Georgetown, SC - Almost six months following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, more than 340 temporary homes built by volunteers are being shipped through the Port of Georgetown to support the ongoing relief effort.
The MV Integrity, owned and operated by the non-profit organization Friendships, arrived at the Port of Georgetown today and will be transporting the homes to Haiti in two to three round trips at no charge. Locally, the South Carolina State Ports Authority, stevedore, labor, agent and tug operator are providing their services for free or drastically reduced rates.
Christ in Action, a nonprofit disaster relief organization based in Northern Virginia, has spearheaded the Homes for Haiti effort, and has helped mobilized volunteers from Texas all the way to the Grand Strand to build the homes at three building sites in Houston, Myrtle Beach and Manassas, Virginia.
I flew down to Haiti and determined that the best thing we could provide is housing, said Dr. Denny Nissley, director of Christ in Action. Because of the donated time and services of the many volunteers involved in the relief effort, each home costs us only $600 to construct and transport directly to Haiti.
For the past few months, volunteers in the Myrtle Beach area have logged hundreds of hours building the 8' wide by 12' long homes within a warehouse space donated by The Sun News. Private local donations and $7,000 from Christ in Action funded the cost of building materials. Their efforts resulted in the finished construction of 132 homes, each designed to sleep between eight and 12 individuals.
Trucks donated by the City of Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach Building Supply and Grand Strand Water and Sewer brought the homes to the Port of Georgetown, where they have been stored on the dock at no charge since late June. Homes constructed by the volunteers in Northern Virginia were transported to Georgetown on six trucks. A total of 342 homes will be shipped from the port.
Neff Rental of Myrtle Beach is providing at no charge the equipment to load the homes onto the vessel. SSA Cooper, Norton Lilly, McAllister Towing and the International Longshoremen's Association - Local 1422 have also donated their services for dock operations.
We have a very giving community that I am proud to be part of, said Ed Jackson, a real estate developer who has served as the local volunteer lead. The City of Myrtle Beach staff helped in a number of ways as did many other local organizations, including those in the port community. Thanks to all who helped, donated and most of all prayed for the people of Haiti.
The devastating earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010.
For more information:
Dr. Denny Nissley
Executive Director
Christ in Action
703-217-3144
Byron Miller
Director, Marketing, Public Relations & Planning
S.C. State Ports Authority
843-577-8197