Building bridges--Literally!

Our small donation to our group in Haiti is definitely changing the world!

                   In the wake of a recent flood in the Bino Lapoint area of Leogane Haiti, we initiated a project to help
Haitians help other Haitians.  Lamarre and Wesley have been doing great work leading a team of people in cleaning up after the flood and working to reduce additional flooding.

To date 25 volunteers working with members of the community have:

• Distributed 75 cleaning kits 
• helped cleaned in and around several homes
• dug a channel (think drainage ditch) to hopefully prevent future flooding
• begun cleaning out the second channel to allow the water to flow and not back up causing more flooding. 

What still needs to be done:

• finish digging the new drainage ditch
• clean out existing channel
• build three small bridges over the new channel
• Install cement floors into homes that currently have dirt floors

Update from Lamarre: 

The work would make an impact on more than 100 houses,but that doesn't mean we will repair or restore 100 houses.We could just restore some of them--the most vulnerable. 

The work for the canal is also taking longer than we thought. There are two types of canals that need to be made. The one that we are digging along the road and another that has water but which is full of trash. It will need to be cleaned as well to create space and make it free for water to pass when it is raining.  

We will also need to make some small bridges on the canals side close to the houses entrance.

These improvements SHOULD reduce future flooding and make the homes safer.  There are 100 people (approximately 300 people) living in this area. 

Digging channels by hand and pouring cement in a hot climate is exhaustive and often thankless work, so additionally we do feel a need to feed the volunteers and provide water.  In a perfect world ,we would also provide BonaResponds shirts and footwear (many are working in flip flops). 

We began with a small investment.  But we will need to invest upwards of $2000 more to complete this (Roughly the cost of a ramp and a half in the US).

Approximate cost for cement is $30USD per house (we will assume $40 since costs are almost always greater than initial estimates).  Cement for the small bridges will run $70 each and some lumber and steel will be needed as well Estimated cost $250 per bridge.  

6 Homes * 40 for cement floors     $ 240

Food for two weeks of volunteers  $500

3 bridges                                         $750

Transportation                                  $60 

Tools                                                  $200 * 

Rudimentary footwear                      $100

BR Tshirts (30*5)                              $150

Estimated Total cost                         $2000 USD

*tools would be saved to used for future projects as well

 Is it worth it?  We think so!  But we want your opinion:  Do we continue?  Do we invest in the lives of these 300 people?  At a cost of less than $7 a person?  We vote yes.  But please let us know your opinion.  Vote now!   

If you do want to donate: http://bonaresponds.org/donate.html 

Update on many fronts

My top ten list for the week:

In this relative lull in the post snow cleanup, a fast update on other fronts:

1. A huge THANK YOU to all who helped in Buffalo!  The snow was truly breathtaking.  To see the community come together was encouraging and heart warming.  We made three trips up and had almost 50 volunteers.  We helped to clear 29 driveways, about 15 fire hydrants,  several roofs, doors, and walkways.  We now wait and hope the flooding is not too bad.

2. Haiti continues to be a source of both our great successes and bitter frustration.  First the bad news:  key parts of the solar system we donated to a school in Leogane were stolen and the one in Gonaives burned up. Because of this, we have placed the VERY needed system on hold until we can figure out how to stop the crime.    It is mindboggling frustrating and humbling.  On the positive side, we have heard great successes at schools and orphanages in Lascambas and Gonaives.  (GREAT JOB Jean and Djemson and the others)

3. Instead of solar in Haiti we will fund a few composting toilets as a test.  (At least they are tougher to steal or break!).  They will make things safer in many ways and reduce disease.   Additionally, the waste can be composted into fertilizer.  The program has the added benefit of being cheaper too!  Only $320.  We will be paying $270 on at least a couple to start.  Why $270?  A condition of one of the donors was that the Haitians raise at least some of the money as well so that they would truly see its worth and not just as another throw-away NGO handout.

4.  Also in Haiti as part of our efforts to improve education, we will be working with @Haitischolarships, some people from the St Bonaventure School of Education, as well as schools in Haiti to create better standards and on teacher training.  This will include better reporting from Haitian schools and tracking of attendance (teacher and student) and tracking improvement.  This is a BIG WIN!

5. Today the last of the money raised in the #EndEbola leaf raking campaign will go out.  If anyone wants to continue to help in a very impoverished area, we sure would love the help!  Today the CYC crew is back in Monrovia.  Their Kids Camp starts soon.  (Dec 10)

6. Our book collection has gone VERY slowly, so we will extend it until Dec 8th. Remember these are for local families with children from pre K to grade 12.  Books can be left off in 104 Swan Building on the SBU campus.

