Please see travel alert From US Department of State
H2H Response(s)
Greetings Bob.
I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you before now. I leave for Haiti this weekend, and I have been in almost non-stop meetings.
It is unfortunate that the "annual travel advisory update" is being seen as something new. In reality, there is nothing new in the area of security concerns for Haiti, and nothing has changed. Haiti has always had security issues, and Heart-to-Heart International, having deployed over 800 expatriate volunteers since January, 2010, has become an expert in this field.
I will be in Haiti until February 19, and Josh Jakobitz will also be there with me. Julie Hefner has worked in Haiti - off and on - since the earthquake, and would be a good source of information, if Dr. Ford needs reassurance.
Bottom line: Haiti is a place with continual natural and man-made disasters. Heart to Heart has delayed, cancelled, or evacuated volunteers on only two occasions since January, 2010. (As a result of security concerns). The current security situation in Haiti is what we would consider to be "normal." There is nothing going on (except the travel advisory update, which has been in effect since the earthquake), that would cause Heart to Heart to cancel or change our plans vis-a-vis volunteer deployments. In fact, a group of students (and their sponsors) arrived in Haiti yesterday from Mid-America Nazarene University. All is well, Haiti continues to be a county with many, many needs.
Dr. Ford needs to be reassured that Heart to Heart would never, ever take any undue risks with any of our volunteers. However, that being said, there is always a degree of uncertainty in any volunteer deployment in these types of situations. (Think "urban core" USA). A certain degree of risk tolerance is needed for working in Haiti.. The final decision needs to be with the school officials. We will understand, whatever final decision is made.
Please let me know if you have additional questions, or feel free to talk directly with Julie Hefner in the Heart to Heart office.
Sincerely,
Steve Weber
Executive Director
Heart to Heart Haiti
Good Morning, Jim,
Good question. Thanks for emailing. I have reviewed the travel alert that
was recently updated and did not find any new information from the last
travel alert. I spoke with Josh yesterday, who is in Haiti now, and asked
if there was a specific reason for this update. He responded that it is
typical that they do an update at the beginning of the year and that
nothing new or specific has occurred or is occurring. The updates focus on
crime and health for the most part. For the situation related to crime,
there will not ever be a time when the group or students are out on their
own. This is one of the reasons why we stress that it is critical the
students follow direction and stay with the group. As far as cholera, this
is a water borne disease. The team will only be drinking and eating where
we already know the food and drink is safe.
Of course, as you know, there is always an element of risk, but we will
continue to do our best to keep you all safe. We take security very
seriously and stay on top of issues going on in Haiti. We are approaching
1,000 volunteers in Haiti and to date we have not had any problems.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Best,
JULIE HEFNER
Haiti Advancement Team Lead
Good question. Thanks for emailing. I have reviewed the travel alert that
was recently updated and did not find any new information from the last
travel alert. I spoke with Josh yesterday, who is in Haiti now, and asked
if there was a specific reason for this update. He responded that it is
typical that they do an update at the beginning of the year and that
nothing new or specific has occurred or is occurring. The updates focus on
crime and health for the most part. For the situation related to crime,
there will not ever be a time when the group or students are out on their
own. This is one of the reasons why we stress that it is critical the
students follow direction and stay with the group. As far as cholera, this
is a water borne disease. The team will only be drinking and eating where
we already know the food and drink is safe.
Of course, as you know, there is always an element of risk, but we will
continue to do our best to keep you all safe. We take security very
seriously and stay on top of issues going on in Haiti. We are approaching
1,000 volunteers in Haiti and to date we have not had any problems.
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Best,
JULIE HEFNER
Haiti Advancement Team Lead
Coach Julie and I had a meeting with Dr. Ford and have updated him on our trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment