And this is Junio.
Hard to say which of these precious ones captured my heart today.. I have saved them up to share with you over the next few days.

Posted via email from Tash McGill

We set off this morning to travel only a few kilometres to an orphanage that AIM started working with just a short time ago. Yesterday they told us of when they first found the orphanage – they had served their last available food. One of the small boys was clutching a small container to his chest. They explained that he had saved half his meal for the next day, knowing that there was no food left.

The Son of God orphanage is being run by a pastor and his wife – they said it was never in their plan to open an orphanage but what else were they going to do? As recent as three days ago, they discovered another boy, Jean-Michel, living on the streets after both his parents were killed in the earthquake. Others are being taken in by the orphanage as their parents have no way of caring for them, providing for them.

Even in the least-affected areas of Port-Au-Prince there is rubble and trash lining the streets and the streets are full of people. Vendors are trying to resume business but for many the quake destroyed their businesses and source of income. The worst of this is that is breaks the economic cycle of an already devastated country. For those with no income, there is no way to purchase the food when you can find it.

Back to the children.. Junio caught my eye with his delicious smile. His joy at seeing his face reflected in the view screen of my camera was worth the shots he wanted me to take. Most of the children were slow to smile. The first shots they are so somber and serious, you realize that amidst whatever hope they have found, they are still grieving. They are marked with it. Then when I show them the moment captured in my lens, they break out into laughter and smiles. Then they are ready to really have their photo taken and the laughing and joy begins! With their friends, with their brother, with their teacher… whoever they can find. And I wish I had brought my snapshot printer with me, to give them something back.

The story is the same when we head out into the tent cities later in the afternoon. From behind tents made of donated tarps, sheets, towels, women's dresses these cherub faces come poking out with smiles and curiosity. For a moment I am lost in the hope that my presence means something to them.. that if I have taken their portrait that someone has seen them, someone has captured them.

We went to a local building site where the rubble of destroyed homes is being carted painfully slowly by wheelbarrow to become the foundation of a new building. Once there, the cinderblocks are broken apart by hand, using a hammer. To one side, a man breaks limestone rocks into tiny pieces – he is making gravel to sell.

We journey deeper into the village to see that many of the buildings have kept the first floor, while the second level collapsed in on itself or onto the street below. These houses are closed in by massive piles of rubble. Many are sleeping in donated or makeshift tents in the streets or on the rooftops.

The shantytown tent cities are row after row of tents and tarp, and they cover every available piece on land in Port-Au-Prince it seems. Feels like the only grass we have seen left untouched by the quake is the lawn in front of the destroyed Presidential Palace.
No one can account for the hygiene situation but the presence of a longdrop type hole in the back of one of the tent cities we walked through seemed to make sense. Everyone is thinking the same thing though – with thunderstorms predicted for the next week, we are in the height of the rainy season. With all that water and debris in the streets, the rivers and causeways are likely to become rivers of disease and ongoing disaster.

Mostly people simply took what they could from their homes and set up camp in the closest space of empty land. So a field becomes a village. Most seem to have their own committees leading them – looking after security and the like. Still, I wouldn't have liked to be walking their without our local guides, who seem to know many people and stop to shake hands frequently.

I think it's interesting that back home in NZ, so few pastors would know everybody in their neighbourhood, but these guys are really connected, so it makes sense that so many people are looking to them for help.

Enough for now. I'm looking out the window at a sunset that is beautiful. Which is enough reminder that there is still hope to be had for this city. I know that people are listening and want to help. We will make a way.

Posted via email from Tash McGill

Today driving through Haiti is like winding through a warzone.

There are so many questions raised in being there "after", things I wish I knew about before. But instead of before there is only now.

Now, the rubble is pushed back into piles just far enough off the road that the various vehicles can wind their way through. The debris of houses and buildings, some ok for return and others not, clings on hopelessly, pieces of concrete clutching at reinforcing steel, stairways hanging on a lean. Underneath the shaky verandahs, vendors have set up shop again outside the stores themselves. The road from the airport is lined with street merchant and vendors.

Then, once you begin to see the tent cities emerging from concrete dush and behind fences, they become almost all you can see. The van windows being knocked on by 12 or 13 year old kids begging for money or food.

