Today

A woman died last week from Cholera, leaving behind a daughter about 11 and a son probably 8 months. We found a family willing to take them in. I gave them money a couple of times so they could buy food. The baby got sick and the woman for reasons uknown to me would not take the baby to the hospital. I did not know the baby was sick until today. Addison (our Hatian director) told the woman to bring the baby to his house so his wife could take care of him until we found someone suitable to take him in. When she brought him over I took him from her and laid him on the bed. I noticed he was gasping for breath I called our friend Emory to get the contact info for a local pediatrician. By the time Emory called back (approx. 5 min) he had already passed away. It is times like these that are very difficult here. At first I want to blame myself because I didn't choose a good home for him. Then I realize it's not about me and God is in control. (Not that I can't learn from mistakes just that self focus is not what is needed right now). So we begin to plan on getting the body buried. I hire a local carpenter to build a coffin, send someone to pay the fee at the courthouse for a plot in the city cemetery and buy some burial clothes for the boy. The gravity starts to set in and I have to take a walk By the time I get halfway to the ocean I am sobbing asking God why. I call my wife so I can grieve in English for a while and start to head back. Addison comes to meet me halfway because he has run out of money for all the things he had to buy for the "funeral". I talk with him for a bit but the cemetery is closing soon so we have to get going. I get back to his house and realize they have bought a dress to bury him in and I can't let it go. I tell them if we are cleaning the body and building him a coffin to respect him we can't put him in girls clothes. They oblige the white guy and go get him an appropriate outfit. We put it on him, lay the body gently in the freshly made box and take it to the cemetery on the back of a motorcycle. When he first died I prayed that the Lord would "undo" it, heal him, bring him back to life. He said "he is with me" so I stopped.

How is it that I "share in his sufferings" and he rejoices as he welcomes this yet unnamed boy into His kingdom? My life remains a contradiction, but I'm content to share in His work.

Thanks for your prayer and support,

Brian

Pakistan

These are some of the children met the women are embroidering center have made clothes for. The one picture is of them in the clothing. The other one is the of us giving them their school uniform. It's 200 children that we are selling uniforms for. The other pictures are of what used to be a Hydro electric generator which supplies electricity to about 40 or 50 homes. We will be replacing these one at a time. It's a source of income for those who had the generator has their business and maintaining it and all the lines running to the homes. We are working on a regular basis in this community, searching out those affected by the flooding in meeting their needs on a personal basis.

We are continuing to care for our widows that we have built homes for and the man who was paralyzed in the earthquake. Supplying food for them and helping them with small startup businesses.

Cholera update and roadblocks

We have had no new cases of cholera reported yesterday or today. Although we have seen some relapsing. Many of those that have gone to the hospital to be cared for have been sent home after they have had a few IV bags and have been somewhat re hydrated. When they return home and the symptoms return they end up just as sick as they had been previously. We have continued to help those we find in need and are still giving purified water and hydration solution to all who need/want it. We 2went to Cap Haitian yesterday to help some doctors get out of the hospital they were stuck in because of the rioting that has been going on there. We had to navigate through a few roadblocks set up by protesters. It was an interesting day. It was encouraging that as we made our way north yesterday and explained to people that we had a nurse and medicine to help with cholera they let us through. Sometimes a little slower than others , but we made it through all of the blockades. Most Haitians I meet care about their fellow man so when given the opportunity to help most jump at the chance. We had a group of three that rode with us about half the way because they knew many of the people protesting so they helped us negotiate at some of our stops. They asked for nothing but i did pay them a little for their help. It is also difficult to see the response the protesters feel they have to give to combat injustice. One man in particular was beside himself with grief after losing a family member to cholera, he ran around with a baton yelling that he would let no one pass his blockade. When I explained to him that we were there to help he quickly let us by. On our way back through after we picked up the doctors I encountered the same man again who seemed to be in worse shape emotionally than he was the first time I saw him. He was still carrying a baton and wanted to fight with anyone who was willing. As he ran past me i tried to stop him to talk to him maybe console him try to show him someone cared. He was unwilling at the time and we needed to get on with the group anyway, but I am struck again by the hopelessness that so many feel and can't begin to imagine the position poverty puts them in. They are well aware that if a person with means gets cholera their chances of survival are great as opposed to the poor who die needlessly. That is some of what drives them to protest and at times become violent. When your whole life is spent looking up at despair the emotions sometime boil over. The work continues as we try to offer hope to those that are mostly forgotten. Thanks to all who are willing to engage with us as we crawl forward.

