26175: Raber: (comment)Haiti Benefit Auction (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: PM Raber <raber88@zoominternet.net>

I just came back from the 19th annual Haiti Benefit Auction in Mount Hope, Ohio 
where the Amish population raises several hundred thousand dollars for basic 
needs in Haiti.  I had a nice helping of rice and beans and legumes and pikliz. 
The food line had all sort of things and they just had a box with an opening 
for donations in exchange for food, desert and a drink.  They brought in a 
Haitian couple from New York and a lady from Bombardopolis to make the Haitian 
food this year.  The couples parents were from Jacmel and Jeremie.   There were 
about 10 booths showing where the money goes.  99.5% of any money raised this 
weekend will go to elementary education, food, wells and medical clinics.  One 
of the groups working in Fond Parisiens did build 45 homes in Mapou (Using 
local labor).   A couple of weeks ago, I posted that Christian Aid Ministries 
in Berlin Ohio has the 101 Bible Stories for children in Creole.  Their booth 
showed some other material in Creole.  One is a free monthly Christian Family 
magazine in Creole (they also publish it inEnglish, Romanian and Russian) with 
a little bit of everything for all ages in it.  They also had some very 
interesting booklets in Creole on topics such as preventing accidents, 
preventing water born diseases etc.... with culturally appropriate color 
pictures.  On the cover is written the reading level like they do with many 
books in the United States for people who are still learning how to read.  The 
people at the booth could not tell me the cost of each booklet but if someone 
is interested, here is the address:

Christian Aid Ministries
PO Box 360
Berlin, OH 44610
(330)893-2428  fax (330)893-2305

All the groups involved this weekend are Amish or very conservative Mennonite 
(Amish who drive cars instead of buggies but still dress like Amish and live 
simply like Amish). These people are very hard working practical people.  Some 
have never left Haiti during all the trouble of the last two years.  They are 
so far inland that they just stay.  Others who have to travel a lot within the 
country have been very much impaired in their work.  The Christian Aid Group 
distribute medicine all over the country and had an entire container stolen and 
one of their trucks (with one American driver accompanied by a haitian) was 
attacked by armed men. 2 or 3 other vehicles were stolen in the titanyen area 
where they are based.

If you want to see the Amish country, this auction is held every year in Mount 
Hope, Ohio on labor day weekend.   You can purchase furniture, quilts and all 
sorts of things.   Just seeing the cultural event of an Amish Kombit is in 
itself quite entertaining.  They start on Friday night with food, entertainment 
(singing, speakers) and viewing of the items to be auctioned.   In Saturday 
they start with breakfast at around 6 or 7 am and the auction starts at 8 to 
finish around 4.   This year they even built a typical Haitian house just to 
show people what people are living in.  Just about every Amish as a little 
garden shed 100 times sturdier and twice as big as than the stick and tin roof 
house.  Even the stick they used for the wall were much bigger than the 
traditional house.  The local comunity donates tons of items to the auction 
including this year a 24X32 Pole building, a tractor mower, a 10X20 Cabin, many 
pieces of urniture and gift certificates.