Children of Haiti
The City of Langford has been helping to build an orphanage, school and chapel for the children devastated by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
View details for the Children of Haiti Art Sale here [PDF - 950 KB].
Update: The Goal is in Sight
Ribbon Cutting and Dedication Scheduled for April 2012
In early 2010, following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, an RCMP Officer working with the UN amongst the ruins, learned that the City of Langford was interested in getting involved in a worthwhile rebuilding project. RCMP Cpl. Briand sent an email to Langford inquiring if the offer was genuine, for in fact she personally knew of just such a project. For Christine Briand and her CDN UN colleagues serving in Haiti, had years before, in 1998, "adopted" an orphanage and had supported it the best they could over the years. Now it lay in ruins, with 40 orphans sleeping out in the open with nothing but the odd blanket and some banana leaves.
When we first met Cpl. Christine Briand she told us that she prayed that help would come for these small vulnerable children and two elderly nuns and that the relatively small community of Langford could in fact come through on the offer to rebuild their orphanage. Well she was blown away when, in true Langford form, she was advised by Mayor Young and Council that, within a week of receiving her initial email that, a team of Langford Community Volunteers would be on their way to Port au Prince Haiti to meet up with her and access the situation firsthand. That was March 2010, and since then we have collectively, with a number of generous donors and wonderful partners including international friends, addressed a number of the orphanages' needs.
While the initial goal was to replace the damaged building, our volunteers recognized that there was other work required in order to ensure the safety and sustainability of the orphanage. So, while our building was being designed and built, teams of volunteers using local Haitian labor accomplished the following:
• Built a 12' security wall around the perimeter including a large metal gate and man door for the safety and security of the children.
• Refurbished the outdoor latrines including providing 2 more toilets and providing privacy doors.
• Installed a 500 gal water reservoir to provide for water reserves given the intermittent municipal water supply situation.
• Built a fully enclosed outdoor kitchen complete with a 3-burner propane stove so the children could boil their water and have adequate facilities to cook for 50 or so.
• Provided 2 40 ft. metal sea containers complete with shelving for dry, secure storage.
• Started to level the site so as to provide adequate drainage to remove the disease infested stagnant water.
In addition to the above mentioned goals we are also committed to have a deep well dug, a retaining wall on the inside of the compound built, security wire installed on the top of the perimeter wall, completing the site drainage project, and furnishing our building, all of which will be done in time for the dedication.
Our building, which is scheduled for completion in March 2012, was designed to have a chapel for worshipping, a large dining hall, classroom, kitchen, nuns quarters, washrooms, and a secure storage area. The building is built to a post-disaster standard, is termite proof and can withstand the frequent hurricanes that that region of the world sees almost yearly.
The building and project will be dedicated in April to RCMP Officers Chief Supt. Doug Coates and Sgt. Mark Gallagher who lost their lives in the Haiti earthquake just over two years ago.
As we now near our goal, we would like to acknowledge and thank all those who have generously contributed to the success of our community global project.
If you require additional information, or if you would like to make a donation please visit http://www.teamhaitichildren.com/. Donations can also be made by clicking the "donate" button on this page.
On this shrunken globe, men can no longer live as strangers.
Adlai E. Stevenson
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