Information on Chi Psis in Haiti
Thursday, January 14, 2010
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Posted by: Brad Beskin
The Central Office has received the following information regarding Chi Psis in Haiti. If you have any information regarding Brothers or their families, please forward them to Brad Beskin at bbeskin@chipsi.org
Alpha Iota
The Central Office received the following email on Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dear Sam,
I'd like to give you a quick synopsis of what our trip to Haiti and what we know right now. Last Tuesday, six Iota Brothers traveled to Haiti to work in the small, rural town of Jeannette in the mountains of the country's southern penisula (90 miles west of Port-au-Prince). With me were unergradutes Iotas Alex Hitch, Greg Hitch, Keegan Mackin, and Brian Bleyl. My fellow Iota alumnus James Tamplin and his roommate Andrew Lee joined us, as well. Jeannette is home to St. Marc's church, a parish that has partnered with the Episocpal Diocese of Milwaukee for the past 25 years through the Diocese's Haiti Project. My family and I have been involved with this organization since its founding.
After spending a week painting buildings, restoring electricity and internet, and covering damaged roofs with tarps, we headed back to Port-au-Prince Monday morning to spend the afternoon touring the city. Little did we know that the historic sites we were visiting would soon lie in ruin, including the Presidential Palace and the Episcopal Cathedral. After spending the night at Wall's Guest House (a hostel-like hotel often frequented by community service groups), five of us left for the airport Tuesday morning for our flight to Fort Lauderdale and then to Chicago. James and Andrew purchased tickets for flights on Wednesday to enjoy an extra day exploring the city and spend one more night at "Wallhouse" before flying out in the early afternoon.
About an hour after arriving in Fort Lauderdale, I received a phone call from my mother telling me of an earthquake off the coast of Port-au-Prince. . I had not heard from James and Andrew and had no idea how to contact them. For the rest of Tuesday night and much of Wednesday morning we waited anxiously to hear from them. Finally, a Facebook post on James' wall by his friend quoted a text he received from James saying, "in haiti. Am fine. Guesthouse not. Was on roof when it went down. Plz tell my parents and andrews parents."
Needless to say, the morsel of communication was overwhelming for me and many others that received it. As of Wednesday night, we have not had any further communication from James and Andrew. We can only pray that they are safe and out of harm's way. The phone from which the message was sent has since gone out of service (I am assuming because he borrowed it from a friendly Haitian). I am optimistic that James and Andrew will make it home safely - they are smart and resourceful, speak French, and were only a couple miles away from the U.S. Embassy and the airport. Let us keep James, Andrew, their families and all of those in Port-au-Prince in our prayers and hope that we hear from them soon. I will be sure to update you as soon as we receive more news.
YITB,
Drew Eschweiler, Iota '06
On Friday, the CO learned that James and Andrew were safely evacuated to New Jersey.
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