Grassroots relief mission to Haiti

In support of another grassroots mission, ive been working on a fundraiser through my paintball site. I reactivated it after five years, and now im trying to get the word out.

press release to paintball industry http://www.stockclasspaintball.com/scpcares/Aimpressrelease.html

fund-raising page with prizes http://stockclasspaintball.com/aimfundraiser.shtml

I am hopefull that the group im trying to raise funds for will be able to hook up with the group that Svrex and Cwh are working with, thaniks to chuck passing on some contact info .. keep your fingers crossed.. this is important stuff..

ALSO: In Ft. Pierce, fl i can get access to a large parking area that will fit 10+ semi's if anyone needs help with staging rigs on their way down.

Good luck with the trip, and God be with you all.

I'm willing to lend my L1A1 if you guys think you'll need the extra firepower, might even be able to dig up a ammo can for it.

And god speed with the trip, come home safe.

I'm BAAACK!! Did not go at all like I wanted it to. Never got out of the Nassau airport. They are flying supplies into areas where it is needed, in ways you cannot comprehend. Talked this morning with the mother of the head guy. They were in Cap Hatian yesterday. Saw a guy with a badly broken leg. They had made a splint with rusty re-bar, had two steel rods through his leg, and stabilized it with Bondo. The doctors were proud of it. She also saw a man that had his left thumb and first finger left. Rest of his hand was raw flesh, had not been treated at all. They need meds bad. We shipped at least a ton today. Gonaives island, just west of Port au Prince, had no food since the earthquake. Flew two planes in there with baby food and people food. Cap Haitian as well, but needs meds most. On the ground is badly disorganized. I tried to keep up with the kids unloading and loading. Bad idea. I'm absolutely exhausted. Need to rest now, more after I get some rest. Oh, one plane, from Canada, took off and blew an engine 50' in the air, was able to get back around OK and landed. Afterwards, he said "Hey, nothing a $40,000.00 check can't fix.

Very happy to hear you made it home safe and sound! your report confirms others ive heard.. bad stuff... and im afraid its going to get worse before it gets better....I think soon planes will need to provide their own security,I can get a team together fairly quick, passports are a problem though. we can talk off line about that at a later time i f you think itll be needed.

This is going to be a very long project. It will not be for weak people. The help needed is extreme and very long term. Security is an unknown at this time. There have been jokes about possible problems. These pilots are an "Interesting" group. My tremendous respect to them. Had dinner and beer with 6 of them last night. They will go places no sane man would. Two planes were going to fly into Gonaives, and island where there had been no food for two weeks. The landing strip is less than 2000' long, dirt, with a dog leg in the middle. You want to land an overloaded Cessna 210 there? Do not even think about it without your paperwork complete. You can go to the Bahamas, you will just not get back to the States.

Thanks for the update. It is going to take me a bit more time to get blankets and whatnot together than I had hoped, but it looks like that is on the bottom of the list right now, so I have time.

Hi guys!

Yes, I went to Haiti today. Yes, there are lots of stories to tell (and I will). Yes, Chuck has been basically fair and balanced in his presentation. It's extreme and wildly disorganized.

We were just sitting around trying to figure out how to get Chuck into a plane tomorrow (we are not in Nassau right now), and I thought I'd check in with GRM for a minute.

I didn't realize Chuck had returned. Yes, it is a direct result of the confusion on the ground. I'm feeling pretty awful.

Chuck, your contribution here was significantly more than you realize. I know it was a stretch for you physically, and I also know that you had a deep desire to get in country. Please know that it was really my desire to facilitate that for you, and I'm sorry that things got as confused as they did. Your presence was significant, and you impacted a lot of people. But I also want to personally apologize to you for letting you down today, and that things were not as you had hoped.

Blessings, and thank you for for your effort.

BTW- Cameron says that you did great!

Paul and Chuck, I'm happy to hear that you're both safe and sad to hear that things are worse than being reported. Thank you both for all of your efforts.

I am currently a Red Cross Feeding Supervisor at the Sanford/Orlando Airport. The C17s come in 5 to 8 times a day bringing US Relief workers and Haitian Nationals in every day. We receive from 500 to 1000 a day. We are also a site for the Orphan Children who are being brought here and placed with families. I have not been on the Board to muchj the last few days as I am doing 12 hr shifts making sure we are doing all we can for them!!!

It's really hard to get stuff done here.

Logistically, it's crazy. Donations are continuously coming, planes are continually coming, needs are continuously coming in from different locations, planes are continually volunteering, with differing payloads, ranges, and pilot comfort and capability levels. Meanwhile, fuel keeps running out, not just in Haiti (none), but also all the other islands in the region.

And the organization wasn't anywhere near big enough to handle what they are doing.

So, planes and pilots have to be evaluated (what's your range? what's your payload? can you land on a 1500 ft dirt strip with a dogleg in the middle that is no wider than a pickup truck? how about landing in a strong crosswind that knocks your plane 50' back and forth as you are approaching?)

