500 homeless persons (19% of all displaced persons) in the camps. The map below gives you an idea of the immensity of the problem. The darkest red is the commune of Delmas near the downtown:
Water and hygiene facilities…The WASH teams have been working overtime to help meet these needs; and despite less than required levels of water and hygiene facilities in the camps, no waterborne infections have been reported--truly God’s grace and a testimony to how carefully the Haitian people work at managing these scarce resources. But the teams believe that they should be able to add enough latrines to provide 1 for every 100 persons by October, a very decent figure. Nonetheless, the teams caution that although the WASH surveillance may be able to be suspended in a few months in the rural areas, it will need to continue for another year or two within PAP, because of the scarcity of resources.
Insecurity and personal safety….One of the most unpleasant parts of the camps has been the insecurity. A couple weeks ago, the National Police teamed up with the UN troops (called MINUSTAH here) in an early morning raid on one of the large camps in the commune of Delmas. About 30 persons believed to be thieves were apprehended, some were escaped prisoners from the national penitentiary whose walls were damaged in the earthquake.
Another part of the insecurity relates to teens and young women who are being forced into sexual relationships. With many family members either dead or dispersed, these young people are particularly vulnerable. Security has increased in the camps, but it is still a concern.
Pregnancy and STIs…Along with the concern about personal safety is a very sharp rise in the number of pregnancies. This has not yet been measured to my knowledge, but we have all noticed the large number of young women walking about in the earlier stages of pregnancy. Of course, if one is vulnerable to pregnancy, there is also a significant risk for sexually transmitted infection, like HIV. In fact, health providers in some of the camps have noted a higher than national average prevalence among the camp dwellers--though it is uncertain whether this is a cluster effect (a higher number of infected persons who just happen to be living in the same camp) or a real increase in prevalence.
Population growth….Along with these concerns, the US Census Bureau released its population projections for Haïti this week. It estimates that the Haitian population is currently 9.6 million (last census in 2003 showed 7.9 million)—and that’s taking into account the loss of about 230,000 persons to the earthquake. The Bureau predicts that the persons killed in the earthquake will be replaced within 2 years; and that the population will continue to grow at a rate of 1% per year, reaching 13.4 million by 2050. Yikes! It’s hard to feed everyone as it is!
Temporary homes…Some of the tents and tarps have been damaged by the large and frequent rains we’ve been having and will need to be replaced. As I mentioned in the last update, people are starting to add more permanent fixtures to their very temporary shelters, like tin doors, wood framing, and the like. Roughly about 2,500 temporary homes (more like a regular home and built to last at least 3 years) have been constructed; but these are mostly in the more rural areas. The picture below shows the situation at hand:
Debris…The Shelter Cluster estimates that all in all there are about 19 million m3 of debris to remove—a m3 is basically the size of a pallet--so that much debris would fill 19,000 warehouses like ours, and we have one of the largest in Haïti! All in all, about 125,000 temporary homes are expected to have been constructed by this time next year, the huge majority of them in the metropolitan PAP area.
Home Structural Assessments….Houses are still being evaluated in order to help persons resettle in their own homes. About 130,000 of the estimated 188,000 damaged homes have been assessed and a good portion are ‘green’, meaning that they can be lived in without first undergoing repairs. Roughly half of the homes that have been assessed as ‘green’ are being inhabited.
The engineers have been reminding families that the homes evaluated as yellow will need some relatively minor repairs to be able to be inhabited; AND that not all those that have been assessed as ‘red’ will have to be torn down! A good number may still be able to be salvaged with the right kind of earthquake resistant technology applied. Now that’s good news! As of right now, 46% have been assessed as ‘green’, another 30% as ‘yellow’, and the rest as ‘red’. The engineers estimate that about 500,000 persons will be able to return to properly repaired homes.
Food…Although food rations are no longer being distributed, there is good news on the horizon! The spring harvest looks like it will be rather productive, which will both increase the availability of food staples as well as decrease the price. The maps below give an idea of the projections concerning the availability of food for the next few months (yes, green is good!). This is very heartening because prices continue to be well above pre-earthquake level—roughly 25% more.
MAY 2010
Jobs…Another brighter star on the horizon. The food for work programs are not only helping to clear the rubble, clean out canals to avoid lowland flooding, and repair rural roads; these 100,000+ people are receiving a reasonable wage with which to help support their families. The need for this kind of work will be there for quite some time in the future, along with labor for reconstruction; and this should significantly help to re-establish families.
But the financial losses have been great here. One thing that helps Haitian people to get by on such limited income is that they do not need to pay great sums for living quarters. But modest sized homes that used to cost perhaps $2,500 per year to rent are now going for $500/month; that is more than the average middle class Haitian person earns in a month! Housing relief, and not just the temporary shelters, must be made a major priority in order to be able to stabilize the country.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Freelanthropy
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Saturday, June 12, 2010
Moments of Reflection in a Crowded Airport
Here I am sitting in the Miami airport... again. This trip is only about four days, but it still takes a deep breath and some mental preparation. Haiti is a tough place to go... especially when you are emotionally invested in the people there.
I have the privilege of accompanying a friend, Scott Long (Mission E4) on a parlay with Samaritan's Purse about a sub-contract to help with the transitional housing problem for displaced families. It would be a part-time stint for me so that I can rely less on donations and more on my MA Degree. Our plans for the discipleship training school will have to begin slow and grow as we find funds. The most important thing now is to get ourselves to Haiti.
I will also be looking for a house to rent and negotiate a price and secure it for Aug. 1st. We need to have a home to come to...
If you would like to check out the latest, go to http://www.mattenleys-in-haiti.blogspot.com
Thanks for reading,
Shane
Thursday, May 20, 2010
New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti
Dear Friends,
There are new happenings afoot. Many good things are coming to fruition for Mercy League. Please take a moment to read up on a few news items.
Change in the Ranks:
Mercy League International has undergone some changes in the way that we operate. We are reorganizing the board and reinventing roles for our leadership. Shane Mattenley will step down as director in the coming weeks and will be replaced by person... whose name has not yet been released. This person is famous in the state of Oregon, and is known for his "love" of young people and coffee.
Our Missionaries from China:
We were surprised by an opportunity presented to us to visit with our partner in China. He and his wife are doing amazing things in their work in Asia with orphans. This couple cares for the children that other groups and orphanages do not consider fit for adoption. Some orphanages that cater to the handicapped will not accept children who are deemed terminally ill or unable to be rehabilitated. Our friends/partners take these children and give them a chance at life. Many times they are the last chance these children have, and sometime they have been too late to save the most neglected. Details about names and places have to be kept anonymous because of the delicate nature of working in this country. We were glad to be able to help them with some gas money and breakfast on their way through the Eugene/Springfield area. If you are interested in more information about this ministry, please contact me at admin@mercyleague.org.
A New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti
Kristie and Shane Mattenley are moving their family back to Haiti after an absence of more than seven years. They weighed the costs of shipping their belongings to Florida en route to Haiti, but realized that it was about the same cost if they could purchase a good used van and trailer... and drive to Florida. Tonight this plan became more of a reality as they picked up the vehicle from the Kelsay family, who were selling their vehicle on an online service. It was the perfect vehicle for their needs, and the proceeds for the vehicle went to fund (in part) a high school trip to Florida for a health careers class going to nationals from Willamette High School. Pat Kelsey, a school teacher, is the sponsor for the team. Kristie and her stood in front of the van tonight and enjoyed a moment of gratification knowing that the sale of this van gave created a double blessing... One for our needs to transport our family and belonging to Florida, and continued use in Haiti for work teams and family transportation. The second blessing was, of course, to the students of the school.
To subscribe to this Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti click on the link.
New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti
Dear Friends,
There are new happenings afoot. Many good things are coming to fruition for Mercy League. Please take a moment to read up on a few news items.
Change in the Ranks:
Mercy League International has undergone some changes in the way that we operate. We are reorganizing the board and reinventing roles for our leadership. Shane Mattenley will step down as director in the coming weeks and will be replaced by person... whose name has not yet been released. This person is famous in the state of Oregon, and is known for his "love" of young people and coffee.
