I just received this a few minutes ago, it would be a great story for any news organizations there in PAP. I think the thing I like the most about this is that the system is in place now. They have the list (over 200 if I am not mistaken) and especially that they are asking for VOLUNTEERS there to help, would allow for anyone in the area to plug in and have an immediate effect. It is especially rare because the 82nd Airborne is going to be there for security.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Nadeige Martelly, SAS
786-863-1363
press@sowaseedonline.org
SOW A SEED AND RED FALCONS SAVE LIVES AND SHINE HOPE TO HAITI’S ORPHANAGES
Humanitarian Efforts to Ten Orphanages to be Facilitated with the 82nd Airborne Division U.S. Army
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (February 16, 2010) – Sow a Seed (SAS), a non-profit organization created and led
by a group of Haitian and American professionals, is distributing supplies to ten orphanages on Wednesday,
February 17th with the help of the 82nd Airborne Division U.S. Army, specifically the Red Falcons, in Port-au-
Prince, Haiti.
Sow a Seed’s mission is to provide the basic fundamentals for disadvantaged children living in extreme poverty
in Haiti, even more so after the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010. After a week
of joining forces with the Red Falcons, researching and assessing what the immediate needs are for each
orphanage, Sow a Seed and the Red Falcons are prepared to distribute collections to orphanages in the La
Plaine, Bon Repos, Lillavois and Clercine area tomorrow.
Members of the media are welcome to arrive at 10 a.m., and the Red Falcons and SAS teams will begin their
mission at 10:30 a.m. Meeting point is Damien School, Haiti’s state agricultural university. All supplies and
donations such as tents, mattresses, foods, hygienic items, baby goods, and clothes collected from various SAS
fundraising events, individuals and non-governmental organizations including Shelterbox and GOAL will be
distributed to the following orphanages:
Compassion for All Foundation
Les Orphelines de la Vallee du Jourdain
Espoir des Petits Anges d’Haiti,
Rata Sourire d’Enfants
Community Salem Center Orphanage
Good Neighbors Orphanage
Foyer Renmen
Kay Tout Ti Moun
Kings Garden
Bon Berger de Fatima
Sow a Seed has also assisted the Red Falcons in scouting community hospitals and clinics for orphans who
need urgent medical care, sometimes even took action such as the day they were faced with two lethargic
babies dying of dehydration and immediately brought them to a doctor. Saved on Valentine’s Day, the babies
will now be able to receive the proper care that they need.
The partnership between SAS and the Red Falcons is vital: with strong community ties, SAS is able to
communicate and network while keeping the needs of each individual valuable, while the 82nd Airborne Division
has a strong presence in the country facilitating the data collection and dispatches. Together, they collaborate
for growth.
For more information, press attendance or to volunteer , please contact:
SAS, Haiti Joanne Batroni at (509) 3441 0550 or (509) 3733 5544 or email at sowaseedhaiti@gmail.com or
jobat1@aol.com. SAS, Miami Claudia Apaid at (786) 338 8138 or email at capaid@me.com. 82nd Airborne
Division, email CPT Fonseca or CPT Miller at redcmoc@gmail.com
About Sow a Seed
Sow a Seed (SAS) is a non-profit organization started and led by a group of Haitian and American professionals
to provide the basic fundamentals for disadvantaged children living in extreme poverty in Haiti. Since the
devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010, all efforts have been focused on collecting
donations to help rebuild Haiti and on immediately dispatching supplies directly to orphanages, hospitals and
individuals in need. SAS is organized by volunteers collaborating with each other for collective growth. For more
information, to volunteer or to donate, please visit www.sowaseedonline.org
I just received this a few minutes ago, it would be a great story for any news organizations there in PAP. I think the thing I like the most about this is that the system is in place now. They have the list (over 200 if I am not mistaken) and especially that they are asking for VOLUNTEERS there to help, would allow for anyone in the area to plug in and have an immediate effect. It is especially rare because the 82nd Airborne is going to be there for security.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Nadeige Martelly, SAS
786-863-1363
press@sowaseedonline.org
SOW A SEED AND RED FALCONS SAVE LIVES AND SHINE HOPE TO HAITI’S ORPHANAGES
Humanitarian Efforts to Ten Orphanages to be Facilitated with the 82nd Airborne Division U.S. Army
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (February 16, 2010) – Sow a Seed (SAS), a non-profit organization created and led
by a group of Haitian and American professionals, is distributing supplies to ten orphanages on Wednesday,
February 17th with the help of the 82nd Airborne Division U.S. Army, specifically the Red Falcons, in Port-au-
Prince, Haiti.
Sow a Seed’s mission is to provide the basic fundamentals for disadvantaged children living in extreme poverty
in Haiti, even more so after the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010. After a week
of joining forces with the Red Falcons, researching and assessing what the immediate needs are for each
orphanage, Sow a Seed and the Red Falcons are prepared to distribute collections to orphanages in the La
Plaine, Bon Repos, Lillavois and Clercine area tomorrow.
Members of the media are welcome to arrive at 10 a.m., and the Red Falcons and SAS teams will begin their
mission at 10:30 a.m. Meeting point is Damien School, Haiti’s state agricultural university. All supplies and
donations such as tents, mattresses, foods, hygienic items, baby goods, and clothes collected from various SAS
fundraising events, individuals and non-governmental organizations including Shelterbox and GOAL will be
distributed to the following orphanages:
Compassion for All Foundation
Les Orphelines de la Vallee du Jourdain
Espoir des Petits Anges d’Haiti,
Rata Sourire d’Enfants
Community Salem Center Orphanage
Good Neighbors Orphanage
Foyer Renmen
Kay Tout Ti Moun
Kings Garden
Bon Berger de Fatima
Sow a Seed has also assisted the Red Falcons in scouting community hospitals and clinics for orphans who
need urgent medical care, sometimes even took action such as the day they were faced with two lethargic
babies dying of dehydration and immediately brought them to a doctor. Saved on Valentine’s Day, the babies
will now be able to receive the proper care that they need.
