18 November 2010

You can help medical teams get to patients in Haiti

A friend in Haiti, Lowell Adams, sent me an appeal this week, and it is a very worthy project.

Lowell is an OR nurse who used to run the recovery room at Geisinger, and now he and his family have pledged 4 years of service to Hatians on La Gonave Island through Wesleyan Church. In the picture below, Lowell is pointing out the seed pods of the Meringa tree, which can provide a renewable source of protein to a family and has the side benefit of helping defend against parasites.

I had the great opportunity to work with Lowell caring for patients at Wesleyan Hospital last month. The roads on La Gonave are horrible (or if you take the attitude of an off road enthusiast, GREAT!) and it is very difficult to get to villages in the mountain passes. Lowell is using a beat up old Toyota Land Cruiser, and I can tell you from experience that it is hanging on through bailing wire and duct tape, and it is very hard on the seat of a skinny guy like me!





As you will read below, There is a chance for Lowell's mission to buy a decommissioned British military Land Rover Defender (110 in. wheel base) That would help them reliably get medical teams to villages in the mountains, like La Fontina, where I got to visit the wonderful people myself. (Land Rover Defender example below: it may not be a Wrangler, but sure to get the job done.)




As of this post, Lowell has $7000 of the $24,400 they need for the vehicle. Consider helping them make the push in this worthy cause!




List of Wesleyan's Haiti Projects: (truck is listed as "community health vehicle")





And below is the email I got from Lowell with all the nitty gritty details:


Dear Friends,
We just received news tonight of a great opportunity to purchase a new Land Rover for the La Gonave Wesleyan Hospital and Community Health Evangelism project. Our friend Justin Dowd from Scotland came across this vehicle. Below is a portion of Justin's letter.
Cost of New Landrover is $64,000USD in country plus extra for seats 6/7
Cost of New LandCruiser is $57,000USD and there is a 4.5 month weight

I have managed to get a deal with the British Miltary for one of their excess vehicle Land Rovers which for licensing must go outside of Europe.

They have two varieties available and they are brand new diesel engine with air conditioning and armour plated steering rod protection. The vehicles are unused and have vinly seats inside.

The price of the vehicles is as follows

Land Rover 110 with seven forward facing seats in three rows all with seat belts is $27,255USD, left hand drive
Land Rover 110 with two seats in the front and then two benches in the back so vehicle capacity is 10 is $24,400USD and is right hand drive.

Now I have finance for the 7 seat vehicle for Lagonave with a large steel rack on top with ladder to the back and armour plated diff lock protection also. I also have the finance to ship the vehicle and this is where it gets interesting. I have to pay for the whole container and yet it is possible to get two vehicles in the one container. If you guys were thinking anytime soon of another vehicle or know someone who is then this is an incredible chance to get another vehicle brand new Land Rover for $24,400USD. I may be able to cover the $4400USD to be honest so this is a chance that someone could benefit by getting a vehicle that costs $64,000USD in Haiti for around $20,000USD. Dont know if this is pie in the sky but I wanted to let you know. These are the only two types of vehicles available and there is 35 of each in stock.
I have shipping dates and they would both arrive in the container 24th December in Port Au Prince which amazingly is just 5 weeks away but we would need to move quick on the decision as the shipping day is 26th and I need to pay for them to allow them to be moved to shipping port.

At this point I have $7000 toward this vehicle. If anyone would like to help with this purchase please let us know as soon as possible because of the time factor. We appreciate each of you, for your concern for the work here and we want to thank in advance those who can give at this time.

Blessings,

Lowell and Robin Adams
Global PartnersMissionaries to Haiti