Our missionaries from China:
We were surprised by an opportunity presented to us to visit with our partner in China. He and his wife are doing amazing things in their work in Asia with orphans. This couple cares for the children that other groups and orphanages do not consider fit for adoption. Some orphanages that cater to the handicapped will not accept children who are deemed terminally ill or unable to be rehabilitated. Our friends/partners take these children and give them a chance at life. Many times they are the last chance these children have, and sometime they have been too late to save the most neglected. Details about names and places have to be kept anonymous because of the delicate nature of working in this country. We were glad to be able to help them with some gas money and breakfast on their way through the Eugene/Springfield area. If you are interested in more information about this ministry, please contact me at admin@mercyleague.org.
A New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti
Kristie and Shane Mattenley are moving their family back to Haiti after an absence of more than seven years. They weighed the costs of shipping their belongings to Florida en route to Haiti, but realized that it was about the same cost if they could purchase a good used van and trailer... and drive to Florida. Tonight this plan became more of a reality as they picked up the vehicle from the Kelsay family, who were selling their vehicle on an online service. It was the perfect vehicle for their needs, and the proceeds for the vehicle went to fund (in part) a high school trip to Florida for a health careers class going to nationals from Willamette High School. Pat Kelsey, a school teacher, is the sponsor for the team. Kristie and her stood in front of the van tonight and enjoyed a moment of gratification knowing that the sale of this van gave created a double blessing... One for our needs to transport our family and belonging to Florida, and continued use in Haiti for work teams and family transportation. The second blessing was, of course, to the students of the school.
To subscribe to this Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti click on the link.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Other Work in Haiti: Nolan Scheid
Rebuilding Haiti- starting with a stucco wall.
This is not my typical entry, but I think many of you will like to see some of the progress that other groups in Haiti are making towards rebuilding.
Our friend Nolan Scheid from Eugene builds stucco sprayers that are helping in Port-au-Prince. He sent the stucco sprayers to a church in Haiti that had their whole compound demolished in the quake. The first step was to rebuild a stucco wall around the property. It took 4 days of hard work but the volunteers made wonderful progress. Soon they will be rebuilding the structures with similar methods. This could be a secure and simple way to rebuild.
Nolan will be updating the page with their progress as they share more pictures. He hopes that it will grow into a "How to Rebuild Haiti" page that will help others with ideas for reconstruction.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Clarity
| Clarity | ||||
Dear friends, Someone asked us recently, “Where is Mercy League going?” Our response was, among other things… “Mercy League is two things in its essence. First it is the church being the church, and second, it teaches people how to be the church.”  What do I mean by that? Ok… I don’t know how “religious” or sensitive to the concept of Christianity you are, but I need to inform you that much of the North American church persona is a misnomer. (That’s a tongue twister). I could step up onto my soap-box and begin a superfluous rant into all the problems of the church today… but rather, let me point you to how the Church began: All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. ~ Acts 2 It has always been the world against the church; it is the system of the world to be about me, my needs, and my contentment. Some people say that the primary goal of North Americans is to “live a painless life if ease.” I tend to agree. Many people ask why we do what we do. The answer: because we never again want to fall asleep, enticed by the charms of Canada and the United States. It is a really comfortable place to live… all of us individualists building our personal kingdoms. The church is all about Christ, who teaches about selflessness and self sacrifice because of the hope we have in eternity. Instead I see a North American church that is empty on Super Bowl Sunday, and full on Easter Sunday. Even that is a misnomer, because as if being somewhere on a Sunday morning is what Christianity is all about. It is a lifestyle of love that permeates every part of your life. It is about giving and receiving nothing back. It is about losing in this world and winning in the next. It is not about getting what you deserve… it’s about not getting what you deserve. …living a life of gratitude toward God |
Mission in Haiti
Painting of Rural Haitian Market
Which is better, to put food, shelter, clothing in the hands of people who need it, or to train up people to be the church… which in turns trains their people how to live in communion with each other so that no person has need. This was the design of the earliest church. What changed it? We firmly believe that the best way to help a developing country is to make disciples who do the work of the church for their own people. The Church takes care of the widows and orphans, but all within the context of the Church.
