HAITI — A Kelseyville man caught a flight Jan. 27 to the country he loves, Haiti, and is helping to inspect schools and churches for damage while comforting scared students and friends who lost loved ones during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake Jan. 12.
Glenn Bridges spent six days in Port-au-Prince, which didn”t seem very damaged at the airport, but the city was different, his wife Anita said.
“As you”re driving around Port-au-Prince, you see what once was a four-story house smashed down to one story and you say, ?Oh that looks normal,”” Anita said. “But when you keep looking at it you realize it was a three- or four-story house.”
Glenn has been going to Haiti since 1998 with Starfish Ministries to drill wells for drinking water and draw plans for churches and schools the ministry builds and runs, Anita said. He also helps out wherever he can.
“He”s kind of like the village handyman,” Anita said.
Starfish Ministries built and runs an orphanage with 63 children in Tricotte, 120 miles north of Port-au-Prince, Anita said. The ministry also has 33 schools in surrounding villages where about 6,500 students get hot meals.
“Sometimes that”s their only meal,” Anita said. “We found they weren”t able to learn because their tummies weren”t full.”
Glenn had planned to go to Haiti in mid-January, but after the Jan. 12 earthquake he couldn”t get a flight, Anita said. A private organization flying to Haiti said they had a seat for him if he could get to Fort Lauderdale. But when he arrived in Florida, the plane wasn”t allowed to fly. Glenn eventually got a free seat on a private jet.
“It”s like hitchhiking by airplane,” Anita said.
When Glenn arrived in Port-au-Prince, he met a friend who had asked his girlfriend to marry him Jan. 11, made plans for the wedding and couldn”t find her in the rubble the next day, Anita said. She said their friend went digging for his fiancee but could only find her purse and identification.
“He”s just like our adopted Haitian son,” Anita said. “It would be nice to find her body and give her a proper burial.”
Now Glenn is going to villages nearby Tricotte to inspect schools and churches, Anita said.
“Any problem he can fix right then, he”ll try to help,” she said.
Bernie Bovenkamp, Starfish Ministries director, said the ministry”s schools and churches have minor cracks but no major structural damage.
“At our schools in 33 villages, we”re making sure everything is good, fixing the things that need to be fixed and getting the kids back in school,” Bernie said.
All of the children the ministry supports survived the earthquake, including 35 high school students in the capital.
“The orphans weren”t affected directly because they”re so far away from Port-au-Prince,” Bernie said. “But by being in the country, it”s hard to say how that affects them.”
Glenn may come home next week if he can get a ride or if American Airlines restarts flights to Haiti, Bernie said. The Kelseyville man will go back with two teams in March to rebuild.
Starfish Ministries gives 100 percent of donations to feed, clothe and educate Haitians, Bernie said. Bernie and volunteers pay for their own plane tickets and administrative costs.
People can learn more about the ministry at starfishministries.org where they can donate or people can send checks to Starfish Ministries at 1706 Front St. #440, Lynden, WA 98264.
“You can feed a kid in Haiti for 20 cents a day,” Anita said. “You can”t even buy a pack of gum in the U.S. for 20 cents.”
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
