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 Previous: The Tone's the Thing for 2004 ARRL Frequency Measuring Test |  Next: Youth@HamRadio.Fun: JOTA Memories, Accomplishments of Several Young Hams, and Scouting Events |
 |
 Doug Douglas, N8SAQ, in the shack of HH2B. |
 N8SAQ climbs the HH2B tower to install a new antenna. |
 Flood devastation in the City of Gonaives. [Photo Juno: Clervil Junior Clerveau. EverythingHaitian.com] |
 Flood victims stand in water to get water to drink. [Photo Juno: Clervil Junior Clerveau. EverythingHaitian.com] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 3, 2004--Thanks to a husband-wife team, Amateur Radio in Haiti has taken a giant step toward being able to meet that Caribbean country's present and future disaster communication needs. Under the banner of the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association (DERA) and Many Waters Resource Network, ARRL member Catherine Lawhun, KG4UKI, and another ham radio volunteer already had tickets and passports in hand to travel to Haiti to provide communication support for flood relief in the hard-hit city of Gonaives. When Doug Douglas, N8SAQ, and his wife Rebecca, N8SAS, volunteered to go instead, and funds became available to send them, Lawhun was more than willing to stay behind to coordinate the effort from the US.
"This was really a test to see how many times plans can change in any one week period," quipped Lawhun, who edits DERA's newsletter, is a member of The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) and serves as DERA's SATERN liaison. She says the Douglases were better suited for the initial phase of the project--to resurrect the ham radio infrastructure--because they have lived in Haiti and are fluent in the local dialect. In addition, they already had ham gear in Haiti. But, Lawhun says, there was another advantage.
"Mr Douglas is a tower climber, and I am not," she stated. She explained that the success of their primary plan required someone to repair a triband beam atop a 100-foot tower at the Pétionville station of Bernard Russo, HH2B, which had suffered storm damage. Russo is vice president of the Radio Club d'Haiti and a long-time radio amateur.
In September, heavy rainfall from then-Tropical Storm Jeanne sent a wall of water and mud into Gonaives. Thousands have died, and the human misery resulting from the flooding will continue for many months to come.
Lawhun says the Douglases arrived in Haiti on October 19 at around 10 AM. "They actually were on the radio with us by 11:15," she said, "which was really exciting to all of us who were monitoring." The couple made antenna and equipment repairs at HH2B and got the Port-au-Prince station of Jean Robert Gaillard, HH2JR, back in service as well. A third HF-equipped station at a hospital, licensed to Jacques Guy Lafontant, HH2LX, was put back into operation in late October.
"This will give the entire island a leg up in the event of any future catastrophes and establish a working relationship between DERA and the entire network of missions and hospitals currently active on the island," Lawhun said. "I think what we've done is refuel their enthusiasm--given them a little bit of help that will mushroom into giving the whole country a lot of help."
Also key to present and future relief efforts in Haiti, Lawhun stressed, are the more than two dozen Amateur Radio volunteers in the US who responded to an earlier call to help. The stateside volunteers, she explained, made it possible to maintain regular communication between the US and Haiti, using the SATERN's 14.265 MHz frequency.
"There's this whole network now of people here in the states that are in touch with those radio stations in Haiti," she said. "We have daily schedules."
Russo and the Radio Club d'Haiti have installed repeaters and weather stations throughout Haiti, although not all of the are working due to storm damage. Keeping in front of the costs of maintaining and repairing the machines has proven difficult, however, and Lawhun suggests donations from US hams could help to "provide the recovery Haiti needs right now from the flooding."
"One repeater covers Port-au-Prince to Gonaives, and the other repeater covers the entire northern area," Lawhun explained. But, she said, The Salvation Army personnel on the ground in Gonaives as well as in five additional base camps to the north of that stricken city are completely cut off from their divisional headquarters in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
In addition to re-establishing existing repeater systems,
Lawhun says future plans call for setting up a repeater network and a Winlink 2000 Amateur Radio e-mail system
for emergency traffic. DERA and Many Waters will brainstorm other possible
solutions February 3-6 during the Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation's 26th
Annual Disaster Management Conference
in Orlando.
 Catherine Lawhun, KG4UKI. |
Lawhun believes the ultimate solution to the Gonaives disaster is to relocate that city entirely, primarily because there's no place to put the mud or debris with available equipment. "They desperately need heavy equipment, such as front end loaders and the operators," she said. "It's a stormwater engineering nightmare."
All told, the first leg of the relief effort not only got two solid HF-VHF stations back on the air but the Douglases, working with Project Help and The Salvation Army in Haiti--were able to assess additional needs. The Douglases also were able to deliver donated handheld GMRS transceivers to doctors for on-campus use at Project Help hospitals in Pierre Payen--along the route between Port-au-Prince and Gonaives. HF equipment previously set up at those facilities had been stolen, Lawhun reported. An additional repeater will be put into operation on a subsequent trip, she said.
Lawhun says the Radio Club d'Haiti provided support for the team while it was in Haiti, and DERA has provided radio equipment, including peripherals. The Radio Club d'Haiti also will be attempting to recruit and license additional volunteers in Haiti. Many Waters Resource Network has been coordinating volunteers in the US and handling logistical support.
Lawhun said a need exists for Motorola FM units that could serve as digipeaters, replacing gear that's now out of service. Contact Lawhun for more details. Cash donations also are welcome. Donors may send checks to DERA c/o Haiti Relief Support, 11445 Honey Jordan Pt, Inglis, FL 34449.
"I think probably the biggest thing that this one
particular trip did--besides the repairs--is that it got the radio club fired
up again," Lawhun said. "And now, they're ready to take the ball and run with
it. For the long-term needs of Haiti, this is going to be huge."
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