Update 1:
Made it to the airport, a bumpy journey and we realize now that even thought we haven’t took off, we’re already starting to miss the people and our daily routine for the last two weeks.

Update 2:
It’s been a rough couple of days! We left Port-au-Prince on the 9th and reached Santo Domingo later that day. We were supposed to catch a flight to New York the very next morning at 3am but we soon found out that all flights to New York were canceled due to the massive snowstorm there. And so we’ve been stuck in Santo Domingo ever since! We hope to get a flight to New York tonight, but even if we do, we might not get a flight out of New York until Sunday.

We’ve been trying to make the best out of the situation and have been sightseeing around Santo Domingo as we wait for our travel plans to be sorted out. Santo Domingo is a great city. It’s modern, clean and generally well organized. It’s amazing to think about the differences between Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince. Both cities are on the same island and yet one is a bustling metropolis and the other is a sad ruins. Even though we’re not yet back in North America, we can’t help but feel sadness at the disparity in living conditions we’ve witnessed. All of us keep thinking back to our time in Haiti, the experiences we had there and the people of Haiti that touched our lives forever. We’re eager to back to our lives in Canada but none of us plan to forget what we experienced here.

Update 3:
Stuck in New York – planes all been canceled due to the snow storm. Airport is crowded and hope everything is going okay with the sevadaars in Haiti.

Take care,
Team Jericho

Recently, we asked him a little bit more about how he was impacted by the earthquake.  He told us that his father died, that his house had crumbled and that he was now living with his mom and 2 other siblings in a makeshift camp.  We resolved at that moment to visit his camp.

We asked him where he lived and he told us that it was not too far from us.  We dropped him off at home that day and we got out and met his mom.  They were all living in an incredibly rundown part of town that was probably already miserably poor even before the earthquake.  The effects of the earthquake made that part of town all the more unlivable.

As we were talking to his mom, many others in the camp had gathered around us.  They told us that, as of yet, no outsiders had come to visit their camp.  Unfortunately, we had nothing at the time to give to them.  We gave them our thoughts and our prayers.  We told them the impact that their little boy had on us and that we all cared for him deeply.  Their response to us was very moving: “We thank you for coming here. We will sleep well tonight knowing that someone has come to visit us. We will pray for you so that you can continue on with your service to the people of Haiti.”

We left very touched by the entire experience.  We now plan to take meals back for the entire camp.  After sharing our experience with the Medical Team, they would also like to set up a clinic there for a day.  We’ll update you later on how all of that goes

Take Care,
Team Jericho

This may not seem like a big deal, but this is our first cold soda since we got here. It just makes you realize once again, that we have so much at home and there are so many things that we take for granted and don’t think twice about and even wasting. Everyone has thrown away a can of pop that they could not finish or if it goes flat – I know the group here will think twice before wasting any food or drink in the future.

Take Care,
Team Jericho

Even though our Medical Team, as doctors, have been around pain and suffering so many times before, they have encountered injuries that have left them puzzled and fully appreciative of the unique extent of the destruction caused by the earthquake last month.

Two of our Team Members left this morning and we were sad to see them go. On the bright side, we’re looking forward to the arrival of Team Kitsilano from Vancouver in 2 days and other volunteers from California!

Take Care,
Team Jericho

The usual setup is that we go to one location that has been scouted in advance and all of the meals are distributed there. The scouting team has a number of considerations in mind when deciding whether or not to approve a site for the distribution of meals. Chief among them is security. When determining security, many factors are important: whether the site is a closed environment (e.g. a church or an orphanage), number of people expected and the reputation of the area.

Yesterday was different. We did scout one area for distribution and it went well although only a quarter of our meals were ultimately distributed there. Word of our arrival was not adequately communicated to the people in that area. We scrambled to find a second location which also went well although we still had around half of our meals left at that point! At this point, our Haitian Police escort abandoned us even though we told them that we still had half our meals left to distribute. We pleaded with them and also with the United Nations Military Police but no one was willing to escort us. Although we were uneasy about pressing ahead without our security escort, we had no choice; the meals had to be distributed.

Finding people who are hungry in Port-au-Prince is not difficult. One of our Haitian volunteers took us out to the streets to hand out the rest of the meals. We stopped at one location and after we distributed a few meals, things got unruly. Things started out well with children lined up at the beginning of the line although that superficial order quickly fell apart. One crazed man went right up to our truck and began throwing the meals at some of our volunteers and also onto the ground. Without a security escort, we had no choice but to quickly leave that site as things were quickly becoming dangerous. We later found out that he was upset because we were delivering hot meals rather than raw goods that he and his associates could steal and then sell for a profit.
 
