KCFreePress.com

The terror reigning in Haiti in the aftermath of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake centered near the capital city of Port Au Prince is hitting especially close to home in Kansas City for the staff of the Global Orphan Project, an international relief organization based here that cares for orphaned and abandoned children across the globe.

Each time the phone rings, Global Orphan Project Executive Director Joe Knittig knows that it may be the call that brings him news of the fate of 215 orphans living under the project's care near the epicenter of the quake. Since the catastrophe occurred around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, his organization has heard little from the frequently disaster-afflicted nation.

The Global Orphan Project supports more than 2,000 orphans within Haiti alone. While there are Global Orphan Project homes spread throughout Haiti, two of the houses are located close to the epicenter of the quake, 10 miles west of Port Au Prince. Global Orphan field leader Moise Vaval, his wife, and four children live in the Port Au Prince metropolitan area, and have not yet been heard from.

Speaking with Knittig in his office Wednesday afternoon revealed the frustration of a man with little control. With phones down in much of the country and transportation nearly impossible, he was trying to find a way into the capital by any means necessary.

“Our first priority is to get to the 215 children that we know are in harm’s way,” Knittig said.

While there is a possibility that the project's houses are intact and that only communication lines are down, he did not sound hopeful. Contingency plans are in place to funnel the orphans, both new and old, into temporary shelters until permanent houses can be rebuilt.

“There is a massive communication problem, not restricted to us," Knittig said. "Communication in and out of Port Au Prince by phone is an impossibility. Port Au Prince has been communicatively cut off, even within Haiti and the situation is worsening.”

With communications lines down, the whereabouts of the 215 children and the Vaval family are unknown, though Knittig said he knew that the area around Vavals' residence has been leveled.

To the organization’s benefit, this is not the first time they have dealt with a disaster situation in Haiti. After the hurricanes of 2004 and 2008, they welcomed hundreds of orphans into their sponsored homes and prepared for the next time that disaster would strike. Marketing director Mike Farag says that what they need now is information about conditions on the ground so that they can act appropriately.

“Last time when we had the hurricanes, we helicoptered in supplies," he said. "We learned from that and set up food depots, so that’s already in place and what’s being used right now. We’ve got a month’s supply of food for our children down there."

This preplanning may prove invaluable as food prices skyrocket in the wake of the disaster. Now, they just need to find the children those plans were made for.

Once contact with their representative is made, the Global Orphan Project plans to build more homes for the children affected by the quake. With death tolls estimated in the hundreds of thousands, they are anticipating a huge influx of children. A small team, including Knittig, was scheduled to leave for the Dominican Republic Wednesday evening. From the Dominican Republic, they will try to to gain access to the Haitian capital by car. Many roads are impassable and it may be a few days until this is possible.

In the meantime, Knittig and his team have set up a Haiti Orphan Relief Fund. Knittig said that the funds will not only benefit emergency relief for their orphans in Port Au Prince, but will work to rebuild the food caches and work towards new houses to accommodate the newly orphaned.

“Our first priority will be emergency relief as needed," Knittig said.

The second priority will be to move the children into stable structures such as churches and schools.

For those in Kansas City wanting to help, Knittig said he solicits prayer as well as funds.

“Prayer is first and foremost," he said. "Second, stay informed, not just from mainstream feeds. We have a Web site that deals really with just our kids particularly. Third is to give. Resist the urge of wanting to do canned food drives and collect clothing. Money is what will be needed.”

He said that spikes in food and gas prices will make money a much more valuable commodity as people on the ground try to exploit the situation.

Knittig says that beyond his own organization, Cross International, Compassion International or the Salvation Army all have transparent financial accountability. Giving wisely, he states, is of the utmost importance to making sure that aid dollars benefit those who need it most.

Lead photo by Marca Pasos

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