On July 17, 2010 Abdul-Jalil spoke with Lee Variety and the Honorable Johnny Ford, former Mayor for 24 years and member of the State House of Representatives of Tuskegee, Alabama who is the Founder, Secretary General of the World Conference of Mayors (WCM) and The National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) regarding our working on behalf of the WCM and NCBM to aid the people of Haiti.
The World Conference of Mayors has over 18,000 mayors abroad, establishing partnerships with mayoral associations, presidents and heads of state in Africa, Colombia, China, Haiti, Brazil, Jamaica, Martinique and the Bahamas. The National Conference of Black Mayors assists more than 650 African American Mayors across the United States and the 48 million citizens that they collectively represent. The WCM has established the Haitian Disaster Relief Fund and been awarded Private Volunteer Organization (PVO) status and can now provide USAID assistance to countries around the world, especially Africa, and here in the United States with their own HIV/AIDS Initiative. They also have an affiliation with the National Medical Association and partnered with the Mars Corporation to donate a shipment of Uncle Ben’s Rice to Haitian member mayors’ communities, which in turn fed over 300,000 people in Haiti.
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On July 21, 2010 Abdul-Jalil spoke with Lee Variety and Arch Bishop Jeune, the most powerful man in Haiti as head of the Catholic Church, not one of the many alleged corrupt politicians there, regarding his prayer for a miracle to aid the people of Haiti that he serves at Grace Village, the compound of his organization Grace International, in the Carrefour district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the epicenter of the earthquake. Just three days later, Dr. Kenya Numan and her organization “Stepping Together” was with her crew on the ground in Haiti July 24, 2010 communicating with the Arch Bishop and at the Village by July 26, 2010!
The Village has become a refuge center, housing almost 30,000 quake victims and the compound is located precisely where the earthquake did the most damage. Most of the homes and neighborhoods surrounding Grace Village have been highly damaged, if not devastated, leaving hundreds of thousands of people dead and injured.
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On August 12, 2010 Abdul-Jalil received a letter of “Thanks” from the Honorable Johnny Ford acknowledging an eternal debt of gratitude to the Aaron and Margaret Wallace Foundation and Stepping Together for the incredible and expedient work of arranging the Haitian relief effort with Dr. Kenya Numan to Grace Village with the Herculean effort to rearrange the logistics to reroute the mission to the Village for people in such great need! This was a tangible reality of SUCCESS in Haiti for ALL the members of the organizations world-wide rather than the many idle cocktail party rants and raves of projects that exist without any substance behind them. WE DID IT! ALL the members of the World Conference of Mayors can celebrate their success and acknowledge their contribution. You can view and/or download that letter here.
Dr. Kenya Numan gave her assessment of the Haitian Relief Effort to Grace Village as follows:
I want to let you know that I have returned from Haiti. While there I had a very good meeting at Grace International Ministries with Archbishop Jeune et al; this included a tour of their facilities. They are doing great work for the Haitian people and we would like to support them in an ongoing basis.
We are planning to return to Haiti specifically to provide an outpatient OBGYN clinic to the residents of Grace Village as well as Health Education. We are now in the planning process to make this happen successfully.
However while there I was able to assess some of their most urgent needs. Currently their three priorities for the Village are:
1. Tools: construction, cleaning: a sustaining effort so they can keep the village clean and respectable
2. Education & training: a sustainable effort in regards to health, job, etc.
3. Healthcare: a sustaining effort with monthly providers coming on an ongoing basis.
As you can see this will be quite an undertaking but my organization is committed to see this through the next 10-20 years or whatever it takes to get the job done.
I look forward to speaking with you in detail regarding this effort and how best to strategize for support from the USA, Congress, White house, etc. Please let me know what is the best number to reach you.
Peace and blessings,
Kenya
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On August 25, 2010 Abdul-Jalil received the letter shown below of “Thanks” from Arch Bishop Joel Jeune of Grace Village in Haiti for the Relief Mission they received from the Aaron & Margaret Wallace Foundation with Stepping Together on behalf of The World Conference of Mayors (WCM) and The National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM). This is a tangible reality of SUCCESS in Haiti for ALL the members of the organizations world-wide rather than the many idle cocktail party rants and raves of projects that exist without any substance behind them. WE DID IT! ALL the members of the World Conference of Mayors can celebrate their success and acknowledge their contribution. Let us get that membership list updated and dispatch the letter to them all to use as a tool for their own marketing, promotional and fundraising efforts.
We are now moving forward in a meaningful way to secure financial, subsistence, construction and medical aid and support for the next mission which will take place as soon as we can unite to raise the necessary items just mentioned. If we can tap into the resources of the USAIDS and the National Medical Association we can make great progress in securing bi-weekly missions to various needed areas around the World! Let us move forward!
We are committed and prepared to work with the WCM and NCBM organizations to raise funds, provide support and organize continued relief efforts for financial donations, to deliver much needed medical support and supplies; food; clothing; educational materials; construction support and building materials; much needed personal items; and legal assistance for displaced children from orphanages that were given transportation and temporary housing in the United States with other families, churches, and organizations until homes have been rebuilt to house them. Where most relief efforts are limited, if not stopped altogether by current travel restrictions in, within, and out of Haiti, The World Conference of Mayors has some political cache that it can exercise to further achieve our united goals globally. This could be the first step toward fulfilling several of our conversations of our organization providing relief support to your efforts globally.
Additionally, in relations to our working together on relief missions here in America and globally, Abdul-Jalil is exploring the possibility of a telethon, perhaps with J. C. Watts Black Television News Channel (BTNC). To that end the WCM is prepared to provide it’s full support to your and our joint efforts to overcome the continual need for financial assistance to achieve our goals. These fundraising efforts include the proposed telethon as a measure to not only raise funds but to raise awareness for the causes as well. Now let us move forward with these joint and several fundraising efforts with a goal of working together on projects of mutual interest and support in a spirit of oneness.
Again, there is much work to do and the Aaron & Margaret Wallace Foundation with Stepping Together are committed and prepared to work with you and your organizations to raise funds and organize continued relief efforts to provide assistance to countries around the world, especially Africa, the Caribbean and South/Central America.