- April 18, 2024
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The family is residing in the village La Digue Mathieux in the province of Arcahaie.
Dave Linkinhoker kisses the cheek of one of the many people he and his family are currently serving in Haiti
While many Ormond Beach residents experienced property damage and power outages during Hurricane Matthew, the aftermath was nothing compared to what happened to the residents of the La Digue Mathieux village in Arcahaie, Haiti.
Several homes flooded, and the river rose to a level high enough to wash away gardens and kill cows that families relied on for a living. The high, dirty waters of the local canals increased the risk of cholera, typhoid, and other water-borne illnesses. The ponding water and mud breed mosquitos and increased the risk of dengue, Zika, and malaria.
Though the Linkinhokers — Elizabeth, Dave, and 14-year-old Grace — are from Ormond Beach, they rode out the storm with the residents of La Digue Mathieux, and are working to help them rebuild.
"We live in a mountainous area, where the main income is from agriculture," said Elizabeth Linkinhoker. "Losing livestock and gardens is extremely detrimental, especially for those already struggling."
The family has been in Haiti for 15 months. Members of Salty Church, they are on a missions trip with Children's Lifeline, an organization that provides solid Biblical teaching, food, clothing, medical supplies, facilities for educational assistance for the underprivileged children and their families.
They currently have three schools with 1,200 students, two churches, a trade school teaching sewing, multiple gardens, a feeding program providing 2,400 hot meals five days a week, a widow care program, a health clinic with laboratory and pharmacy, a dental clinic, and an orphanage with 20 children.
"Being here during a hurricane was scary and sad in many ways," Elizabeth Linkinhoker said. "We are in a safe and secure concrete home, but many people do not have that luxury. It was scary and sad for us thinking about how many people were huddled up and riding out the storm in homes made of sticks and mud, rocks and mud, tarps, or tin."
While people in Florida had days to prepare for the storm and evacuate, most residents in Haiti didn't know the hurricane was coming until a few hours before the feeder bands began to hit.
"It wouldn't do much good knowing in advance like we do in the U.S.," she said, "because there is no place to evacuate to. Even if you did have the money to evacuate, people don't have the money to stock up on supplies as they can barely afford day-to-day meals. And how would they possibly secure their homes anyway?"
During the storm, Elizabeth Linkinhoker said they experienced lots of winds, and heavy gusts. The storm lasted a full two days, and on the second day they had about 10 hours of torrential downpour.
"It was eerie at night hearing slamming doors that couldn't be secured properly and tin roofs flapping," she said.
The family is asking people to donate to the village to help them make new gardens and get more livestock so they can begin to rebuild their lives. Donations can be made by visiting salty.org, choosing "Ormond campus," and then "Haiti," and writing "hurricane relief - livestock and gardens" in the memo. Those donations will go directly to the Linkinhoker's mission.
People can also donate to Children's Lifeline's Emergency Hurricane Relief Fund to add to the general hurricane fund that will go towards medicine, livestock, garden, food or home repairs.
People can follow the Linkinhoker's journey by liking their Facebook page, Making Haiti Home - The Links in Haiti.