 

 
 
We still had a few hundred meals left at this point and one of the Haitians in our team guided us to the fourth and final site for the day. Right away we should have known that going to one of the major shantytowns in Port-au-Prince was not a good idea, especially without a security escort. I guess all of us were just tired and we wanted to go back to the camp and so we were not at our sharpest. Right away we were bombarded with hundreds of desperately poor Haitians who were literally fighting with each other for the meals. We felt sick at what was going on but we were helpless in our attempts to instil order. We saw old men steal meals from children, a woman steal a meal from a pregnant woman and many other shocking sights. Eventually, we distributed all of the meals and departed back to the camp without any serious problems.
 
 

 
 
We learnt a lot of lessons from yesterday. Mostly, we will strive to be better when it comes to scouting locations for the distribution of meals. We will never again head out to sites that pose any potential for danger. Lastly, we found out the crucial need for having a security escort in a country such as Haiti where law and order is not a given, especially at a time such as now.

We are not deterred from our mission here. We are not letting one bad experience ruin our mood and we are certain that today’s distribution will go well! We are heading to a UNICEF camp and have had satisfactory assurances about the security situation there.

Take Care,
Team Jericho

Haiti’s plight was enormous even before the earthquake battered its people.  Poverty was extreme; good governance was absent; effective planning was lacking and its people lacked access to basic services that we usually take for granted.  The earthquake has magnified all of those problems and the results have been catastrophic.  The price of food has skyrocketed and the distribution of food has also been seriously disrupted.  The destabilization in the food situation combined with the destabilization in the income of millions of Haitians has resulted in our mission here.  Many of us have been doing what we can to listen to and console the earthquake’s victims and yet we do not lose sight of the fact that our current mission is primarily about feeding those who are hungry and providing water to those who are desperate to quench their thirst.

Our team members here have all borne witness to events that they will remember for their rest of their lives.  Some of these events have shaken us deeply while other events have left us with faith that the resiliency of the Haitian people will see them through this dark period.

A short glimpse into Haiti’s agony was encountered right at the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.  A young boy, no more than 6 or 7 years old ran up to our van and before long we were skipping stones across the lake with him and trying to understand how he was personally affected by the earthquake.  He told us that his entire family had been killed and that he was alone and helpless.  We fed him and also provided him with a pillow and a blanket.  We did our best to flag down a UNICEF bus but it went by too fast and unfortunately we had to head on to Port-Au-Prince in the hopes that someone else would help this boy.  The frustration at how little we could do in that situation still frustrates us today.

Charles is a little boy who is 8 years old and he comes to our camp regularly.  He is let in by the United Nations Military Police who do not usually allow children into the area that we are located.  The Military Police let him in because they know that we are here to take care of him and to feed him.  Today we bathed him and brushed his teeth as well which he was really eager for.  After his bath, he even requested that we tie a dastar (turban) on him which he happily showcased to everyone he could find!  He also regularly participates in singing the keertan that is playing in the camp which we all find really inspirational.  He is getting very close to and comfortable with us and all of us will be sad to let him go when we leave from here.

Yesterday we took a tour around downtown Port-Au-Prince and witnessed some of the worst affected areas from the earthquake.  As we approached the Presidential Palace we saw a sight that spoke so tellingly to the state of Haiti’s government. The metaphor of a destructed crumbling palace coupled with the sight of Haiti’s people standing in the forefront against a gate that protected their once gleaming White House was enough to make one stop in awe. We spoke with some of these people to find out what they were feeling and how they were coping. We found one gentleman leaning against the gate who spoke English very well and when we asked how they were feeling he said, “It is like something is broken inside us that is still not right…”. Many around him had lost family members and loved ones, though his family had been spared. They were extremely appreciative of the global community’s aid and assistance during this traumatic time. We dug a little deeper and asked for their thoughts and feelings about their government. There is a pervasive mood of dismay and abandonment amongst the people of Haiti; they feel that the government does nothing to help the people but instead only help themselves. We asked the gentleman who was translating to convey a message that we as Sikhs and Canadians were here to help in any way we could and that we would also go back home and encourage our government to continue their aid to Haiti.

Down the road from us there is a makeshift hospital that we visit every day.  When visiting it yesterday to drop off lunch for the hospital’s children, we witnessed the birth of a baby boy right in front of our eyes.  The joy of the people at the birth of the child was stirring.  Our team members were moved to be able to hold the baby in our arms.  One of our team members did a short ardaas (prayer) that this newborn grow up and become a leader in growing Haiti and helping the people of his country.

There are many other stories and we hope to keep you all posted!

