By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

When Darcy Pierce first heard of the earthquake in Haiti, he, like many others, wondered how he could help. 

So the Scarborough resident decided to form MaineLine, a coalition of concerned businesses that provide catastrophe relief and rebuilding assistance to those in need across the world. 

While many organizations solicit money to be spent for a variety of causes when tragedy strikes, MaineLine is unique in that Pierce and other coalition leaders decide first on a specific course of action to take before requesting funds from companies. 

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12 killed nearly 230,000 people and left another 1 million homeless. The earthquake also left much of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince in ruin, including the presidential palace, national assembly building and the country’s primary jail.

MaineLine plans to build 10 schools in the impoverished country, a goal that will cost approximately $500,000 and help educate more than 3,000 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The group will hold a golf tournament at Nonesuch River Golf Course in Scarborough on Sept. 13 to raise money for its cause.

Pierce, also a senior partner of the Maine-based  company Envoy, out of Scarborough, that helps coordinate efforts between the corporate world and nonprofit governmental organizations, has supported various relief efforts over the years, including aid for victims of the tsunami in Thailand. He said the main difference between Haiti and other tragedies is the lack of governmental infrastructure. 

“Imagine if a third of our Congress and a third of our Senate had been killed, everyone else had their homes destroyed and our White House had been completely destroyed. There might be a hard time getting things together,” Pierce said.

Pierce said donations to various relief efforts in Haiti have been significant, however roughly 80 percent of funds reserved for assistance are in limbo because proper avenues needed to facilitate the flow of money have yet to be established. 

“The whole process is backwards,” said Pierce. “This is a tragedy that is unquestionably the most complex and unbelievably difficult situation I or anyone I know has been a part of.”

Although initial relief efforts in Haiti went toward essential items such as food, water and medical supplies, the absence of government control has made many people hesitant to pump further money into the country, Pierce said. 

Pierce has traveled to Haiti several times since the earthquake and said although media coverage of the situation has waned, little to no progress has been made rebuilding the country’s core infrastructure and many issues still must be addressed. 

The need for shelter remains a vital concern: Most people live in improvised tents that consist of nothing more than pieces of plastic tied together to wooden posts, Pierce said. 

Many Haitians were unable to plant crops needed to provide sustenance for themselves and others, said Pierce. He said supplies of food and water from relief organizations already have begun to dwindle.

Proper sanitation has been another issue altogether, Pierce said, with the need for outhouses increasingly on the rise.

Pierce said so many people have been displaced that new communities have formed. But the instability of temporary housing leaves residents at risk.

 “If a hurricane was to come through right now, it could be devastating,” he said.

Establishing a proper education system is the next priority for Haiti, Pierce said. 

The public school system in Haiti was “almost worthless” even before the earthquake struck, Pierce said. Students who want a decent education must go to a private school, usually affiliated with a local church in the area, that costs approximately $25 dollars a year. Unless they are incredibly gifted, they will not pursue an education past the sixth grade, Pierce said.

 The coalition intends to build schools in some of the more ravaged parts of the country – that surrounds Port-au-Prince. Pierce said each school will cost approximately $50,000 and accommodate 300 students. 

The schools also will serve as community centers where local youth can gather to play sports and expecting mothers can be taught how to properly care for newborns. Pierce hopes that vocational work and training someday will be provided as well to provide jobs for the community and help Haitians gain skills needed to reconstruct their country. 

MaineLine is working with Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization that secured a $5 million deal with the United Nations and U.S. government to help pay salaries for teachers. Once schools are under construction, people can stay updated via photos and video of the progress by visiting MaineLine’s website. 

Graham Smith, who represents the accounting firm Macdonald Page and CO. in South Portland as a company leader for the coalition, said he thinks the organization will provide a way for Maine businesses interested in donating money to see their funds at work.   

Dan Hourihan, owner of Nonesuch River Golf Course, agreed and said most people want to give, but they want to give directly. 

“The organization is interesting because it’s unique. A lot of businesses have come together and it’s not just about money, it’s about expertise, people putting in the time to manage a process and infrastructure that works,” Hourihan said.

Smith said the schools will hopefully be under construction in October and that companies can always sign up at www.maineline.org to become a part of more than 40 Maine companies involved.

Pierce said he plans to continue the organization after the schools are completed in Haiti and wants to make MaineLine an ongoing provider of relief to those in need. 

Smith said the business community around Portland has always been supportive of causes both local and nonprofit and the coalition itself is indicative of the character for which people of the state are known:
“It just speaks Maine.”

Staff writer Dan Aceto can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.