Monday, December 14, 2009
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Welcome to the Hopecam Blog. We'll be discussing the many ways Hopecam has changed the lives of our homebound kids while undergoing treatment. We have more Hopecams in use now, than ever before, and unfortunately, we have a wait list. Please look through our web site and discover how you can help a child.
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On Sunday January 31st, I rented a single engine plane with my brother in law Bernardo Camino to fly to Haiti to deliver 100 crank radio-flashlights for the earthquake survivors purchased with donations to our charity www.hopecam.org
ReplyDeleteWe departed Balaguer airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at 9:30 am under partly cloudy skies.
With Bernardo at the controls, along with retired Air Force General Miguel Roman. We filed a flight plan that would allow us to circle the perimeter of Port au Prince and land near a distribution point outside of the capital.
ReplyDeleteThe newly constructed Balaguer airport is a commuter facility located on the outskirts of the capital. Inside it was buzzing with relief workers speaking more languages than I can recognize. Every type of aircraft from UNICEF supply planes pictured here, to helicopters, regional jets and small commuter planes were all in motion as the relief effort expands.
ReplyDeleteMany of the Ports outside the Dominican Capital of Santo Domingo are operating at full capacity with new ships carrying supplies arriving daily. Almost all of the relief supplies are being distributed from the Dominican Republic.
ReplyDeleteThe shipping yards in and around Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic load supplies for the port of Barahona, DR. about 100 miles west. Barahona is the central distribution port for supplies to Haiti.
ReplyDeleteThe Dominican Republic is blessed with abundant and fertile agricultural land. Almost every kind of plant grows in the tropical climate. Rainfall is over 50 inches per year. As we flew over the landscape it is apparent that the Dominican people benefit greatly from the agricultural base.
ReplyDeleteThe landscape changes gradually as we approach the Haitian border, as agricultural land transitions to dryer more scrub like vegetation. Haiti is poor because very little land is arable.
ReplyDeleteNotice the dry, arid scrub land along the banks of the “Lake Azuie” on the Haitian border. The port town of “Jimani” is above - right, marking the border check point. This is where most trucks pass through to enter Haiti. It is also the location where the American missionaries transporting the Haitian orphans were recently intercepted by border guards.
The long lines of tractor trailers stack up at the check point. The roads turn from solid pavement in the Dominican Republic to a rutted mixture of sand-gravel and pot holed- asphalt in Haiti. The infrastructure in Haiti is primitive, even on the main supply route into the Country. Lack of road infrastructure has hampered the speed of aid to the victims of the earthquake.
ReplyDeleteOn a Sunday morning we counted over 25 fully loaded tractor trailers queuing up at the check point. Double that number during a normal weekday.
The photograph shows the narrow, dangerous, twisting road that trucks must follow to get supplies to Port au Prince. Most convoys are now escorted by US Marines, after several truck drivers were murdered. Supplies have been stolen by marauding thieves along these routes.
Many of the over 4,000 maximum security prisoners in the Capital penitentiary were killed when the earthquake struck, but many escaped and are at large in Port au Prince.
We were 15 miles outside of the capital when the weather closed in and reduced visibility from ten miles to one mile. Port au Prince air traffic control turned us around and re-routed our plane to a Dominican military air base called “Cabo Rojo”. With poor visibility, all relief planes were stacking up, circling around the capital. We were the only private plane attempting to enter Port au Prince.
ReplyDeleteWe waited for clearance to enter Haitian airspace until 11:00am, when air traffic control assigned us position 23. Since we did not have enough time or fuel to wait, we had no choice but to head back to Santo Domingo.
The Dominican government is rapidly expanding capacity to the shipping port of Cabo Rojo where relief ships are transporting supplies to be trucked into smaller Haitian cities along the border.
Below in the Haitian town of “Anse-a Pitre” where we were able to see the construction of a new medical camp. These camps are being built to transfer seriously injured victims 70 miles south west of Port au Prince, closer to the Dominican border for medical care.
ReplyDeleteAnse-a Pitre has potable water, power and is proximate to the Dominican town of Pernales where supplies can arrive by both truck and ship less than 2 miles away.
The southern most tip of the Dominican Republic is magnificent. This was taken near the island of “Beata” as we returned to Santo Domingo.
ReplyDeleteAs we returned to Balaguer Airport and were walking back to the main terminal we noticed a United Nations transport plane land nearby, carrying relief workers from Port au Prince. Over a dozen relief workers arriving in the Dominican Republic from Haiti. I spoke with one woman in her 30’s who was in the C.A.R.E. headquarters building during the quake. She lost several friends when buildings collapsed. She had not had a days rest in the past 3 weeks, working 18 hours a day. She was looking forward to a week off at a resort in the Dominican Republic before returning back to Haiti.
We delivered the radio-flashlights we brought from the USA the Sur Futoro Foundation, a trusted, non profit based in Santo Domingo. (www.surfuturo.com) The radios will be distributed to “Agroupation” leaders responsible for groups of 20 families. The foundation will share with Hopecam a video depicting the families receiving the radios firsthand.
ReplyDeleteAll donated funds were used solely to purchase the radio-flashlights. Thanks to the generous contributions from Hopecam donors for the funding this unique experience that will directly improve the quality of life for many in Haiti.
Hopecam was named as the designated charity for the second annual Virginia Wireless Association, which was held monday at the Williamsburg National golf course. Over 100 golfers participated in the day long event.
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