U.S. military aboard the USS IWO JIMA and partnering nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) provided aid to the people of Haiti. There were two towns that were the focal points of these services, Port-De Paix and Saint Louis De Nord. US partners constructed medical, veterinary, and engineering sites throughout the two cities. The scene was very diverse and dynamic.
First Day Out-Community Relation Project
Port De Paix, Haiti
As the Landing Craft Unit arrived ashore, we saw many Haitians standing in rows to watch the sight of hundreds of American military, NGOs, and partners offload onto their seashore. The people of Haiti seemed intrigued when they first saw us. We were so happy to be in Haiti even though we had to wade up to our waist in contaminated water to get there. The sight was overwhelming with beautiful mountains of luscious greenery in the backdrop, and various piles of trash below your feet as you walked closer toward the UN compound.
We had finally arrived in Haiti- it was quite an experience! After spending nights aboard the ship we fluttered with excitement to see these wonderful people and to have the opportunity to restore their hospital the L'Hopital Immaculee Conception De Port De Paix. We caught a brightly colored bus and bounced along to the hospital site. We were given a unique opportunity to work side by side with Naval shipmates to paint and clean a popular town hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital we noticed how busy the worksite was, with military building, cleaning, and preparing materials. The Haitian people watched from all around. Little children played in the streets and in the hillside.
The time had come, after our briefing we suited up in a loaned doctor’s coat to prepare for our painting experience. We grabbed our paint and brushes and set ahead to climb the rooftop of the hospital. Of course, we would climb onto the roof, why would we not? As a team we launched a full paint attack, a couple of us on the ledge to get the walls and others on the side of the roof for efficiency. Looking down from the ledge’s side, a navy man says “well if you fall aim for the table”, we share a laugh. It was funny to think man, you better not slip on one of these tree nuts or you are history girl. Soon after we realized that the paint would not take in some places on the side, we decided it would be wise to get back to the main rooftop.
We moved from the roof to paint inside each of the rooms of the hospital. Under the lab coats we were cooking, but the marines made sure that we drank plenty of water. We took turns painting the rooms, everyone pitched in to complete the effort. We finished up the painting and started to clean up the area. Our hands, glasses, pants, and cameras were covered in green and white paint, which came off nicely when we utilized our deet lotion as paint removal.
Children started to come closer to the hospital and play with the soldiers. Even during our lunch break a soccer game erupted. The children were wonderfully entertaining with their soccer skills and smiles. Many of the children bested the marines, which was quite entertaining as well.
As the day came to a close, we sat with several Navy members on the steps of a church next to the hospital site. Looking around at the city, we could not believe that we had finally made it to Haiti and how wonderful it was to be there. The people are in such need, but they smile. Their resources are scarce, yet they are resourceful. We knew that we had a great deal to learn from these people and that we would be back someday in the future.
Second Day Out-First Give a Kid a Backpack Project
Saint Louis De Nord, Haiti
The day had finally arrived for the backpack ladies on the ship to exercise their mission. We were so excited to be fulfilling a project. We arrived ashore the same way as the day before, but this time with a specific purpose in mind. We jumped onto another brightly colored bus and bumped along the streets for a couple of hours till we reached a missionary called the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. We had a blast passing out a total of 128 pairs of brand new shoes, 105 different styles of backpacks, as well as a few baseball caps and toy cars. The donation from a partner Brazilian company had a great impact on these friendly and warm people. One lady came with no shoes and left with a pair of sandals. Seeing her walk around afterward was wonderful.
All the children were ecstatic to see all the items we brought for them. After they received their gift they all began to sing to us in Creole. Their amazing voices filled us with joy and reminded us of the meaning of simple happiness. The Northwest Haiti Christian Mission is an amazing place for Haitians to receive help. Some of the services which are being provided are meals, maternity care, eye check-ups, surgery, and pharmacy. They also have an orphanage for children under the age of 5 and some senior living quarters for their elderly. Haiti is one of the poorest countries we have ever seen; however the people are slowly beginning to rebuild their community. Our time is Haiti was brief, but thankfully Give a Kid a Backpack was there and we left with new friendships and wonderful memories.