7. On Saturday night, our van suffered a broken window while parked on campus.  If anyone wants to confess to the vandalism and pay for a new window, we will NOT take it to the police nor security.

8. We will be working this weekend.  Best guess is in Olean, but we may go to Buffalo again if the needs look great still.  Stay tuned.  

9. THANK YOU to those of you who donated this past week! Denise, Todd, Sean, Pat, Ryan, Gary, Patricia, and those who helped with food this weekend.  We have said many times, but it deserves repeating "Without you, BonaResponds is just a good idea."

10. Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!  We all have so many things to be thankful for.  We often forget that when we see all misfortune and sometimes pure evil that happens.  The good is much more common even though it tries to hide itself.  Be good!  Be Safe!  Volunteer and Change the world!

Related articles

• Architecture for Humanity Announces Completion of Haiti Initiatives

Fast Saturday Recap of storm

BonaResponds is monitoring the situation.  If you need help, please let us know. 

From Buffalo News:

"Damage in Mayville was extensive. The roof of Chautauqua Liquors and an attached business was torn off. Trees were down on several streets, and power and cable lines were down.
On Morris Street,... Homes on Valley Street also were damaged extensively. Traffic was routed away from Route 394, the main street in Mayville. Several side streets were clogged with limbs and downed power lines."

WIVB (channel 4 from Buffalo)





from WKBW

Video from Gowanda by Courtney Young

Only a High School Student, Courtney captures what the aftermath of the storm was like very well:

some pictures from Jen from Gowanda

Here are some pictures Jen has uploaded as well.

YouTube - Why BonaResponds is needed

YouTube - Why BonaResponds is needed: "A brief video showing what it is like when we scout a house. This is from Gowanda. It shows the process and also hints at the enormity of the task and why volunteers are needed."

Hundreds of pictures from Gowanda today

Mike, Matt, and Lionel
Originally uploaded by FinanceProfessor.

Here is the whole set--although I still have one camera's worth left! Many good pictures, but so so much good work! Excellent work everyone. You really were impressive!

Two Gowanda Videos from TV

News4 video:




and then another on the good news on water!

What to bring?

To work in Gowanda:

Boots
Sunblock
Gloves
Cameras
cellphone

(here is a list from past trips which I suggest you look at to at least gauge what you might want.)

If you have a BonaResponds shirt, we'd love you to wear it.

We will have PB and Jelly and some water but you probably want to bring food as well for lunch on Friday.

Water is in short supply there so let's not be a burden and bring our own water.

We will provide food on Sat Night and Sunday AM.

If you are staying Saturday night, obviously bring toiletries, sleeping bag, etc. The living quarters will be very basic (but honestly that makes it more fun).


We will be bringing:

Shovles, sump pumps, extension cords, lights, a chain saw, gutting equipment.

National Guard addressing water crisis in Gowanda - ObserverToday.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Dunkirk | The Observer

National Guard addressing water crisis in Gowanda - ObserverToday.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Dunkirk | The Observer:

"'As everybody knows, the water system here in Gowanda has been severely compromised, and not helped by a fire to one of the homes just a couple of hours ago,' Paterson began. 'The local reservoirs have overtopped and have severely reduced the amount of available water that is here. The sewer system has been damaged, the mayor reports that hundreds of homes have been damaged, the police department and municipal buildings have received damage, the Tri-County Hospital has been evacuated and closed as of early Monday morning and it will remain closed for some period of time.'

The damages found in Erie and Cattaraugus counties that Paterson eluded to have been roughly estimated at around $19 million, $7 million shy of the federal threshold for disaster relief aid. Despite the rough estimate, Paterson said he believes the $26 million worth of damage required could come from the Gowanda area alone."

More later including this:

"To aid in water distribution and cleanup duties, the National Guard has been called in. Forty National Guard soldiers and 14 heavy duty pieces of equipment were deployed on Panther Drive in Gowanda early Wednesday afternoon to begin their work."

and quotes from State Senator Cathy Young who believes the storm is bad enough to warrant Federal aid.

BonaResponds in the OTH

From the Olean Times Herald:

"BonaResponds will set up a camp at the Gowanda Fire Hall Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers are needed to help with the cleanup of the village of Gowanda. BonaResponds is also looking for people with trucks to help transport tools from Olean to Gowanda. More information can be found on the BonaResponds Web site, bonaresponds.org."

Catching up the news from Gowanda

So many things happening that it is impossible to keep up, but some things of note.

