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Tails
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 Posted - 01/16/2010 : 5:30:02 PM
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Haitian teammates lean on each other for support
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(NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Everett, MA) - As Everett High School's varsity team was poised to take on Somerville Friday night, many of their players' minds were elsewhere - thinking of family members dealing with the tragedy in Haiti.
Power forward Ricky Thurin said, "I was shocked, I'm devastated, I'm depressed, my mother's out there so it's really hard to think of something else right now."
Small forward Rodman Noel said, "On my father's side, his cousin died, he got caught in the house and he wasn't able to get out."
Co-captains Ricky Thurin and Rodman Noel have been leaning on each other and their fellow Haitian-American teammates and coaches to cope. "It's good to have other Haitians on the team and coaches that understand what's going on," said Noel.
Forward Jethro Auguste said, "Basketball has helped me a lot. It's taking my mind off of things going on, but when I go home it's back to reality."
But the hardest part for these young men is not knowing.
Erno Deshommes just moved to the US from Haiti last year.
After calling for three days, the 17-year-old who speaks very little English just found out Friday his mom was alive.
A teammate translated what Deshommes said as, "It's tough because they call and call but they never can reach their families."
That's the frustration Ricky Thurin has had getting busy signals or having the line go dead while he desperately tries to get word about his mom.
"She's on my mind right now, I'm praying for her, hoping that she's alright, but every moment I have that she's not there, it's very depressing," said Thurin.
Coach John DiBiaso says he's amazed watching these players handle this along with school and basketball.
"It's remarkable, very impressive and I'm very proud of them as individuals, the way they're acting like adults and taking this," said Coach DiBiaso.
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2010 : 11:09:41 AM
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All packed up, no way to go
By Dennis Shaughnessey, dshaughnessey@lowellsun.com
Updated: 03/27/2010 07:00:17 AM EDT
Tewksbury resident Emmanuel Exilhomme, with his 21-month-old daughter, Shanis, and his 5-year-old son, Shane, stand amid 48 pallets of food, clothes, medical supplies and more ready to be shipped to Haiti. Exhilhomme says the items were all donated, but he has no money to ship the goods to the earthquake-ravaged country. Sun/Dennis Shaughnessey
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EVERETT -- Time is running out.
Tewksbury resident Emmanuel Exilhomme needs to move 48 pallets of life-saving supplies sitting in a warehouse in Everett, destined for Haiti. Donations of medical supplies, food, walkers, wheelchairs, baby food, water, tents, sleeping bags, clothes, hygiene supplies and more have been pouring in to Exilhomme's office at A Better Tomorrow Services, Inc. on Charlton Street in Everett since stories ran in The Sun in January and February, spotlighting the Haitian-born immigrant's plight.
"Now we have all these things, but we have no way to get them to Haiti," said Exilhomme, ABTS' executive director.
Exilhomme has been using the warehouse adjacent to his office, which was donated to him by his landlord, Jerry Adams.
"He felt bad when he saw I had no place for everything, so he was kind enough to let me use this space, but now summer is coming and he will need this entire area," Exilhomme said.
Adams said there is no drop-dead date by which Exilhomme must ship the supplies, but he is hoping that it can get to Haiti soon.
"I'm sure he is hoping that it is out quickly as well," said Adams. "It's not doing anybody any good sitting in a warehouse. But no, I'm not rushing him out. It's just good for everybody if it moves as quickly as possible."
Stacked neatly on pallets are cartons of juice, baby formula, and nonperishable food, boxes of brand new tents and sleeping bags, boots and shoes, as well as
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medical supplies -- antibiotics, high blood pressure medication and Ibuprofen. Much of the goods come from nonprofit relief organizations, such as Feed The Children, who have partnered with ABTS, and with whom Exilhomme made contact when he returned from Haiti in February.
"When I saw the country, when I saw the need, I said 'I must do something,'" said the 33-year-old Exilhomme, who came to the United States in 1995. "The Haitian people are sleeping at night without blankets. They are hungry. They are sick and they are cold. Freezing."
Large plastic bags, filled with clothes and other items, sit in a room across the corridor from his office. It all has to be sorted out and placed in boxes.
"Not all of it is in good condition," said Exilhomme. "I must go through each bag that comes in and keep only what is good."
Boxes of food sit in a conference room, waiting to be packaged and shipped. But Exilhomme has no money and estimates it will cost him approximately $7,000 to rent trucks, deliver the goods to port and get them to the earthquake-ravaged country. Exilhomme estimates the entire trip will take about 10 days. He has a list of about 40 emergency relief workers and volunteers who are ready to go to Haiti with him, to deliver aid and help survivors in Port-au-Prince, plus three other villages outside the capital of Haiti.
"They seem to be forgotten there and they urgently need relief," said Exilhomme, who lost 10 family members in the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12.
The Sun chronicled the outpouring of support that came from the North Street Elementary School in Tewksbury, where Exilhomme's 7-year-old son, Ethan, attends first grade. Exilhomme, and his wife, Sandra, have two other children, Shane, 5, and Shanis, 21 months.
"People have been so, so generous and have sacrificed much for my people," said Exilhomme. "And now, I am begging for help to ship these supplies as quickly as possible."
Donations can be made to A Better Tomorrow, 3 Charlton St., Everett, MA 02149. Telephone contacts are 617-381-8726 or 978-387-2542. For more information, visit You must be logged in to see this link.
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Haitian tragedy hits Everett High Basketball
