Father & Son Diepenbrocks to Help in Haiti

Steve Diepenbrock

Orcas Islanders Steve Diepenbrock and his son Taylor left yesterday on a 2-week “reconnaissance trip” to Haiti to help with the setup of [intlink id=”rosedanie-cadet-returns-to-haiti-to-rebuild” type=”post”]Rosedanie Cadet’s farm production project in Limbé, Haiti[/intlink].

Steve and Taylor plan to clear the site , help make a base camp for future trips and build relationships with the townspeople. They bring with them some tools, a generator, and first aid and other supplies.

Steve Diepenbrock says, “I’m thrilled to to have the opportunity to let the people of Haiti know that so many people are interested in helping them.

“There are so many unknowns, but it’s such an adventure. I’ve been feeling the need to do something beyond the island to reach out. Since the Haitian earthquake, we all feel so powerless to do something.”

Plus, Steve and his wife Mimi Anderson, who own Morning Star Farm, welcome the opportunity the trip presents their son Taylor, an Orcas High School Senior, who had already chosen Haiti as the subject of his Senior Project. He has already written his project paper, and now will be able to fulfill the service aspect of his state-required graduation project. Taylor plans to document the trip by video camera as part of the project.

Steve and Mimi have long dreamed of building a cross-cultural farming project; Steve says this father-son experience may well be the first step in a larger experience, that he feels was set in motion “quite awhile ago.”

Taylor Diepenbrock

Steve and Taylor will travel to Haiti via flights to New York City and Santiago in the Dominican Republic. A bus trip to Haiti on the other side of the island of Hispaniola will complete their travels to Limbe. They hope to meet up with Rosedanie Cadet on Feb. 12.

“Hopefully I’ll have some tangible skills to offer from Orcas to Haiti. It’s so great to have an immediate connection,” says Steve. We’ll do it step-by-step.” They are taking soccer balls, frisbees and games to play with the local kids, and though neither of the Diepenbrocks speak French or Creole, with sign language they expect to “get along fine.”

Cadet’s work can be followed on the website, noramise.org. Donations to the Noramise Project can be made through the organization answeredprayers2.org. (Make sure to specify that you would like your donation to go to the Rosedanie Cadet Noramise Project). The Kitchen in Eastsound continues to accept donations.