* Getting volunteers has been more challenging than expected. I guess people do not want to give up a summer weekend. Not sure but it is disappointing. Remember it is open to everyone. So if you are reading this, you qualify :) (if under 18, need a parent's signature on the waiver form)

* I was impressed that a trampoline ended up several blocks down the street until I heard of a camper still missing and a truck floated nearly 2 miles down the creek.

* Water is a problem. It caused the problems first, now a long term problem. With limited reservoir capacity and quickly emptying supplies, trucking in water is at best inefficient. I hear they did get the old wells working today but are concerned they won't last since the pumps are so old. Fingers are crossed!

* Spoke with a few residents today who were not familiar with mold. If you have drywall that got wet, be very careful. I had one tell me today it was ok since she had wiped it off the front of the wall. The problem is that the drywall (sheetrock) gets wet straight through. Add that to insulation behind the wall, and you have an environment that is nearly perfect for mold growth.
For more, see this from Texas A&M, or from the EPA, or this from forest products that is very well done.

* Hot or cold? Clean-up would be horrible in the cold, but mold growth would be inhibited.

* Dust is a big problem. An idea from Cedar Rapids Iowa after their flooding that should be used in Gowanda: spraying the roads with water. I spoke with a friend tonight who said that the Little Valley Race track has a tanker like that. If not use oil tankers (for crushed stone streets) filled with water. It will at least help keep dust down.

* It petrifies me the number of residents who have said they have had "shocks" when unplugging appliances etc. Turn the electricity off before working on the house. Please.

* Walking around town with Bill Driscoll of HODR reminded me how good HODR is. They will be checking early next week but it looks unlikely that they will be coming.

* Has anyone tried getting any of the Sabres or Bills down? It would be good for morale and would get more press coverage.

* Parents, PLEASE have your children wear shoes.

* I have not seen (which does not mean they are not there) but anyone giving out tetanus shots. Make sure you have had one. ESPECIALLY if you get ANY cut/scratch/etc. It is NOT something to play around with.

* Have had several "special" moments already. One was when I sent out a request for volunteers and heard back from Mark and Ken who we had helped build a house for last year. This time they want to give back and are volunteering this time around.

* I know there is a clothing collection. I hope it goes better than after Katrina. There were piles of clothes being thrown out on many street corners. (if it does happen again, there are places that will recycle the clothes).

* Speaking of collections, I have heard from two people (and will be contacting a third) about furniture donations. Not sure on how to give out, but stay tuned.

* Unlike in Mississippi, Texas, Alabama etc, everyone has heard of Bonaventure. Indeed I have been amazed at how many people I have run into that I know. Even Janey who went with us to Pearlington MS.

* We will be working Fri-Sun. Most of us will probably be wearing brown. If you see any of us, feel free to come up and tell us of other jobs. Or better, come volunteer with us!

* Saying "We can't help you" is the hardest thing I do. It won't happen too often if we get enough volunteers. Volunteer and get your friends to as well!



You can follow all of our Storm updates on our blog and by twitter.

WKBW story on Gowanda

More pictures and a video from Gowanda

Click on the picture to to be taken to over a hundred pictures from Gowanda and locally following the storm and at least one video. More to upload:

Assessing the damage in Gowanda and new pictures

Muddy roads
Originally uploaded by FinanceProfessor.

BonaResponds and HODR went to Gowanda to assess the damage. The findings? About 250 homes were damaged.

We will be setting up camp Friday-Sunday in Gowanda to help. We are in desperate need of volunteers as well the use of a pickup truck to haul our supplies.

See BonaResponds.org for much more info.

Here is the whole set of pictures (or at least the ones I have uploaded so far).

Video from Gowanda

Youtube video from eclickNick. Wow. :(

BonaResponds time!

Larry Orsini speaking on BonaResponds Gowanda

Larry Orsini scouted Gowanda for BonaResponds today.

He reported back that there is much work for us to do in the area.

Come work with us! This Fri-Sat (Aug 14-16th). You will be glad you did! While it is hard work, it will be the best thing you have done for yourself and for others in a while.




See BonaResponds.org for more info.

BonaResponds and storm Pictures (August 9, 2009)

East Olean near East View
Originally uploaded by FinanceProfessor.

Here are some pictures of the first round of storms that hit WNY on August 9, 2009.

From Friendship and Olean/Allegany.

BonaResponds will continue helping with the clean-up (priority given to elderly, handicapped so if you know of anyone who fits that description, let BonaResponds know).

Likewise, if you would like to volunteer to help, email BonaResponds@sbu.edu