Brian

P.S. there was also a reporter with the group of doctors who was doing a story on their activities. I think you can find her report at Roanoke.com. If that's not right I know the paper is the Roanoke times so you can google it. Sorry this wasn't a well worded blog. I'm kinda just rambling a bit. The next one will be better, (i think).

Update

As of yesterday we had begun to see the amount of sick level off here in jubilee. UNICEF says they will have thier clinic open today, so hopefully we can direct people there. We had mostly children in the clinic yesterday. We were able to transport them to the hospital in the afternoon. We had an 8 month old on the back of a motorcycle with the mother holding the babywith one hand and the IV bag in the other. Sometimes that is the way it goes here. We were without a vehicle because one of the american teachers had a sudden tragic death in the family yesterday and needed to get back to the states so the truck was on its way to Port au Prince. We also had a baby born at the clinic yesterday. A woman in labor came on the back of a moped and said she was giving birth. Who was I to argue? So when our american nurse returned she helped the woman. Then 30 min later she was on the back of my motorcycle going back home with the baby. I drove as slow and smooth as Haitian roads will allow. We continue to help those whom we can and are giving a hydration solution in 5 gallons of water to all who want it. Each day has it's own challenges, victories and defeats. I take comfort in the fact that God is unchanging.

Brian

Cholera in Jubilee

Thanks to all who have helped financially with the cholera outbreak here in Gonaives. We have had close to 50 people that have come for medical help. Probably a quarter of them have needed IV fluids. Most are still very sick. We know of 13 in our community that have already died. With one of them being a student in the school here in Jubilee. We were able to send all of our patients to a hospital today that UNICEF is helping to respond. I am sure we will continue to get more sick in the next few days. We have been giving as many who want it purified water and a hydration solution to help with those who are sick or may become sick. We have sent someone into the community for the last two days with a megaphone to educate about how to prevent the spread of the disease. We have been handing out soap and hand sanitizer as we have had supplies. We feel encouraged that it has not been as bad as it potentially could be. After the first day we had 6 die and we thought the next day would be exponentially worse but we are hoping that it has leveled off here. Although we are not out of the woods yet we are optomistic that it will get better rather than worse. We will continue to educate people on how to prevent the disease and provide the best care possible to those already infected. Thank you all so very much for your support. I will try to update again soon.

Brian

Flooding in Gonaives

I have been in Port au Prince for the last two days. The rain has been heavy at times but there doesn't seem to be any flooding. Gonaives had started to flood but as I am writing this we got a report the rain has stopped and the water has gone down, but the potential for more rain and flooding is still high. Please continue to pray for our friends there. Please also do not forget about the flooding disaster in Pakistan which still continues to be a great hardship on the people there. I will update again when I have new info.

Thanks for all you do,

Brian

Our Clothing Project.

Women of our embroidery center in Jabber Gali are busy in sewing the garments for our clothing project for flood affected area of village Dobar. Below are few pictures of work progress.

Next week we are going to start our next project in village Dobar. In this project we will start our work on small hydro power generator. For more updates about this project please check the coming post.

Waheed Alam

Omaha Rapid Response

Pakistan

Connecting old disaster to new disaster

Above is the picture of our females embroidery center in Jabber Gali. We are going to use our best trained females to sew the clothing for the flood affected children of village Dobar.
In this way the earthquake affected community of Jabber Gali is now helping us to response to flood affected people of village Dobar.
We have already got the sizes of the children clothing and we are in the process of getting material from Lahore.

We also visited our on going projects in earthquake affected area.

We visited our home under construction in Shinkiari

We met with the widows families of our home building project. We responded to their immediate needs by installing new screen doors and screen for the windows. We also provided warm blankets for this up coming winter.
Our fruit trees are doing great. We had a great crop this summer. All the fruit has been picked from this tree. But this is representative of the size of our fruit trees, as you rememeber we planted ove 14,000 like this.

Making assessment of this widows home.
We have been working with widow's family for the last year. We are providing medical care to her son who is suffering with epilepsy. Her only daughter shown on the right has a polio and cannot walk.
We supplied a weeks worth of food to her family.