Then, they've got to figure out where to get fuel. It's an ever moving target- islands all over the place running out, and of course the range of each plane and the location of the fuel is really important.

The pilots have to fly through several countries, which means a mountain of paperwork. There's hours of work for each pilot at each fuel stop. We had to go through something that resembles "customs" 3 times on the way in one trip.

It's an awful lot of effort for a very small quantity of materials.

But the stuff is getting there, and the need is extreme. They are doing amputations with nothing more than aspirin, and they best "hospital" they can offer is a tarp pulled off the top of a truck.

My flight today was into a former drug runner's runway under military control of the Uruguay army. We flew within 20 miles of Cuban airspace. Kind of disconcerting when you enter a country (perhaps under questionable legal conditions) and are met with M-16's. They didn't speak English, we spoke neither Creole or French, and the best I could do was converse with the Uraguan soldiers in Spanish (who also knew no French or Creole).

Crazy. I'm beat. I'll post again soon, but can't fill in the stories right now. too tired.

BTW- I'm watching some of your donations at work. I've seen the donation records, carried the materials, watched them moved in, and seen before the end of the day medical supplies that we carried put on wounds. Thank you.

They've flown over 100 flights, hauled in 80,000 lbs+ of materials, and evacuated 40 people.

SVreX wrote: They've flown over 100 flights, hauled in 80,000 lbs+ of materials, and evacuated 40 people.

This is so amazing!

Thank you both for sharing the truth of what things are like.

SVreX wrote: They've flown over 100 flights, hauled in 80,000 lbs+ of materials, and evacuated 40 people.

That is what I wanted to hear. Get some sleep when you can, SVreX! Sure sounds like you're going to need it..

Because he is so experienced at disaster relief, Svrex is vitally important there . He is with his boss, with a great plane, They know how to get things done in the midst of chaos. God bless them. (Hear that, Paul. The Pagan actually said, and meant that!) I will be doing my thing on the ground here, but hopefully will make a few trips over there. Much more to come.

I was talking with my wife about the chaos on the ground in Nassau. She is an extremely organized business person, with an attitude. She has now volunteered to go to Nassau and take command of the warehouse, ground operations. I estimate it will take her two days max to get it sorted out. What have I created? Tried to call the exec director in Nassau, no answer. Probably in the air. The adventure continues.

chuck, if you ask me, if your wife really thinks she can fix it, and really wants to, she should just go. If the director in Nassau has a beef about it, point out what's actually going on- and if he has some attitude about it, remind him the point of the entire operation- egos and credits are worthless. This is about getting the job done.

E-

The director would not have any beef, I'm sure. They would be most welcoming. I just want to clarify things. Jane has never flown in a small plane. It worries her a bit, but she was a flight attendant for Delta, back in the day. Never been to the Bahamas, but the warehouse is in a very nice FBO, that serves the rich and famous. No security problems there. When I said attitude, I meant that she would not allow BS or egos to get in her way. Would not have to deal directly with Gov or Customs, so should not be a problem. My customers love her, so she will do quite well with the folks over there.

Update- I have contacted, and gotten positive responses from, two major hospital organizations. Cleveland Clinic and Baptist Hospital of Miami. Talked to one of my old customers that is general manager of the local Cox radio branch. Because of him, I am going on the air live Sunday morning for an interview. 99Jams, with Maestro Powell. Not a station I listen to, but tied into the Black/ Caribbean market. Progress is being made.

cwh wrote: Update- I have contacted, and gotten positive responses from, two major hospital organizations. Cleveland Clinic and Baptist Hospital of Miami. Talked to one of my old customers that is general manager of the local Cox radio branch. Because of him, I am going on the air live Sunday morning for an interview. 99Jams, with Maestro Powell. Not a station I listen to, but tied into the Black/ Caribbean market. Progress is being made.

Is this the right station (http://wedr.com/)? What time will you be on?

Yup- 99JAMZ!! WEDR Miami!! I will be talking to him before hand, but scheduled to be live on the air at 8:30 am Sunday. I will try very hard to sound awake. Are you in the listening area? This will be a new experience. My salesman personality will be in full bloom.

You can listen online anywhere in the world.

I'd like to hear what you have to say.

You will, my friend, you will. While I am not an experienced "Public Speaker", I am an experienced and seasoned salesman. They don't stand a chance. Hehehehe.

I am game & I am ready to go to Nassau & do my best - Yes I can be an Itch of a sort, but well executed and done with finess. By nature I am an organizer, a Mom & a MOTHER but I do have the background to make it work and people who I can contact to help me make it happen and I WILL. I am a half way decent teacher as well & can pass on what I know to those who need to know to organize the ground operation & hopefully make it work efficiently more long term-which is what they need. PLANS-simple-straightforward-outlined-organized & to the point. Am I married to Chuck? Joke! Chuck is my Bear & a genuinely decent humane being-which explains why we are a pair.

honeybee- Godspeed. And go for it- you are the kind of person that is needed in times like this.

E-