On Sunday, October 2, 2016, I wrote to you concerning the storm that was headed our way - Hurricane Matthew (Matye in Creole). I spoke largely of our preparations here at Be Like Brit, and of our concern and worry for our neighbors and community - and of course, for anyone and everyone in the path of this enormous storm. Not knowing what was going to happen here, we enacted our Emergency Action Plan here at BLB. We prepared for the worst, while hoping for the best...
When we wokeup Monday morning, the rain was starting and the winds were just slightly more than a breeze. It was clear that the storm was nearing, and as we served breakfast in our media room/library-turned shelter, we had some 20 or so members of the community with us. Evacuation in Haiti hardly looks like evacuation in the US. There is no shelter; no formal directives reaching the people of our mountain community. Indeed, when the storm was at our doorsteps, the only formal communication received was a simple text message from the local carrier, warning that Matthew was imminent and to take shelter. For people with no electricity, cell phones aren't charged. For people who are illiterate, text messages don't matter. For far too many, this message would come too late, and lacking in an urgency we would soon realize.
One of the most frustrating parts of weathering this storm was the challenges in making people in our community even believe that it was coming. "God won't do that to us" was a common response to our urgent pleas to get people to come to BLB for shelter from the storm. Faith that God would protect them, or spare them, especially if they didn't "deserve it", kept people from believing a major storm was coming, and in many ways, put them at risk, too. How on earth is one supposed to engage in that kind of an argument? Frustrated, we rolled into Matthew with far fewer people than we expected, and far fewer people than we should have had...
That would not be the case for long, however. Monday night as the storm intensified and the effects began taking their toll on makeshift housing and temporary shelters, people came running to our gates for refuge. Even in the height of the storm, while our security gate (a 20' wide steel gate) was bent in half like a toy by the winds, families descended on us at Be Like Brit in droves. Among the faces were many of the skeptics - those who had simply disregarded our warnings and our pleas to seek shelter with us. One of those looked at me as he ran inside our building, baby wrapped in a blanket in his arms, "you were right." As their homes crumbled and blew away around them, families found safety in our sturdy walls.
Throughout the night and in to Tuesday, the sounds of roofs being ripped from their homes filled the air, while the driving winds screamed like a locomotive. Amazingly, our children were almost without exception calm and relaxed. Our incredible caregiver staff stayed with them and with us for more than 48 hours straight. All hands were on deck to weather this storm, and I've never been more proud to be a part of a Team who performed so well under such stress and pressure.
We emerged relatively unscathed here at Be Like Brit - mostly because of the construction standards that Len and Cherylann insisted on when building here. We're a certified earthquake resistant building, rated for up to a 9.0, and built to the same seismic standards as any construction in quake-prone areas like California or Japan. Unfortunately, our neighbors, many of whom were still living in temporary shelters, did not fare so well.
We've circled the wagons here at BLB, and all of you - our incredible supporters - have stepped up in an incredible way. Our focus moving forward is of course immediate relief, but also in forward-thinking and planning. We don't just have to get people back to where they were before Matthew hit - the rule of thumb in crisis intervention. We have to get people to a better place than they were before Matthew. Our commitment to our community and to a grassroots response, including local labor and professionals, is clear.
Many of you have written and have asked if we need you here. The answer is, no. Not now. We will need you, but right now, we are relying on our resources already in the community, on hiring laborers locally so that we can provide jobs and a means to begin to rebuild. I imagine our Britsionary program will now, more than ever, be focused on getting people in to safe housing in which to weather future storms unharmed.
We are proud to report that none of our homes sustained major damage. Roofs came off in some instances, which is to be expected with winds like Matthew. Possessions were destroyed in driving rain and water. Foundations, however, are strong, and our reinforced walls stand firm. Now, we must bring this standard of housing to more and more.
To help us in our relief efforts for our community here in Grand Goave, please follow the link below. We at Be Like Brit are proud that 85 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to helping the people we serve.
http://bit.ly/1cDtfPH
Thank you for helping us help the children of Haiti at Be Like Brit.