Waheed Alam
National Director
Pakistan

Visiting village Dobair

Village Dobair which has been divested by the recent flooding.
The flood water has swiped away 200 home killing more then 52 people. All the businesses, schools hospital and road has been completely gone.
We are coordinating our relief operation in this area for the last one month.
Recently we have visited area and met with the affected people and share our love and prayers. We have also received their request and assessed their needs.

Where once was a Vehicle Bridge.

VILLAGE ASSESSMENT

We are assessing the needs in this remote mountain village that was completely swept away by the recent flooding in Pakistan. Waheed and Mohammed Farid are standing in front of all that is left of the homes in this village. The needs there are more than you can possibly imagine. But God has a plan for each of these precious people. Please pray as we seek the heart of God for what he would have us do with our limited resources. I will be leaving to join them in Pakistan soon.

The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Please be in prayer.

Blessings
Ken

ORR 100 Mile Bike Ride - all Bikers Triumphed over the Road!

Omaha Rapid Response (ORR) hosted its first ever Bike Ride to relieve suffering September 11th, 2010. The initially began with my son Isaac (8 years old) who wanted to ride a 100 mile bike ride on his bike this year. Joanie and I have been involved in Omaha Rapid Response for years and asked Isaac what he thought about making the ride a fund raising event ORR. Isaac loved the idea, and so the training began.

Isaac rode over 324 miles this summer during his training for the ORR 100 mile Bike Ride. His brother Caleb (7 years old) decided that while could not ride a 100 miles, he wanted to ride as far as he could to help raise money for ORR.

Rich McGinness, TJ Enst and Mike Hall, Isaac and Caleb’s grandfather also joined the ride. The ride began at 6:05 am on September 11th, 2010.

The terrorist attack on 9/11/2001 was the first disaster Omaha Rapid Response responded to shortly after its founding. Since then ORR has responded to natural and manmade disasters all over the world. From helping clear tree limbs after tornadoes in Omaha to hurricane relief on the gulf coast, to ORR’s ongoing relief efforts in Pakistan and Haiti, ORR has been helping people all over the world. It seemed only fitting to host this bike ride on 9/11 as a way to commemorate our inaugural response and also to honor those lost on 9/11.

The ride began early in the morning at 6:05 am. For 100 miles we pedaled from Ashland to Greenwood, and Waverly. We then proceeded through a corner of Lincoln up through Ceresco and Wahoo. We continued on from Cedar bluffs down through Mead, Memphis and finally back from Ashland.

We were met along the way by their support team and well wishers cheering them on. Joanie and my mom, Susan Hall, and Jill Borgelt provided sag support for the team providing them with water, Gatorade and snacks at various points along the way.
Janet Klein, Susan Hall, Jill Borgelt and Debbie Smith prepared a meal for everyone at the conclusion of the ride.

Here is a list of all the riders and their mileages:

TJ Ernst – 100 Miles
Aaron Hall – 100 miles
Caleb Hall – 18 miles
Isaac Hall – 100 miles
Mike Hall – 100 Miles
Rich McGinness – 100 Miles

I am so proud over everyone involved, our riders, our support team and our donors. And many of these fit into more than one category. I can’t thank you all enough, you all made this a huge success! From the bottom of my heart, Thanks!

On a personal note I am not sure what is sweeter, that joy of watching my boys train and work hard, building character throughout this process, or being able to also do this with my dad, Mike Hall. Three generations of us. Glory be to God for all that He has done!

-- Aaron L. Hall

Village Dobair

Village Dobair is situated about 200 Km from Mansehra ( our working District).
This village once considers to be beautiful and charming picnic spots and people use to visit this village for enjoying the rushing blue water river which passes in the middle of the village.
(File Photo of Village Dobair)

Due to recent flooding in Pakistan the village Dobair has also been badly ruined by the flooded river. More then 300 houses has completely swept away with many commercial shops and hotels.
(Recent Picture of Village Dobair)

We have completed our assessment in this village and planning to lunch our relief activity on the arrival Sir Ken. His schedule flight to Pakistan is on 13th of this month.
We are thankful for you support and prayers.

