Thank you so much for your faithful support of Overture International. Because of the Lord’s provision through your generosity, we completed Stage 1 of our emergency aid disaster response efforts by the third week of September and have successfully transitioned into Stage 2 of our disaster response efforts.
Stage 2: Relief
Equipping the communities we serve with the ability to help each other begin to rebuild their lives.
Our goal is to supplement the respective efforts of each community with resources and services that are scarce or unavailable in the region.
Last week, we officially transitioned to Stage 2 of our disaster response efforts: Relief. One of the vital components of this stage is our community meal programs.
Currently we’ve activated meal programs in 10 of our priority communities after delivering food supplies (some even by donkey!) to some of the most remote and hardest hit areas in southern Haiti. Not only do our community meal programs offer nutrition, social engagement and economic empowerment, but they also teach communities the importance of being self-sufficient by supplementing their respective efforts vs. simply giving them a handout.
Witnessing neighbors rallying together to provide for each other by serving a meal and socializing is one of the greatest privileges of our Overture staff. While enjoying a hot meal, Overture social workers are able to host workshops, build relationships and facilitate conversations around recovery. We’re in it together, and so are they.
Our social workers are continuing to oversee family assessments so we can prioritize needs accordingly. Trauma care resources are available and provided to families as a whole and individually as they cope with the devastation of loss from the 7.2 magnitude earthquake. All of these efforts are laying a strong foundation for the third and final stage of disaster response efforts (Recovery), which will hopefully begin mid-October.
"This food aid is very helpful for us. This is the first time that an organization has come to the area to help us. I send a big thank you for the people who allowed this zone to benefit from this project. I hope that we continue with this project in the area".
Bruna, family beneficiary of the community meal program in the community of Madam Sanon (Saint-Louis).
Back to School
As you may recall, after the earthquake, schools in Haiti postponed their start date to October 4, which is literally around the corner. In less than one week students will return to the classroom so we focused on school repairs and teacher training so our kids will be able to return to a safe and stable environment!
While our primary school campus only incurred minor damage from the earthquake, our Camp Perrin school was severely damaged. We’ve started repairs and are hopeful to have them complete as quickly as possible. We believe education means life in Haiti! And this belief has never rung truer than it does right now. In the face of utter hopelessness and despair, kids desperately need some sense of normalcy again.
Will you help to transform a child’s life with an investment in their future? If so, please donate here.
Public Health & Medical Care
Together we are stronger!
These words are at the core of our work at Overture and the past six weeks have brought them new meaning. Since the earthquake, collaboration has been critical in executing the most effective relief efforts possible, and we are thrilled to welcome our newest strategic partner, the Jack Brewer Foundation. Focused on empowering from within by supplying resources to the most underserved, JBF has been organizing mobile clinics in northern Haiti for several years. And now, our partnership has opened the door for them to expand their medical initiatives into the Sud department of Haiti.
Just last week, we hosted JBF’s medical team of Haitian doctors at our ESPWA medical clinic, and within days, this group of committed doctors had served more than 200 adults and children from the local community. Now, as we enter a new week, our JBF partners will be joining our teams of social workers to set up mobile clinics in all 10 of our priority communities. These clinics will not only focus on immediate post-disaster medical needs, but JBF is committed to providing ongoing medical care in these communities where access to healthcare is completely out of the reach for families.
At the ESPWA Clinic
We are beyond grateful for this new relationship as it has allowed us to spearhead our public health initiative (which we introduced at the end of April) much earlier than anticipated. And of the three focus areas to which we’ve committed - prevention, promotion and protection - our partnership with JBF is perfectly aligned with our promotion efforts, where we aim to not only promote services available within communities by linking families with these resources, but also make local clinics aware when there’s a medical need.
Mobile Clinic in the community of Dory
Thank you JBF for your partnership and service to communities where medical care is most needed! We rejoice in times of suffering because we know they are good for us and they help us learn to endure. We also know that the Lord works all things for good, even a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. And our partnership with JBF is a perfect example of something good that has come from disaster. The earthquake has opened the door for us to spearhead our public health initiative earlier than we ever anticipated and we are thankful!
What’s next...
By mid-October, we are aiming to transition into our third and final stage of disaster response: Recovery. In this stage, we’ll begin major home repairs and building new homes as we strive to equip Haiti to become stronger and more resilient than ever before.