Please read how a new friend was touched by his experience with Give a Kid a Backpack in Haiti:
“On august 1, 2010 I was afforded the opportunity to go out with two members, Kari Williams and Janinatt Viteri, of the “Give a Kid a Backpack” organization to distribute shoes and backpacks to children and young adults at the Northwest Haitian Christian Mission in St. Louis De Nord, Haiti. After getting to the mission and setting up to distribute the bags and shoes we were swarmed with children and young adults of all ages that happily and graciously received the items we had to hand out. This was especially touching to me because it reminded me of the humanitarian drops that I did as an Army Civil Affairs team leader in Afghanistan. After all the backpacks, shoes, and a few hats and toys were handed out one of the young Haitian men gave us a tour of the mission where we met elderly people that greeted us with open arms and smiles, as well as numerous babies and infants that we had the chance to hold and play with. Overall the day was a great success, and I feel that we touched the lives of all of the people we came in contact with. I was so happy to be a part of all of it and hope that I will have the chance to work with the “Give a Kid a Backpack” organization in the future.” Casey McCausland, former Army Captain new GKB volunteer and friend.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Continuing a Promise in 2010….
Sunday July 25, 2010,
Give a Kid a Backpack’s (GKB)
Continuing a Promise in 2010….
About the mission:
“Continuing Promise is an annual humanitarian civic assistant
operation supported by U.S. and international military medical
personnel, U.S. government agencies, regional health ministries,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and U.S. academic institutions.
The relationships which are built amongst our partners help to preserve
peace and stability with Central and South America and the Caribbean
region.” (USS IWO JIMA, 2010).
Our passion:
No matter where we live, obtaining an education is very important.
Education is structured to teach us how to read, write, and calculate.
Education challenges a child so that they can be well prepared for
society. In the U.S. we are very privileged to be provided with a free
education. In certain parts of the world, children are not able to
attend school because most families cannot afford entry fees and/or school supplies. In some cases, families choose not to promote education to their children because they need additional income by allowing their children to work.
On July 19th 2010, two GKB volunteers, Janina Viteri and Kari Williams, embarked on a fascinating humanitarian trip on behalf of “Give a Kid a Backpack”. The entire trip lasts for a total duration of 4 months! GKB is joining forces with the U.S. military on a special mission called Continuing Promise. GKB is thankful to our donors and volunteers, to have the opportunity to distribute 4,000 backpacks filled with school supplies between Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, and Colombia.
Since July 20th, we have been adjusting to the way of life aboard a Naval vessel. As civilians, sometimes it is difficult to imagine what our military experience every day. We have been given a window into the lives of all of our branches of military on the ship, U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, as well as the U.S. Public Health Service, and Department of State. As we grow in our understanding, we see more similarities amongst all of the partners aboard the USS IWO JIMA. We are excited to learn from all of the fascinating and experienced players in this grand collaborative mission. Never have we been a part of such an impressive and inclusive operation! We are looking forward to our upcoming project in Haiti, where we will be distributing shoes and bags to the amazing people who need our help and support.
For those of you interested in knowing a little more about our experience so far on board the USS IWO JIMA:
We share most of the ship as if we were in the military. There is a respect level that I have not experienced before during missions, as the military utilizes a code of courtesy. Our living quarters resemble bunk beds- in the military they are referred to as racks. They are quite cozy once you get used to them. As expected everything is on a particular schedule, which allows an organized approach for coordinating efforts. As we wait to finalize our mission in Haiti, we have been focusing on getting settled and helping out where we can. Having seen our helicopters take off the flight deck with ocean surrounding the ship, we realized…..we are not in Orlando anymore!