Omaha Rapid Response Team
Pakistan

SRI LANKA

Brian Smith our director of operations in Haiti is currently in Sri Lanka with Samanga Amarasinghe who is part of our ORR family. They are seeking the heart of God in regards what He wants to do in that country.
ORR worked in Sri Lanka following the 2005 tsunami and Samanga is from Sri Lanka.


Please keep them in your prayers.

Blessings
Ken

Road clean-up in pictures

Responding to Unprecedented Disaster of Century.

ORR Pakistan team is busy to response the flood catastrophe in the affected area.
We have cleared the road from landslides in our working area and become successful to provide road access to more than 150 villages of the area.
We have observed the impact of this activity in term of transportation of food supply in the area and making the food prices down. People able to transfer the sick people to hospital in the city area for needed medical help.

We have also made an assessment in Village Dobar, District Khohistan . This village has been badly effected by the flooded river and almost all houses has been swept away. More than 40 people died in this village and made the remaining to live under open sky.

We are working on our plan of action to help the survival of village Dubar. This is the story of only one village and there are hundreds of other villages, towns and cites that have been divested and affecting more then 20 million people.

So numbers of people suffering this massive flood are more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

According to latest information more than 1.2 million home have been demolished and crops over hundreds of thousands of acres have destroyed. Live stock and food storages have been washed away. The magnitude of the tragedy is so immense that it is hard to assess.

Lot of help is needed to build the life of these suffering people and give them hope.
We request you to donate generously to Omaha Rapid Response for Pakistan flood relief.

Waheed Alam
National Director.
Omaha Rapid Response
Pakistan

Training for ORR Bike Ride... Asphalt Exfoliation. (Updated 8/25)

Five hours of sleep and then time to get up for a long bike ride. We were training for the ORR 100 mile bike ride to raise money for ORR. The money will be spent between our ongoing Haiti operatons and relief efforts aimed at helping the flood victiums in Pakistan.

My dad joined Isaac and I on what we were planning on being a 80 mile training bike ride. I towed Kailey in the bike trailer. She has been needing some extra daddy time, so I thought it would be a good way for us to spend some time together. When I woke her up Saturday morning and told her she was coming with us, her eyes lit up.

We left from our house about 8:00am after a few delays getting started. First we rode toward Lincoln. Isaac was ridding phenomenally, we were averaging about 13 miles per hour. Once we got to Lincoln we turned north on HWY 77.

About 4 miles south of Wahoo, 40 miles into our ride Isaac and I’s handlebars became caught and we wrecked. It was a pretty bad wreck. Dad got mixed up in it too, but somehow he came free without going down.. Kailey was not hurt, but both Isaac and I went down. When my dad asked Kailey if she was alright, she said “I got really freaked out!”

Isaac and I both took road rash and our bikes got beat up a bit. Laying on the asphalt crying and bleeding the first thing out of his mouth was “I don’t want to end the ride this way, I want to finish the ride.” Dad called Joan to pick us up. Luckily she was close by as she was going to meet us for lunch in Wahoo.

We had pretty much decided to call it a day when Isaac said that he really wanted to continue. Since hour injuries were mainly superficial, we decided to at least continue on to Wahoo for lunch. I asked Isaac what he thought about the rest of the day. He said he wanted to finish the whole ride. So, sweat soaked and bleeding we continued on and rode another 50 miles in 90+ degree heat for a totally of a 90 mile bike ride. I did not tow Kailey past the 40 mile mark due to muscle fatigue and the wreck. Pulling 50 extra pounds puts a lot of strain on your quads and your "glutes".

About the 75 mile mark it was getting really hot and we were all feeling wore out. About the time we were trying to decide if we needed to call in help, we saw a center pivot irrigation sprinkler wattering a field. The sprinkler end was close to the road and some of the water was actually goin into out of the road. We quickly diteched ur bikes in the grass and stood in the sprinkler for about 10 minutes. It was wonderfull. It cooled us off and refreshed us. We were soaked and loving it. Thank God for that sprinkler, it helped us finish the ride.

To say that I am proud of Isaac for his courage and determination, would be an understatement. He has the lion of Judah in his heart. I would have totally fine with calling at day, there is no shame in that. But for him to keep ridding and finish a 90 mile bike ride, that is awesome. Thank you God for keeping us from serious injury and helping us to be able to finish the ride.

