Catherine Lawhun, KG4UKI.
Catherine Lawhun, KG4UKI. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 28, 2004--An ARRL member from Florida, Catherine Lawhun, KG4UKI, is heading to Haiti with a small team to provide communication support for the relief effort in the flood-ravaged city of Gonaives. The Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Association (DERA) is sponsoring the project. During the recent spate of hurricanes affecting Florida and the Caribbean, she's been active in the field in Florida on behalf of DERA and also has assisted numerous organizations including The Salvation Army. Lawhun says she recognizes that while storm-stricken communities in the US also need help in recovering, the need in Haiti is especially urgent.
"Haiti is really in trouble," Lawhun said recounting DERA's rationale for making Haiti a priority. "The US is probably going to recover. We have the resources. Haiti might not."
While plans remain in flux, Lawhun says she'll fly to Haiti October 5 with an Icom IC-706MkIIG HF/VHF/UHF transceiver to establish an HF link to the US from Gonaives. The project still needs donations of General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) portables--which Lawhun's small team will transport to Haiti--and Amateur Radio operators to serve as HF liaison stations. Transport from Cap Haitian, where the team will arrive, still could prove problematic. Lawhun says that since all gasoline to Cap Haitian must come from Port au Prince through Gonaives, the price reportedly has shot up to as much as $50 per gallon.
Relief workers and medical personnel in the still-flooded city and at a newly opened health center will use the GMRS transceivers to keep in touch with her and with each other. The HF link will permit Lawhun to communicate back to the US regarding the situation and any equipment or supply needs. Doctors Without Borders is part of the relief effort in Haiti.
"As many handheld devices as we can carry in can be given out to doctors on the ground in the affected city," Lawhun said in an appeal for both radios and cash donations on the DERA Special Projects Web site. "The need is huge. Please get involved!"
Many Waters Resource Network will provide free FedEx shipment of GMRS units and batteries, she said, and donors can email teams@many-waters.com to request the shipping information. The Special Projects Web site includes plan details and a "Make a Donation" button for cash contributions. Donors also may send checks to DERA c/o Haiti Relief Support, 11445 Honey Jordan Pt, Inglis, FL 34449.
A Web signup form is available for anyone wishing to volunteer for daily HF monitoring shifts (likely 20 meters with some possibility of 40 or 80 meters during evening hours). Particular frequencies have not yet been established, she said, and she anticipates the operation will take place primarily during daylight hours.
"When recovery is completed for the current disaster, the communications station will remain on the island," said Lawhun, a radio amateur for about five years. "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 currently active on the island."
Lawhun says the Foundation for International Radio Service (FAIRS)--headed by Dave and Gaynell Larsen, KK4WW and KK4WWW--provided some inspiration for the Haiti project. FAIRS has had extensive experience in establishing an Amateur Radio presence in countries around the world. Dave Larsen, a longtime DERA member, has been lending his expertise to the project, said Lawhun, who called him "a wonderful resource."
Lawhun, who edits DERA's newsletter, also is a member of The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) and serves as DERA's SATERN liaison.
While the DERA project initially had hoped to use local Amateur Radio operators with VHF handhelds, Lawhun says she found few ham radio operators in Haiti who were willing to risk entering the city, which not only is ravaged by floodwaters but by disease and looting. She still hopes that Amateur Radio emergency communication resources can be developed in Haiti for future disasters.
A wall of water and mud resulting from then-Tropical Storm Jeanne inundated much of Gonaives September 18 as it lingered over the island of Hispaniola for more than a day, dumping heavy rain. A densely populated city of about 200,000, Gonaives was the most severely affected region in Haiti. As of this week, the death toll was nearly 1300, and hundreds more are still missing.
The flooding in northeastern Haiti wiped out much of the region's farms, which could lead to a crisis of another kind. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization is said to be assessing the extent of the damage there.
This will not be the first trip to Haiti for Lawhun, who was there about six years ago on a mission trip with Engineering Ministries International to help design and build a community there. An engineer by training, Lawhun spent some 20 years in the water and wastewater engineering field.
Living Hope Missions out of Cap Haitian will provide support for the DERA team on the ground. MFI of West Palm Beach, Florida, will handle passenger and cargo transport, and DERA will provide the necessary HF radio equipment.
"I'm one of those people who has just enough faith to get
me in trouble," Lawhun quipped. "So, I decided that I would pursue this as long
as doors would open, and, lo and behold, they are, so here I am."
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