The partnership between SAS and the Red Falcons is vital: with strong community ties, SAS is able to
communicate and network while keeping the needs of each individual valuable, while the 82nd Airborne Division
has a strong presence in the country facilitating the data collection and dispatches. Together, they collaborate
for growth.
For more information, press attendance or to volunteer , please contact:
SAS, Haiti Joanne Batroni at (509) 3441 0550 or (509) 3733 5544 or email at sowaseedhaiti@gmail.com or
jobat1@aol.com. SAS, Miami Claudia Apaid at (786) 338 8138 or email at capaid@me.com. 82nd Airborne
Division, email CPT Fonseca or CPT Miller at redcmoc@gmail.com
About Sow a Seed
Sow a Seed (SAS) is a non-profit organization started and led by a group of Haitian and American professionals
to provide the basic fundamentals for disadvantaged children living in extreme poverty in Haiti. Since the
devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010, all efforts have been focused on collecting
donations to help rebuild Haiti and on immediately dispatching supplies directly to orphanages, hospitals and
individuals in need. SAS is organized by volunteers collaborating with each other for collective growth. For more
information, to volunteer or to donate, please visit www.sowaseedonline.org
Thank you for the lead Michael. I believe the church can help!
Michael, Thanks for all the info. I am proud to say that I have a son who is a soldier, rank of specialist and is one the soldiers in Charlie Company, Red Falcons, of the 82nd Airborne Unit, 1-325 BCT,. They were on the Global Response Force Status for the past 6 months. GRF means that the 82nd will have They did just that. I have been proud to read about all the 82nd Red Falcons have been able to accomplish along with the help from NGO’s such as the SAS, Samaritan’s Purse, and others I can’t name. They worked tirelessly for the first 2 weeks, getting less than 2-4 hour of sleep at a time. The soldier conditions were finally improved about 2 weeks in, when they finally received mosquito nets, rudimentary showers, and cots as they made their FOB in an abandoned school building. After the first two weeks of working at the hospital, they started setting up their humanitarian missions with the food drops. They have been doing that as well as security since then. A week ago, they were told their duties in Haiti were complete as the UN had been bringing in troops to take over for a longer term. The 82nd is not a unit that comes and stays for a long period of time. Their last humanitarian mission was over a week ago. All of the supplies (a whole football field that was completely covered with their vehicles, supplies, generators, etc were loaded onto a boat and are on their way back to Ft. Bragg. The soldiers, however, are not. The family members were told our soldiers would be home Feb. 28. That day came and went. Mind you, these soldiers are stuck in their FOB area, with nothing left for them. No generators to charge anything or use electricity. They do still have their cots, and mosquito nets, but that is all. They aren’t allowed to leave that area, and are not even commanding security check points. Basically, they are hot, tired, hungry, and ready to be home. It is beyond my wildest imagination of how hard it can possibly be to get our soldiers home. We had no trouble getting them down their in a timely manner. I don’t know why I’m writing this to you, probably because I am hoping you have some kind of "in" with the media, and can find something out. They have to pay our soldiers a bit more money since they are now into March, and we all know the military doesn’t have that in their budget. Again, I’m sure you will delete this with a laugh, but I can promise you, I can recount over and over these kinds of problems that occur within the army on a consistent basis. In fact, the first we days they were their a few of our soldiers brought their own money so they could hire some of the locals to help dig trenches around their FOB site. A reporter was interviewing this soldier, and was asked why he was paying for it out of his own pocket, and he said, "the military doesn’t have it in their budget to pay for these things for us…." This interview was on the news, was forwarded to me by my daughter-in-law, and by the time I got to the site to watch it, that part of the video, where they stated they were having to pay the Haitians to help them dig trenches, magically disappeared from the interview video. The video was originally 8:26 long, and suddenly it was 4:13. My daughter-in-law has the original because she was able to download it before they were able to to delete the evidence. Why? couple of other non-profits my son said they were working along side to hand out boots on the ground within 96 hours of a natural disaster or world event. We have been able to speak to him a few times since the 82nd’s Global Response Force had boots on the ground within 96 hours of receiving the order. They were there about 96 hours after the earthquake happened. My son has told me of some of the wonderful humanitarian missions they have been on. First working in the hospitals, then working alongside other NGO’s like SAS, Good Samaritans, and a few others I can’t recall the names of. The Red Falcons have done their job. They have been sitting at their FOB now for over a week, without going out on any missions, and not even providing security. All of their supplies, and gear, generators, vehicles, etc. have loaded onto a boat and sent back to the US. Our Red Falcon Soldiers were told they would be home March 1. It has now been over a week~they aren’t allowed to leave their meager FOB area. If there is anyway for you to find out anything about this, why these soldiers can’t get their flights back home, I would appreciate it. I know that their FOB has been in an abandoned school, somewhere close to the airport, if I read the unclassified documents sent to us correctly. Red Falcons ROCK! As I said, the Global Response Force was designed to have boots on the ground within 96 hours of the order for any major disaster anywhere in the world. Our Soldiers did their part, and it is now time for them to come home. They have handed over their duties to the other organizations whose job it is to stay on a longer term basis. Thanks for letting me vent…if there is anyone you know to contact to try and get some answers, please do so.