Some of you will remember that when Nat Benjamin sailed south several years ago on the family schooner CHARLOTTE, he was carrying supplies collected here (fishing gear collected from local island fishermen and spare/old sails for use by fishermen there), clothes, money, and a lot of stuff for the use of the folks on Ile a Vache. An island of about 20 square miles 6 1/2 miles off the coast of Haiti, it has 15,000 residents on about 6 1/2 miles and is tucked into the SW corner of Haiti. Later he and Pam returned taking supplies for a Haitian orphanage where Pam and her friend Roberta helped the kids with art projects while Nat spent some time working alongside the boat builders of the island, which has a strong tradition of wooden boat building. Sammie, who is mentioned in Pam’s message, was here last fall (he thought it was really cold although it was only early October and pretty warm) and reported that the supplies that Nat had “freighted” south were very helpful for the community. Everyone who has visited has described the island as a magical place and the people welcoming and very appreciative of any assistance. Although Nat will not be sailing south this fall, I understand that he and Pam will be visiting during the winter and Ross, Kirsten and their family will be sailing south with that island one of the places that they hope to visit.
I have just spoken with Nat who advised that Hurricane Matthew (a category 4 hurricane) passed directly over Ile a Vache, and the residents are now without safe drinking water, without food and without shelter as their houses were destroyed and virtually all the farm animals, as well as the farms (and about to be harvested crops) were destroyed. One of the most urgent needs is for safe drinking water. Nat has found a generator operated portable water maker which can make 37 gallons of water an hour. It could be carried south in one of the boats leaving soon, or perhaps it could be air freighted in. It will cost about $6,000. Considering the ever present specter of cholera, keeping folks from drinking tainted water is a very important consideration. With all their buildings to rebuild, small hand tools and building supplies (nails, etc.) are also desperately needed. Although the residents of Ile a Vache may have been a bit better off than Haitians living in the cities, they are now in truly desperate circumstances. Whatever you can send along in the way of dollars to the Sense of Wonder fund mentioned below, or suggestions, or goods and services will certainly help to make a difference to an island community struggling to survive.
Just a side note for those of us who love Gloucester fishing schooners, and those from Nova Scotia as well, I read on Wikipedia (while looking up Ile a Vache) that the treacherous reefs and rocks off the islfnd are where the original BLUENOSE was lost back in 1946.
If I can provide more details please don’t hesitate to call or write. Please see the message below from Pam Benjamin. Thanks. Ginny Jones
“If you would like to donate money to Haiti and have it be a simple process, Sense of Wonder Creations has a Haiti Fund and we have reactivated our Pay Pal account to make it easier to donate to this very worthwhile cause. Here is a message that I am sending around today.
