Vodou Aid, the charitable arm of the Roots Without End Society, has succeeded in sending nearly $400 to our community in Haiti last week. That brings to over $2000 the total amount we have raised and sent since the beginning of the year.
Vodou Aid feeds the people of our community in Jacmel. Please help! See:
Please do contribute! This is a no-magouille, no overhead operation. ALL THE MONEY goes to Haiti, except taht which Western Union takes to send it.
Last week we bought sacks and sacks of rice. This week we are buying animals and slaughtering, so our people can eat meat instead of just rice. Our house members, when they come to Haiti, buy and carry vitamins and other supplements for adults and children.
Great work!!
We send some 1,508 sacks of rice and 1,253 sacks of red beans last week as well.
It's sad that they're placing taxes on food donated to NGOs in Haiti at the border crossing.
We had been told that they weren't going to do such thing first hand, but once the trucks got pass the DR side they were stopped and taxed by the guards and officials on the Haitian side.
They took the tax in the form of sacks of rice and beans... We made sure not to let the drivers carry any money other than what was needed for the return tolls...
Sending aid other than cash to Haiti is a pain in the rear with all the problematic stalling by authorities.
We had planned to raise at least some 5,000 sacks of rice and 2,000 of corn flour for next month, but now are thinking of waiting for the Haitian gov be the one providing the guarantee that the loads won't be stopped and stripped for "taxes".
I along with several bizmen from Santiago came up with the idea when we had to give aid to the devastation left after the flooding last year. After some initial waiting, followed by more waiting; we decided that this time around we would skip the gov in Haiti and ship directly to the NGOs. As it turned out, all the promises made by the local Haitian authorities to the NGOs turned into smoke the minute the trucks arrived at the Haitian border crossing check point.
We work with a NGO with roots on UNICEF in the DR/Haiti (which was in charge of food distribution) and the Micro-loan's head manager of Dajabon-Ouanaminthe alike for preparation of the goods to be partitioned as needed to aid as many as possible.
The NGO in Haiti is under the auspices of the Jesuits and the Micro-loans are under Green-Tomorrow.
Good for you! I mean, I am sure the Jesuits are not going to distribute any food to Vodouisants except "unofficially", that is, to those members of their church who are Vodouisants but don't put it right in the Jesuits' faces. Those who do, well known Houngans, of course won't get a grain of rice, which is why we have http://vodouaid.org . We don't feed only Vodouisants, though, we feed everyone we can.
Those micro-loans can be a very good thing if properly administered, and I wish you all the best! I hope you are able to set up a network to channel cash to Haiti to be used for food. If you buy in truckloads in Port-au-Prince and try to drive them overland, you risk banditry, though.
::sigh::
It's all worth it, though, just to feed one little kid.
Good for you! I mean, I am sure the Jesuits are not going to distribute any food to Vodouisants except "unofficially", that is, to those members of their church who are Vodouisants but don't put it right in the Jesuits' faces. Those who do, well known Houngans, of course won't get a grain of rice, which is why we have http://vodouaid.org . We don't feed only Vodouisants, though, we feed everyone we can.
Those micro-loans can be a very good thing if properly administered, and I wish you all the best! I hope you are able to set up a network to channel cash to Haiti to be used for food. If you buy in truckloads in Port-au-Prince and try to drive them overland, you risk banditry, though.
::sigh::
It's all worth it, though, just to feed one little kid.
Peace and love,
Mambo Racine
Mambo Racine,
are you serious?! The Jesuits refuses to distribute food to the people just because they do not belong to their church?! What the hell is this?! Why are they playin favorites? Why are they causing division amongst the Haitian people? Aren't we all fighting against hunger?
My goodness! This makes me shake my head at the churches in Haiti...instead of trying to save the people, they are trying to save the likes of them...this is disgusting to hear!!!!...I need to sit down
Let's say USAID is giving away food. They give it in quantity, to places like churches that are supposed to wharehouse and distribute to all and sundry. Instead they distribute to their own members. Protestant churches in Haiti just LOVE to link up with a white folks church in the USA that sends stuff, boy, then they are in their glory! They preach that America is a country beloved of God, and that those Godly Americans are sending the food to the church folks so that those who are "an Kris" (in Christ) will survive and those who are not will starve, such is the will of God! I'm not making this up.
That is really sad...I would've expected more from the churches...it seems that the churches are comfortable in being dependable upon the US or maybe it is the US that wants Haiti to be dependable upon them...
But for those who do not know, God does not work that way...The Bible preaches that we should give to all, no matter what creed or color...
Sadly, it seems that the churches are doing the reverse... shame on them!:angry:
Hence, this is the exact reason why I am spectacle when it comes to donating to christian organizations....
Protestant churches in Haiti just LOVE to link up with a white folks church in the USA that sends stuff, boy, then they are in their glory! They preach that America is a country beloved of God, and that those Godly Americans are sending the food to the church folks so that those who are "an Kris" (in Christ) will survive and those who are not will starve, such is the will of God! I'm not making this up.
Yours,
Mambo Racine
Unfortuantely, some Haitians still have that "Blan se Bondye" mentality
