Hulbert, David Believe Haitians Will Recover From Tragedy

David David, pastor of the Archbold United Methodist Church, surrounded by Haitian children at Grace Children’s Hospital, Port-Au-Prince. David has been involved with International Child Care for many years. ICC operated the hospital as its flagship ministry, David said. After the Jan. 12 earthquake, many of the hospital buildings are severely damaged. – courtesy photo Haiti may be thousands of miles from Northwest Ohio, but two local men know the country well.

Brian Hulbert, rural Pett isville, arrived in Haiti in 1972 at the age of five, when his parents moved to the island nation to open the Ebenezer Glenn Orphanage near Dessalines.

He graduated from an American high school, Victory Christian Academy, in Port-Au-Prince in 1985.

He settled in Northwest Ohio, to be near a sister who was married to a Liberty Center man.

Hulbert was back in Haiti in 1986, 1987, and 2000.

Brian Hulbert “Each time I’ve gone back, (the country) has gone drastically in the wrong direction,” he said.

“In ‘85, outside of a couple of places in Port-Au- Prince, the entire country was safe, and there were public utilities. You could go outside at night.”

Then in 1986, a popular uprising ousted the regime of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.

“After Duvalier left, things seemed to implode,” Hulbert said. “As the government tried to reshape itself, it became less and less stable.”

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hulbert said there was a large amount of light industry in Haiti. Baseballs and gloves were manufactured there.

That work dried up as the Chinese and Indian economic juggernauts began running rampant.

David David

David David, pastor of Archbold United Methodist Church, has made several trips to Haiti working with International Child Care, a Christian mission.

Founded in 1967, ICC’s flagship ministry is Grace Children’s Hospital in Port- Au-Prince. David began working with the group in 1989, “and I’ve been a part of it for 20-plus years,” he said.

He served on the organization’s board, and in 2003-04, was the group’s North American director.

David took many mission teams to the country, making so many trips, “I’ve lost count,” he said.

“I get a warm feeling when I think of the people of Haiti,” David said.

“They’re genuine, warm, smiling, grateful when you do something for them. They’re wonderful people to be around.”

Hulbert agreed.

“The Haitian people are some of the most warmhearted, considerate, phenomenal people in the world. They have nothing, yet they’ll give it to you if you need it,” Hulbert said.

Hulbert said Haiti’s literacy is about 40%, and unemployment is 80%.

David said the country is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.

Hulbert said the country faces heavy rains, hurricanes, even tremors in the earth.

“Tremors happened all the time,” Hulbert said.

Earthquake

Then the Tuesday, Jan. 12 earthquake happened, the worst to hit Haiti in 200 years.

David said when he heard of the quake, he immediately went to his photo albums, to remind himself of the places he visited.

When he saw the pictures of Port-Au-Prince, “my heart sank.

“If this happened in Washington, D.C., and the capitol was destroyed, how would we feel?”

Grace Hospital “took a direct hit. Some of the buildings are still standing, but it’s not safe to go inside. They have to be torn down.

“Patients are under tarps out in the yard,” David said.

Hulbert said part of the reason earthquake damage was so extensive are the building techniques in Haiti.

“Buildings are built of (concrete) block or concrete, because of termites. That’s the way you build in the tropics.”

Strength can be added to concrete buildings with steel reinforcing bar, or “rebar.” Not much rebar is used in Haiti, because it’s expensive.

The Ebenezer Glenn Or- phanage is about 100 miles north of Port-Au-Prince.

They felt the quake and evacuated their buildings, but were able to go back inside.

“Dad built those buildings very well,” Hulbert said.

Contact

Hulbert said after the quake, he was able to contact his parents via satellite telephone. At about $1 a minute, you don’t talk long, he said.

Interviewed Saturday, Jan. 23, Hulbert said refugees from earthquake-damaged areas were arriving at the orphanage.

There was a food shortage before the earthquake; the earthquake just made the damage worse.

The refugees need food and water, and any kind of medical care.

The orphanage has a small clinic, but can’t care for the seriously injured. The clinic is seeing three times the usual number of patients, Hulbert said.

The orphanage is blessed with five water wells. One is 100 feet deep, with pure water.

“That’s a tremendous resource,” he said.

Hulbert said on Friday, Jan. 22, 100 bushels of bagged corn donated by Fulton County farmers left for Haiti.

An airfreight company agreed to fly one load for free. Normally, the cost would be about $1.50 a pound.

Hulbert said all the orphanage children and staff– even those who were in Port- Au-Prince– are safe.

“But our next-door neighbor, the woman who lives next door to us, lost her middle daughter.”

Hulbert said he had heard that a day or two after the quake, “they heard the cries and the moans up and down the street. People were finally getting the word.

“They’re in flat-out survival mode,” he said.

Rebuild

David said, “if we can hope for anything wonderful or positive out of this, it would be we would use this opportunity to rebuild Haiti the right way.

Rebuild the infrastructure, the roads, sewers, sanitation, water treatment plants.

“If it’s not done right, it will just be somewhat rebuilt on top of the rubble, and it will happen again some years down the road.

“It’s all about making Haiti self-sustaining. What can we do, so they’re not dependent on us,” David said.

“Obviously, I want to see good come out of this,” Hulbert said. “And there will be. Haitians are an incredibly resilient people. I truly believe you will see a transition, with the end goal of making it a lot better than it was.

“It’s going to take a lot of prayer, a lot of patience, a lot of long-term outlook by the groups and organizations that want to help,” Hulbert said. “And a lot of finances."

Hulbert said it will take “every bit of 20 years” for Haiti to recover from the earthquake of 2010.

“We’ll see progress in less than that, but to hit ‘reset,’ and be back where they were, buildings and infrastructure wise, it will take quite a bit of time.”

It isn’t time yet to send work teams to Haiti, Hulbert said.

“I don’t think the dust has settled enough. The next five to 10 years, that’s when the opportunity will present itself.”

Will Hulbert himself return to Haiti?

“I’m in the process of renewing my passport,” he said.