More from Haiti soon,
Janina & Kari
Give a Kid a Backpack’s (GKB)
Continuing a Promise in 2010….
About the mission:
“Continuing Promise is an annual humanitarian civic assistant
operation supported by U.S. and international military medical
personnel, U.S. government agencies, regional health ministries,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and U.S. academic institutions.
The relationships which are built amongst our partners help to preserve
peace and stability with Central and South America and the Caribbean
region.” (USS IWO JIMA, 2010).
Our passion:
No matter where we live, obtaining an education is very important.
Education is structured to teach us how to read, write, and calculate.
Education challenges a child so that they can be well prepared for
society. In the U.S. we are very privileged to be provided with a free
education. In certain parts of the world, children are not able to
attend school because most families cannot afford entry fees and/or school supplies. In some cases, families choose not to promote education to their children because they need additional income by allowing their children to work.
On July 19th 2010, two GKB volunteers, Janina Viteri and Kari Williams, embarked on a fascinating humanitarian trip on behalf of “Give a Kid a Backpack”. The entire trip lasts for a total duration of 4 months! GKB is joining forces with the U.S. military on a special mission called Continuing Promise. GKB is thankful to our donors and volunteers, to have the opportunity to distribute 4,000 backpacks filled with school supplies between Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, and Colombia.
Since July 20th, we have been adjusting to the way of life aboard a Naval vessel. As civilians, sometimes it is difficult to imagine what our military experience every day. We have been given a window into the lives of all of our branches of military on the ship, U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, as well as the U.S. Public Health Service, and Department of State. As we grow in our understanding, we see more similarities amongst all of the partners aboard the USS IWO JIMA. We are excited to learn from all of the fascinating and experienced players in this grand collaborative mission. Never have we been a part of such an impressive and inclusive operation! We are looking forward to our upcoming project in Haiti, where we will be distributing shoes and bags to the amazing people who need our help and support.
For those of you interested in knowing a little more about our experience so far on board the USS IWO JIMA:
We share most of the ship as if we were in the military. There is a respect level that I have not experienced before during missions, as the military utilizes a code of courtesy. Our living quarters resemble bunk beds- in the military they are referred to as racks. They are quite cozy once you get used to them. As expected everything is on a particular schedule, which allows an organized approach for coordinating efforts. As we wait to finalize our mission in Haiti, we have been focusing on getting settled and helping out where we can. Having seen our helicopters take off the flight deck with ocean surrounding the ship, we realized…..we are not in Orlando anymore!
More from Haiti soon,
Janina & Kari
Monday, May 10, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Local Volunteer Traveling to Middle East
Local Volunteer Traveling to Middle East
Give a Kid a Backpack Volunteer Chosen for Rotary International Exchange
(Orange County, Fl) (April 27, 2010) –Rotary Foundation has selected five young professionals from the Central Florida region to participate in a group study exchange program in Israel. In four to six weeks, each team member will experience Israel’s culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.
Kari Williams, a veteran Give a Kid a Backpack volunteer will be shadowing local Israeli nonprofits as part of this cultural and vocational exchange. “It has been fascinating to volunteer and bring educational materials to Nicaragua, Honduras, and Central Florida. I am blessed to have these experiences. More individuals should pursue these international opportunities through Give a Kid a Backpack and the Rotary Foundation”, states Kari Williams.
The team leaves May 9th and returns June 10th.
Central Florida Israel Exchange Team
Nicole Gelfert, Lindsay Hodges, Kristin Winer, Jon Thomas, Kari Williams
“This is a great way to build relationships and understanding overseas and I am excited to follow the teams experience”, Rosanna Kingston, President Give a Kid a Backpack.
Individuals interested in following the team should visit the website followusinisrael.com.
# # #
Give a Kid a Backpack is tax deductible 501(C) (3) nonprofit organization that works towards enriching the lives of impoverished children around the world with backpacks filled with school supplies through the partnership with individuals, organizations, and other nonprofits. For more information, visit http://giveakidabackpack.org.
