Kingston sending shelters to Haiti

KINGSTON — The idea came to Bev Beasley as she was driving home one night, with rain pouring down outside her car. It was about a week after the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, and Beasley began thinking of people there left without shelter.

The thought led to action.

With the help of Hansville Community Church and Henery Hardware in Kingston, Beasley organized a fund drive to purchase tarps and ropes to make simple temporary shelters for displaced families in Haiti.

Donors have already purchased enough tarps and ropes to shelter about 500 people, Beasley said. In addition, 100 pairs of tennis shoes have been collected.

“For a community this size, I think that is just incredible,” Beasley said.

The supplies will be distributed by Children of the Nations, a Christian mission based in Silverdale. The group uses a network of church pastors in Haiti to disperse supplies.

Children of the Nations already worked in the Dominican Republic and began distributing aid at the Haitian border soon after the earthquake struck. Since then it has shipped two crates of supplies from the United States. It plans to ship a third, which will include the tarps from Kingston, in April.

Dave Schertzer, resource director for, Children of the Nations said many people in Haiti were unable to return to their homes because of structural damage. Others were afraid to return to buildings because of aftershocks from the earthquake.

“You have a lot of people living on the curb,” Schertzer said. “You have a lot of people living outside and they are trying to reknit their lives.”

To meet that need, Pete and Laura Warner of Henery Hardware came up with a minimalist shelter package, a 10-foot by 12-foot tarp and a piece of rope. Donors pay about $6 for the package, which the Warners are providing at cost.

Donations to the Children of the Nations drive can be dropped off at Henery Hardware on State Route 104 in Kingston. For more information on Children of the Nations see www.cotni.org.

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