So, it was a little crazy and a little scary at time, but all in all God kept us safe and we overcame to ride another day.

- Aaron Hall

Friends & Family

I arrived in Haiti this morning to continue the work that ORR is doing in Gonaives. I was picked up at the airport, ran a few errands in Port au Prince and headed north. As I talked with friends on the drive I couldn't stop thinking about Pakistan and what my friends are going through.

The disaster here in Haiti is far enough removed that people are beginning to get a handle on what life looks like for them. Not good or easy for most but finding some sense of normalcy (at least normal for Haiti). The disaster in Pakistan is still going on as I write this. People are homeless, hungry and desperate for relief. I wonder what our response will look like. As i drove to Gonaives today we talked about what our response to suffering is and what do we see as legitimate need. I believe it has more to do with our connection to those that are suffering than it does some arbitrary criteria we attach to it. If we see them as friends we may do something. If we see them as family we drop everything to focus on helping them through this crisis. How do I/we think of them? What should my/our response be. I will pray and maybe I will go. What will you do?

Brian

Flood Ravage North West Pakistan.

Pakistani Nation is facing the history worse flood devastation caused by heavy monsoon rains.
Thousands have died and more then 2.5 million people have been displaced.
The flood destroyed crops, homes, communication lines, roads, and bridges, making access to remote areas even more difficult.

Survivors are also threatened by waterborne disease from contaminated wells and widespread flood waters.
Flood survivors, already in turmoil due to fighting between the Pakistani government and insurgents, are now struggling to find shelter, food, clean drinking water, and emergency medical supplies.


The death tolls in the flood is unrecoverable but we can help the survival who are looking for our help.
It is now our opportunity to serve the survival and build their life back.
As most of you know that we working in the same area since 2005 for our recovery efforts for earthquake victims.
Last year we successfully responded the Swat war victims and now God is calling us again to share the suffering of deadly flood survival. I request you for your prayers and support for giving hope who are in the modest of crises.

The Omaha Rapid Response Pakistan team is fully prepare to respond this catastrophe
You can Help! Your donation through this Gift That Gives More funds emergency aid in response to this Disaster.


Waheed Alam
Operational Director
Omaha Rapid Response
Pakistan

Getting Ready to Say Good-bye

As I sit down to write our final blog, I seem to be at a loss for words. Not because there are not stories to tell or songs to share, but because there are no words to adequately capture the hearts and lives of the people we have grown to love in Haiti. But I will do my best to share a glimpse of my heart as our team prepares to say goodbye and head back home.

Two weeks ago, our first team arrived in Haiti; filled with excitement and energy to love and serve the Haitian people. From our pre-trip training, we knew not to have any set expectations. Although we knew this, I think most of us had expectations in the back of our minds we hoped would be met. After only a day, however, any of our expectations were put to rest. When our plane landed in Port-u-Prince, we all piled into cars and began the 3-hour journey to Gonaives. Along the ride, we saw poverty beyond anything we could have imagined and immediately the questions of “Why does God allow this?” began. Yet this was only the beginning of our questions.

Once we arrived in Gonaives and began working in the neighborhood of Jubilee, no longer was the poverty just something we saw from the car window, but it was life for our new friends. And as we poured into the lives of those around us, we started to hear story after story of the suffering and pain which have been so deeply woven into their lives. We met a widow who is raising 5 kids on her own. We met orphaned children with only the clothes on their back and no place to rest their head. We met men aching for mentorship and women desiring to be treasured. Yet most importantly, we met God in each and every person, and each and every story. Although they are living amongst suffering and heartache, the people of Haiti persevere each day; overflowing with laughter and joy that can only be best described as contagious.

It was this laughter and joy that carried our team through the first week and met the second team when they arrived. Once again, the community of Jubilee welcomed us with open hearts. This week we shared in the joy of finishing the widow’s house by helping her family move and get settled. We sang at the top of our lungs in Creole as we led Vacation Bible School for the children of Jubilee. Many of us were stretched as we helped run a medical clinic acting as pharmacists and nurses’ assistants alongside the Pakistan Military. We loved seeing the English students grasp our teaching of the English language from days of the week to basic greetings. And we were blessed to share dinner with a local pastor and hear how God is working in Haiti.

