Chicken Run - Haiti

It has been nearly three years since an earthquake struck Haiti. And while there has been progress there is much more that needs to be done. Even before the quake Haiti was one of the poorest countries in the world and in the 2012 rankings it remains on that list. Haiti continues to need help and while I am not foolish enough to believe my traveling to Haiti every year effects the "big picture", I do pray that what I do contributes in the slightest bit. I suspect that I get more from my work in Haiti than I give.

Condemned, but still in use

I am planning to travel to Haiti again this January. The purpose of this trip will be to help construct a chicken farm at the orphanage we first visited two years ago. At that time the orphanage was housed in a condemned building. They had little food and water. The children were not able to have food every day and the person running the orphanage had to turn children out at night for fear of being shut down by the government because they were only allowed 60 children at night.

New, more permanent housing

 The next year when we visited the orphanage it had a permanent building with a much better water supply. The food, while not plentiful, was much more consistent and the children were getting some education as the orphanage had an attached school. Durning the morning the school taught paying children and in the afternoon it was open to the children of the orphanage.

As I prepare to travel to Haiti for the fourth time, I again ask for your help. I am seeking donations to help cover the cost of the trip and supplies. The cost of the trip is approximately $2000 including travel, housing, food, supplies, payment to local translators and drivers.

I would appreciate any help people can give. I promise to post pictures and stories from the trip as I have in the past so that you can see how your contributions are being used. Please take some time to read my past blogs from Haiti, as I hope it will give you a "taste" or what your contributions help and also what Haiti means to my heart. You can also see a video of my first trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti about two months after earth quake on at http://vimeo.com/10870243.

If you are able to contribute you can send checks payable to "Union Church" and mail them to

Haiti c/o Wright-Gray

PO Box 7028

Ocean Park Maine 04063

Please put "Haiti" in the check memo and if you want to donate to support me, as opposed to generally support the trip, please also include my name, "David Bainbridge" in the check memo.

Even though I now live in California, I continue to work with east coast friends on these trips. If you have any questions or simply want to talk about the past or future work in Haiti I would be more than happy to speak with you about it. You can post to my Facebook page or email me at davidk.bainbridge@gmail.com.