-Team Jericho

Take care,
Team Jericho

We dropped off the meal at the hospital at noon and witnessed many amazing sights and had the honour to meet a number of courageous doctors who were doing all they could do to alleviate the suffering around them.

Our daily routine also includes scouting locations for the distribution of the meals. Today, we received a tip of a slum that was located one hour outside of the international relief efforts and was therefore neglected by the other relief organizations.

We went to distribute the meal at 2pm and found the local Haitians to be very organized. Children received their meals first and were followed by older children and then adults.

The experience of distributing the food was extremely moving for all of us. We will provide an update with videos and pictures as soon as possible.

Beginning tomorrow we will take full seva of the langar as the group of volunteers/sevadars from Toronto are heading home. The days will become even busier but we will try our best to keep the sangat updated.

Take care,
Team Jericho

01/29/2010 – update 6
3.19pm PST – United Sikhs camp setup in Haiti is amazing. Things are going great and Team Jericho group is learning our way around the camp and kitchen. We’ve now started to make dinner for the old group and will be cooking the thousands of daily meals starting tomorrow. Sikh volunteer group from Toronto are doing amazing volunteer service.
Take care,
Team Jericho

01/29/2010 – update 5
1.24pm PST – Arrived at Port-au-Prince; at the United Sikhs relief mission. Wow the impact of the Earthquake is… we’re all just lost for words. This is a real eye opener. More detailed updates later.
Take care,
Team Jericho

01/29/2010 – update 4
4.47am PST – We’re near the Haitian border now; waiting to get supplies for our trip across. Drive from Santo Domingo took longer than expected (understatement). We spent the night in a hostel owned by Fransisco, our eyes and ears (and speaker) on the ground here. Anxious to get to Port-au-Prince.
Take care,
Team Jericho

01/28/2010 – update 3
5.51pm PST – Just arrived at the hostel, by the Haitian Border. All team members are doing great and in high spirits. Will be resting up here for the night and crossing the border into Haiti in the morning to reach our final destination, the United Sikhs base camp.
Take care,
Team Jericho

01/28/2010 – update 2
9.34am PST – Just arrived in Santa Domingo. Getting off the plane and meeting with the United Sikhs crew here to drive us to base camp.
Take care,
Team Jericho

01/28/2010 – update 1
Our first post! We’ve just arrived at JFK-NYC, waiting for our flight that will take us to Santo Domingo (and then a 7-10 hour drive to Port au Prince, Haiti). Everyone is in pretty high spirits, anxious, but excited to get on the ground and get to work.
We would like to thank our airline, JetBlue, who was incredibly helpful; they accepted all of our luggage and relief supplies, even suitcases weighing up to 97 lbs!

Okay, we will keep you posted on further developments.
Take care,
Team Jericho

Why I felt compelled to go on this mission:
I felt it was my duty as a Sikh of today’s generation to put into practice the great teachings of our Gurus of selfless service to all of humanity. I see the people of Haiti as our brothers and sisters and by helping them we are serving humanity in the way that Ten Gurus intended, in the true spirit of Sikhism.

Why I felt compelled to go on this mission:
I’m going to Haiti because sewa needs to be done; it is not good enough to help ourselves, we must also help those in other countries. I hope by helping the Haitian we will promote the common destiny of all humanity.

Why I felt compelled to go on this mission:
I’m going to Haiti because all of us are god’s children – regardless of caste, race, nationality or social status. The Haitian earthquake was a tragedy of untold proportions and it is the obligation of every Sikh to do what they can to help alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters no matter where they reside.

Why I felt compelled to go on this mission:
We are one another’s responsibility. The people of Haiti are in need of aid, relief, and love; the guru blessed each of us with the opportunity to go to these people and give of ourselves. I am honored to be of service and to fulfill my responsibility to my fellow people.

Why I felt compelled to go on this mission:
God has taught us that we are equal on this earth. In that case, our brothers and sisters are suffering in Haiti, first question that comes to mind is, “How can I help?” There is only so much we can do when we live miles away from Haiti other than donating food and money. I embraced the opportunity to travel to this disaster-stricken place to lend a helping hand, offer a shoulder to cry on and be that listening ear. I am grateful to my community and the United Sikhs for providing me with the platform to help on international borders.

Why I felt compelled to go on this mission:
Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s message to “recognize all human race as one” has always stuck with me as I have grown up. With this being said, I thought now was the time, if I don’t start now, I never will so I stepped up to this seva and feel privileged to be part of this great cause. We must set an example for future generations and this is the best way. I feel blessed to be able to go on this seva mission with a great group of like-minded individuals.