Overwhelmingly for me, I'm struck by the economic crisis. Without jobs, there's little income with which to purchase whatever food products are available.
The distribution of food aid seems to be more of an issue than the supply of it. It's a lose-lose situation.

What isn't a lose-lose situation is the enthusiasm and passion of the AIM workers here. They are working hard to establish trustworthy Haitian leaders in the communities so as to help provide direct contact between groups who want to help and those who need it. Where there can be trust that funds and supplies aren't going to be lining someone's pockets instead of stomachs.

www;facebook.com/churchtochurch
www.adventures.org/churchtochurch

Today's Photo: When I have a chance I'll upload more photographs but for today.. on every street corner you see the Haitian people getting on with life amidst the rubble and remnants of before. I'm wrestling with the question of who will take responsibility for this – it seems unlikely that the government will take any action and local people want to see the UN move on.

Posted via email from Tash McGill

So here I am in San Diego – connecting with friends here before Marko, Ed Noble and I leave to head to Miami, to meet with the other team members. If you haven't yet – head to www.facebook.com/churchtochurch to meet them. I'm excited to spend some time with them both in Miami and Haiti.

ALSO – thanks for the tweets, DMs, Facebook messages and emails. I so appreciate them. Keep'em coming. It makes a huge difference to know that people at home do really care about what's going on in this story.

On the way here – as I wrote previously, I was remembering my trip to Fiji in 2004. I was lucky enough to be invited with a small team to visit a group of political prisoners, for want of a better description. They were elite soldiers that had been forced under threat of death and harm to their families to participate in the coup of 2000, under George Speight. They had been in prison since then, awaiting trial.

That's a long time to be in a dark, Victorian prison block in Suva. But one of the prisoners said to me, while reflecting on encountering hope in the darkest of moments in life – "I may be in prison, but the prison is not in me.".

When I read stories coming out of Haiti – there's something of a similar refrain.

Despite the devastation, for many the quake has brought a new sense of hopefulness and opportunity. An corrupt government that faced little prospect of reform was effectively destroyed.

But that hopefulness comes despite the ongoing suffering. Loss of income, loss of economy in an already economically-devastated area BUT there is opportunity for real people to connect with real people and for communities in NZ to work alongside communities in Haiti to rebuild.

They don't have to be churches, by the way. It could be a community of Twitterers, a group of radio show listeners.. whatever. I've been partnered with one particular church leader there – to learn his story in particular and to understand the needs from his perspective.

Meanwhile – read this from Marko's blog (www.whyismarko.com) regarding why the church is actually one of the most invaluable groups for people/NGOs and other organizations to invest in… I think he sums it up really well.

"adventures in missions (AIM) has created the isaiah 58 project (a.k.a. “church to church”), which partners churches in a one-on-one relationship with a haitian church. this strategy grew out of discussions and observations on our february trip, where it became clear to us that the haitian church is about the only existing indigenous infrastructure left in haiti at this time. and, with an amazing revival taking place in haiti, this is a wonderful time for the haitian church to provide leadership, community development, restoration, and various forms of assistance. but they could use help, of course. the church to church program provides a supportive, reciprocal relationship between churches and church leaders.

but i need to ask my wonderful blog community to give. i don’t do this very often. but this is a winner; and i want you to be a part of it with me.

we’re trying to raise $35,000 in the next couple weeks. every penny of that will go to haiti (not to central office administrative costs, or anything like that). the funds will primarily be used to pay the salaries of a few proven haitian church leaders who will be coming on staff with AIM to run the haitian side of the church to church program. they will provide the administration, accountability, communication and insight/oversight needed for a program like this. and, really, it’s pretty amazing to think that $35,000 could provide 3 decent salaries for 1 – 3 years! "

So there it is.. funding leadership and engaging with specific communities. Two specific opportunities and ways to be involved.

Please comment, write, make contact somehow if you have questions, thoughts, concerns, hopes.. dreams.

I'd love to see a group of NZers of all types, faiths, connections work together to do something meaningful and long-term in Haiti.

Posted via email from Tash McGill

http://www.dougpagittradio.com/NQRR/Previously/Entries/2010/5/23_May_23%2C_2010_Hour_2.html

Posted via email from Tash McGill