Cape Fear non-profit facing challenges following FAA grounding of flights into Haiti

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — It’s been over a week since the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all US flights to Haiti.

The move comes after 3 planes were struck by gunfire leaving the capital city, Port-au-Prince, amid escalating gang violence.

The grounding has also begun affecting people in the Cape Fear, including the Wilmington-based non-profit Haiti Awake, which has been closely watching the unrest in the Caribbean country.

Volunteers within the organization living in the US have had to cancel visits to Haiti.

This also means jewelry and other items made by people in Haiti, meant to be sold in the US to support families and businesses there, can’t leave as well.

Becky Graves is the executive director of Haiti Awake.

She said their staff members living in Haiti are on their own right now.

“But we were able to send packages, items, we can’t do any of that now,” Graves said. “Essentially our people in Port-au-Prince are cut off from the rest of the world. Cause, you can’t even get out of Port-au-Prince to get to another city in Haiti.”

Graves said she had plans to go to Haiti the week of November 11th to bring Christmas packages to kids living there.

Many of those children have been sponsored by families living here in the Cape Fear.

“They exchange letters back and forth, they even can have a video call where they can get to know each other. So it’s been a difficult thing for a lot of the sponsors wondering how their particular child is doing. We had collected so many gifts that we can not get them to Haiti right now.”

Graves said the organization still plans to put on several Christmas events for the kids.

And despite the ongoing violence, Graves added that kids have still been showing up to the organization’s community centers in Port-au-Prince in recent days, which serve as a refuge for learning and recreation for them.