Our goal for Haiti is to disciple young people from Haiti and to build the true church. We have plans to use the church to reach the needs of the people within the local community. We also have plans to create a sustainable program so that we are not a burden on the N.A. Church. This will include a program for international students to study alongside their Haitian counterparts. We will begin in August in Port-Au-Prince.
Crow High School
Crow High School Tap Tap
The “Tap Tap” is operational! So far the Crow-Cougar-Mobile has transported many volunteers to medical clinics, building projects and an orphanage. We have hauled tones of food supplies, doctors, nurses, medical supplies. One medical team was credited with saving the life of a young mother. You have made a difference already. Do you see what it means to take action locally and watch as it has far reaching effects for good half a world away? Your participation matters!
The Tap-Tap hasn’t been able to have its full cosmetic makeover yet… because it has been too busy working and helping, but we have already paid for the paint job and the remainder of the work in the back of the truck where people sit. More Crow students are planning to come to Haiti this summer. We will make them sign the truck with their grad year etc… here are some pictures of the truck as it is.
Shane and Kristie Moving to Haiti
The Mattenley Family
July 31 is the estimated date of departure. They have less than three months to raise enough support to live and work in Haiti. There will be many burdens upon them as they start out in a country with such great need. The cost of living in Haiti is very expensive. Most decent houses are more than $1000 per month with a 6 month pre-payment requirement. Set up costs include airfare, generator, inverter and batteries, and shipping costs for furniture and personal belongings. The Mattenleys plan to live in Haiti for a minimum of 6 years. Mercy League will be raising money for Shane to continue his work in Haiti as the Caribbean director of Mercy League. He will oversee the programs in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is a big undertaking for Mercy League to send its first full time paid staff member, and fittingly it is our former director of the last six years. Donations for the Haiti program can be made for start-up costs or monthly support by visiting the blogsite: Mercy League Blog
School for Jessica, and Nadia
Jessica and her ill Mother
There are several young people in our discipleship group who have ended up losing out on their education as a result of a poor American school program. In its inception the American school took in the poorest children in the area and offered them school in English. The problem was that Haiti is a French speaking country, and when the school shut down, and then reopened, it only held classes until 9th grade. Many students like Jessica and Nadia were left with no option but to return to the Haitian school system. Jessica (17 years old) returned to a local Haitian school a few weeks ago and was put back to 7th grade. Our plan it to incorporate a home school curriculum for other kids who are caught in this scenario. Beginning in September we will add a GED/home school program to our discipleship training group. To pay for the remainder of their school year, we are looking for two people to send $150 US each for Jessica and Nadia. This will cover their back tuition from December through the end of the year. This September we can put them in our English education program.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
A Land of Widows and Orphans
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| Our little baby with her crackers |
What constitutes an orphan? Is it simply a parent-less child? What about the children who are left to raise themselves and run the streets day and night without care and concern from their (single) parents? There is an incredible disconnect between parents and their children in this country. Girls are not protected and boys are not taught how to be true men.... men who care for their family. I see that there is love between parent/s and their children, but it is at arms length. Children are fodder for this country. I can't stand it.
Most of the boys that are in my life here have never known a "father." They seem so anxious to hear about how to go about caring for their significant others "girlfriends" and "fiances." I speak the works of the Bible to them about what it means to be a husband and father. How to treat the women in their lives (mothers, sisters, wives, etc...). They are anxious to learn. I will perform a wedding on Monday for an engaged couple. They are going to have a baby in October.
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| Shane helping cook at the Orphanage |
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| Children at the Orphanage |
There is so much more news about the orphanage, losing our house to a higher bidder, the Crow High School Tap Tap, and the need for generous person(s) to take on the ministry financially.
I would type more but it is late and my eyes are heavy. I come home in 6 days...
Shane
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