Give a Kid a Backpack Volunteer Chosen for Rotary International Exchange
(Orange County, Fl) (April 27, 2010) –Rotary Foundation has selected five young professionals from the Central Florida region to participate in a group study exchange program in Israel. In four to six weeks, each team member will experience Israel’s culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.
Kari Williams, a veteran Give a Kid a Backpack volunteer will be shadowing local Israeli nonprofits as part of this cultural and vocational exchange. “It has been fascinating to volunteer and bring educational materials to Nicaragua, Honduras, and Central Florida. I am blessed to have these experiences. More individuals should pursue these international opportunities through Give a Kid a Backpack and the Rotary Foundation”, states Kari Williams.
The team leaves May 9th and returns June 10th.
Central Florida Israel Exchange Team
Nicole Gelfert, Lindsay Hodges, Kristin Winer, Jon Thomas, Kari Williams
“This is a great way to build relationships and understanding overseas and I am excited to follow the teams experience”, Rosanna Kingston, President Give a Kid a Backpack.
Individuals interested in following the team should visit the website followusinisrael.com.
# # #
Give a Kid a Backpack is tax deductible 501(C) (3) nonprofit organization that works towards enriching the lives of impoverished children around the world with backpacks filled with school supplies through the partnership with individuals, organizations, and other nonprofits. For more information, visit http://giveakidabackpack.org.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Volunteer Open House
Volunteer Open House
May 12 & 15 2010
8018 Sunport Drive Suite 206
Orlando, FL 32809
9am-1pm
RSVP 877-452-7225
Recycle with Give a Kid a Backpack
Announcing the Clean Out for Kids Campaign
Kick Off Earth Day
Lead Partners: Orange and Lake County Public Schools
(Orange County, Fl) (April 19, 2010) - The Give a Kid a Backpack organization is proud to announce its county-wide recycling drive, the Clean Out for Kids Campaign.
The recycling campaign will focus on collecting and distributing reusable school supplies within schools to provide needed materials to local and international children. The campaign will kick-off on Earth Day April 22, 2010.
As of today the campaign will include eighty four schools participating throughout Lake and Orange counties.
Last school year, twenty five schools collected over 2800 pounds of reusable school supplies. Volunteers cleaned, sorted and repackaged these school supplies for children in need. Give a Kid a Backpack goals is to collect over 7000 lbs. of reusable supplies.
Summer Volunteer Operation Schedule
June 14-July 18
Wed 10am-3pm
Thurs 10am-3pm
Friday 10am-3pm
Saturday 3rd Saturday of the Month
Location: 8018 Sunport Drive Suite 206
Orlando, FL 32809
May 12 & 15 2010
8018 Sunport Drive Suite 206
Orlando, FL 32809
9am-1pm
RSVP 877-452-7225
Recycle with Give a Kid a Backpack
Announcing the Clean Out for Kids Campaign
Kick Off Earth Day
Lead Partners: Orange and Lake County Public Schools
(Orange County, Fl) (April 19, 2010) - The Give a Kid a Backpack organization is proud to announce its county-wide recycling drive, the Clean Out for Kids Campaign.
The recycling campaign will focus on collecting and distributing reusable school supplies within schools to provide needed materials to local and international children. The campaign will kick-off on Earth Day April 22, 2010.
As of today the campaign will include eighty four schools participating throughout Lake and Orange counties.
Last school year, twenty five schools collected over 2800 pounds of reusable school supplies. Volunteers cleaned, sorted and repackaged these school supplies for children in need. Give a Kid a Backpack goals is to collect over 7000 lbs. of reusable supplies.
Summer Volunteer Operation Schedule
June 14-July 18
Wed 10am-3pm
Thurs 10am-3pm
Friday 10am-3pm
Saturday 3rd Saturday of the Month
Location: 8018 Sunport Drive Suite 206
Orlando, FL 32809
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