While we anticipated the wrath of Matthew late Sunday, the storm had its own path in mind. Stalling several times south of us over the Caribbean Sea, zig-zagging between Jamaica and Hispaniola, the delayed arrival of Matthew at times, to be honest, was a bit annoying. Perhaps that's not the best word. Restless comes to mind. We knew that this massive storm was going to hit us. Waiting for it to come became an exhausting and emotional ordeal. While sitting in the office on Sunday evening, windows boarded up, food, water, blankets, medicines all stockpiled, I turned to Madame Love and said, "I just wish we could get this over with." To be honest, I was scared. I had no idea what to expect. While I knew that our building was strong and would withstand the 145mph winds that the storm was packing, I did not have the same confidence and comfort concerning things like landslides, civil unrest, and security issues. The responsibility for the well-being of 66 children is massive in isolation. In a disaster, it's overwhelming.
One of the most frustrating parts of weathering this storm was the challenges in making people in our community even believe that it was coming. "God won't do that to us" was a common response to our urgent pleas to get people to come to BLB for shelter from the storm. Faith that God would protect them, or spare them, especially if they didn't "deserve it", kept people from believing a major storm was coming, and in many ways, put them at risk, too. How on earth is one supposed to engage in that kind of an argument? Frustrated, we rolled into Matthew with far fewer people than we expected, and far fewer people than we should have had...
That would not be the case for long, however. Monday night as the storm intensified and the effects began taking their toll on makeshift housing and temporary shelters, people came running to our gates for refuge. Even in the height of the storm, while our security gate (a 20' wide steel gate) was bent in half like a toy by the winds, families descended on us at Be Like Brit in droves. Among the faces were many of the skeptics - those who had simply disregarded our warnings and our pleas to seek shelter with us. One of those looked at me as he ran inside our building, baby wrapped in a blanket in his arms, "you were right." As their homes crumbled and blew away around them, families found safety in our sturdy walls.
Throughout the night and in to Tuesday, the sounds of roofs being ripped from their homes filled the air, while the driving winds screamed like a locomotive. Amazingly, our children were almost without exception calm and relaxed. Our incredible caregiver staff stayed with them and with us for more than 48 hours straight. All hands were on deck to weather this storm, and I've never been more proud to be a part of a Team who performed so well under such stress and pressure.
We emerged relatively unscathed here at Be Like Brit - mostly because of the construction standards that Len and Cherylann insisted on when building here. We're a certified earthquake resistant building, rated for up to a 9.0, and built to the same seismic standards as any construction in quake-prone areas like California or Japan. Unfortunately, our neighbors, many of whom were still living in temporary shelters, did not fare so well.
We've circled the wagons here at BLB, and all of you - our incredible supporters - have stepped up in an incredible way. Our focus moving forward is of course immediate relief, but also in forward-thinking and planning. We don't just have to get people back to where they were before Matthew hit - the rule of thumb in crisis intervention. We have to get people to a better place than they were before Matthew. Our commitment to our community and to a grassroots response, including local labor and professionals, is clear.
Many of you have written and have asked if we need you here. The answer is, no. Not now. We will need you, but right now, we are relying on our resources already in the community, on hiring laborers locally so that we can provide jobs and a means to begin to rebuild. I imagine our Britsionary program will now, more than ever, be focused on getting people in to safe housing in which to weather future storms unharmed.
We are proud to report that none of our homes sustained major damage. Roofs came off in some instances, which is to be expected with winds like Matthew. Possessions were destroyed in driving rain and water. Foundations, however, are strong, and our reinforced walls stand firm. Now, we must bring this standard of housing to more and more.
To help us in our relief efforts for our community here in Grand Goave, please follow the link below. We at Be Like Brit are proud that 85 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to helping the people we serve.
http://bit.ly/1cDtfPH
Thank you for helping us help the children of Haiti at Be Like Brit.
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