February 4, 2010

Food Distributions a Challenge

Samaritan's Purse is one of eight humanitarian agencies working with the World Food Program and the Haitian government to provide food in Port-au-Prince. Ken Isaacs, our Vice President of Projects, reports on the challenges and blessings of the distributions.

It is 5 a.m. We leave for another food distribution in 20 minutes. When we arrive, there will be 3,000-4,000 people struggling to get in the gate. They hope to have the chance to get a bag of rice, but we will only have 1,700 so I know that many will leave disappointed. Only woman are allowed and only those women who received coupons from one of our 50 food monitors last night.

There is a lot of corruption, desperation, and hunger in Haiti. We try to ensure the neediest get the food by identifying woman with three or more children, the elderly, the single-headed households, and the handicapped. It sounds easy, but those who work to hand out the coupons are harassed, threatened, and robbed. Some no longer are willing to take the risk.

The 82nd Airborne provide security and crowd control for us. They send 50 to 80 men out. The Haitians respect the U.S. military, but the press of the crowd still leaves people angry and distressed.

There is one check point where the women show their coupons or tickets or cards. The colored piece of paper is called by different names but it allows the woman holding it to have 25 kilos (51 pounds) of rice.

Women start smiling when they get past the first check point. They are in a formal queue now. There is no press of people, and the noise level drops significantly from the other side of the steel gate door behind them.

Often times the line of women will sing. Usually it’s Gospel songs, like How Great Thou Art. I am blessed to listen and join with them. They tell us bonjour and wait patiently for their turn to take a bag.