Charity prepares medical bus to send to Haiti
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SHEFFIELD TWP. — Several months ago, a charity called BUSES International embarked on a plan to spend $40,000 to renovate a big purple school bus for medical or dental services in Haiti.
Tom Szychowicz and Todd Rainey, co-directors of BUSES International, pose in front of the bus that will be a mobile medical facility in Haiti. (CT photo by Bruce Bishop.)
Last month’s devastating earthquake made the need even greater, said Thomas Szychowicz and Todd Rainey, co-directors of the nonprofit group located on North Ridge Road.
Haitians will need extra medical and dental assistance for years to come following the deaths of about 200,000 and the injuries to many more.
“We already have the bus and the medical and dental equipment, but we need more funds,“ Rainey said. “We need approximately $40,000 to complete the construction and ship the unit to Haiti.”
Szychowicz said a diesel generator capable of running the medical and dental devices costs $10,000 and is the biggest single item involved in the renovation.
The 1989 school bus purchased by the group was one of the most reasonable, costing $2,500.
“This will be used for relief work, and we hope to have teams going down to Haiti,” Szychowicz said.
Pastor Martin Etienne, the man selected to oversee operation of the bus, lived on a street in Port-au-Prince where 95 percent of the homes were destroyed, including his own, according to a letter sent to BUSES International.
They first made contact in November, and Etienne visited Lorain County soon afterward to firm up plans.
After the earthquake, Szychowicz said the staff of BUSES International waited and worried until Etienne called from a satellite phone with the news that he, his wife and their four children had survived.
“They’re living in tents,” Szychowicz said.
Since 1988, BUSES International has been converting and rebuilding buses, box trucks and trailers into mobile medical and dental clinics, food distribution vehicles, mobile shower facilities and street ministry units. Right now, the organization is finishing work on a medical unit to be sent to Africa.
BUSES International delivered a bus to Haiti in the early 1990s, but it is no longer in service, Szychowicz said.
Rainey said all donations are tax-deductible, and people can visit the Web site ww.busesinternational.org for more details.
There you can read the story of the ministry that has donated its buses in 10 countries, including the United States, Mexico, Kenya, Costa Rica and Honduras.
It was founded by Norman Beetler, who built a mobile shower bus after an encounter with a Mexican boy.
How to help
Send donations to Haiti medical/dental bus, c/o BUSES International, 702 North Ridge Road E., Lorain, OH 44055.
Contact BUSES International at (440) 233-4091 or through their Web site, www.busesinternational.org.
Read more on Haiti
- Charity prepares medical bus to send to Haiti
- Lorain sailor sees Haiti devastation first-hand
- Local doctors fly to Dominican Republic to help
- Elyria airman helped supply Haiti after quake
Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
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