But nothing will compare to the precious time we were able to spend building relationships with the people of Jubilee; people who will leave eternal imprints on our hearts. We will always remember how God provided ways to overcome our language barriers to build intentional relationships. We will never forget the smiles and outstretched arms of the children as they ran to us each morning or the desire in their eyes to just be held. These are the memories we can’t check off a list or say we built with our hands. But these are the memories we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

So as we get ready to leave, we thank everyone for the prayers and support over these last two weeks. At some point during the trip, each of us have come to the end of ourselves and relied on God’s strength alone to get us through the day. For only when we come to the end of us, do we truly see God’s heart and his love for the people of Haiti.

Blessings,
Sarah

Half-Way Point

Today was probably the most physically demanding day of our trip yet, and as I write this blog, I am the only one still up. However, it was just too good of a day to not blog about it, so here I am.

On a week-long trip, Wednesday can be the mid-week rut. So today was a little more relaxed, which was good as the heat hit everyone on the team pretty hard. The slower pace ended up giving us a better chance to have more time with fewer people, which was awesome. The day started out with soccer. We intended to have a match between Haitian young adults/teens and the Omaha team. However, only Mike was brave enough to take them on, and he only lasted about 20 minutes in the heat. The rest of us played soccer with the littler kids, who were a much better match for us skill-wise!

Not being much of a kid-person by nature, I’ve been amazed at how God is breaking my heart and letting them in. Today I met three girls. One I never did get the name of as she was really little and very hard to understand. However, she latched onto me first thing in the morning and was quite the cuddle bug! She left for a while but came back that afternoon, again glued to my side. It shocks me how much she likes me as she needs so much and I don’t have much to give her, but when she sighed, relaxed, and laid her head on my shoulder, the heat became less noticeable and I thought I could hold her all day.

The rest of the morning we spent time in the neighborhood – playing with kids and getting to know both children and adults. I also met Michelline and Cassagna. After playing with them for a while, I asked them if they would take me to their homes. Two GAMe people and Brian & Cody came with. We first went to MIchelline’s house, and the 10 people sitting in her front yard where shocked to see the “blanc’s” come around the corner. I learned Michelline lived with her older sister as her parents had both died. The sister was 22, taking care of 5 younger siblings, her own child, and was pregnant with another. The father died about a month after she became pregnant, so there was no income. I stood in amazement that 7 (soon to be 8) people lived in a house smaller than my bedroom. I was also amazed at how gracious the woman was and how happy she was to have us as visitors – even when she realized we weren’t there to give her anything. When we left, Michelline’s face was beaming with happiness that we came to visit her house.

Next was Cassagna’s house. She lived with 7 relatives in a two room house. They even had a yard with a full fence. Again, the family was slightly shocked when we strolled up, but they too were gracious, offering us a place to sit in the shade and quite willing to open up about their lives. The mother asked to have her picture taken with me and proudly laughed at her daughter when she excitedly asked if she could come back with us to play at the building. When we left, Cassagna’s face beamed too.

After lunch we went back to the building and hosted a VBS while a few team members went to work on the house ORR has been building. VBS was a touch chaotic and the kids didn’t always get the rules to the games we played, but they sure did have fun – especially with “Cow, Cow, Goat”…a substitution as the kids don’t know what a goose is.

The days can be long and hot. The kids can be overwhelming with their enthusiasm. Sometimes I focus on the dirt, strange smells or germs. And then I think, I’m tired – I don’t want to hold another child. I just want a shower, a cold Coke, and a nap. But, these kids and their families aren’t just nameless faces. I don’t totally why a little attention from me in the form of a piggyback ride, letting them wear my sunglasses, or visiting their homes means so much. However, as each of these kids finds their way into my heart, and as I start to get a slight grasp on how much God loves them (which, by the way, is far beyond anything I could comprehend), I find that all I can do is smile, bend down for yet another piggyback ride &/or photo, and keep going. I can only imagine that doing work in Haiti is painstakingly slow, especially when you approach people as individuals and not numbers. The patience of this organization is hard to believe, but I can see it in the faces of the people we meet that they trust the ORR people. That trust takes a long time to build, but it’s so important in both sharing God’s love and empowering people.

This trip is stretching me far outside of my comfort zone – but despite of some difficulties or discomforts, I am so glad I’m here.

Crystal