That includes the Leopold Gallery at 324 W. 63^rd St. in Kansas City’s Brookside neighborhood, which on Friday, June 4 from 6-9 p.m. will feature photographs that Luke Shelton took in Haiti following the earthquake while he was on a relief mission with the One5 Foundation.

Luke has an impressive ability to brilliantly capture the spirit and resilience of the Haitians, especially the children. Sales of Luke’s photographs will go to support the One5 Foundation’s ongoing effort to provide health care to Haiti’s people.

We wish to thank Leopold Gallery owner Paul Dorrell for this opportunity to keep the Haiti disaster in front of the public and allowing One5 to expand our support base in our community.

We hope to see you at the Leopold Gallery on the evening of June 4! Read more about it on Facebook.

Last week, Art Drentlau, senior vice president of Gravitational Energy Corp. of Akron, Ohio, the pump’s manufacturer, was in town to demonstrate how the pump works.  He set up the pump at Leawood City Park and showed how the simple movement of a crank and piston could pull water from a pond and filter 1,000 gallons of safe drinking water every hour.

That’s very important because nearly one billion people in the world don’t have access to clean water. The United Nations established March 22 as World Water Day in order to focus attention on the world’s water crisis, as well as solutions to address it.

Now the One5 Foundation will be able to bring clean water to earthquake-ravaged Haiti with the help of the Feltenberger Pendulum Pump.  The manually operated pump uses a weighted pendulum to help keep the pumping action going, thus minimizing operator fatigue. It is perfect for use in areas where fuel for motorized pumps is unavailable.

We are extremely grateful to Gravitational Energy for the donation because it also acknowledges the expertise that the One5 Foundation has exhibited during Haiti’s crisis. The pump will be shipped to Haiti by the end of this month. We intend to use the pump at a hospital in Port-au-Prince where we are continuing to provide medical relief.

We encourage other NGOs and charitable groups to sponsor more of these pumps in other areas of the developing world as well as Haiti. It is a clean, quiet and green machine.

Communities cannot pull themselves out of the mire of poverty unless their residents are healthy. Clean drinking water is basic to that.

As you know, the One5 Foundation has been working with orphans in Haiti for some time and was able to make a real difference for thousands of people after the earthquake struck in January. Because of our experience in Haiti, the One5 Foundation has been selected to demonstrate an innovative water pump that could help provide communities around the world with safe sources of water.

The hand-operated Feltenberger Pendulum Pump is manufactured by Gravitational Energy Corp. of Akron, Ohio. Representatives of the company and One5 Foundation will make public demonstrations at 7:30 and 11:30  a.m., Thursday, March 18 at Leawood City Park, Shelter C, 10601 Lee Blvd.

The device uses gravity (via a pendulum) to help the operator work, making it much less tiring than traditional lever-arm pumps.  It is designed for use in areas where there’s no access to fuel to operate motorized pumps.

Built into the machine is an Aquashield water filtration system that can produce more than 1,000 gallons per hour of clean drinking water, which meets or exceeds the World Health Organization standards.  Virtually any type of contaminated water source can be filtered to these standards.  It can also be set to produce 400-500 gallons per hour of hospital-grade pure water. Larger scale versions of the pump are under development.

This particular pump, the first one manufactured, is on its way to Haiti where it will be put into action by the end of this month, donated by Gravitational Energy.

The Feltenberger Pendulum Pump is the sort of invention that is desperately needed in Haiti and other developing countries. It allows people in specific communities the means to improve their lives dramatically, giving them a foundation of basic health. We hope that other charitable organizations will take notice and sponsor pumps in communities where there is a need.

Many people naturally prefer to donate to large well-known relief agencies such as the Red Cross or UNICEF because they have a track record of responding to large crises, such as the Haiti earthquake. Yet, the very nature of the earthquake devastation in Port au Prince often can put the big players at a disadvantage.

Don’t be afraid to donate to a smaller non-government organization such as the One5 Foundation. We have a great deal of experience in Haiti already.

The big organizations such as the Red Cross and UNICEF rely on a massive infrastructure to get the supplies they need. They traditionally ship goods in big containers. However, the port facilities in Port au Prince were destroyed in the earthquake, so unloading supplies is a big problem. Similarly, they transport the goods in large trucks, which have been impeded by the destruction that has made many of the roads and streets impassible.

In contrast, the One5 Foundation uses a Toyota pickup truck to get around. We are able to drive to the Dominican Republic to obtain supplies and make a haul on the same day. We had food and water in the hands of people the day after the earthquake, when the big organizations couldn’t deliver it within a week.

We can promise you that your donation will have the effect that you intend.

When large quasi-political groups interact, the established bureaucracies run up against each other to the detriment of the people who desperately need aid. We’ve seen it over and over again in Haiti already. While, of course they mean well, the administrators on the ground are often young and inexperienced. They spend too much time “coordinating,” and that’s the problem. In the time they are talking you could get food and water to some people anyway. They need a “disaster czar” to tell everyone what they are expected to do.

Meanwhile, One5 Foundation volunteers will continue to drive that little pickup truck and get things done for as many people as we can.  Your donation will indeed have an impact.

Because One Five already had a presence in Haiti prior to the earthquake there was never any question that we needed to rise to the occasion and provide assistance on the ground in any way we could.

In a leap of blind faith, Brad Gautney our Haiti team leader, jumped into action as soon as he learned of the catastrophe. Brad led a medical mission to Haiti and was in-country within a couple of days of the quake, traveling overland from the Dominican Republic. The team was able to get into Port au Prince and started to work in a hospital there. They encountered a chaotic situation and began impose organization. Because of their effectiveness, Team One-Five was asked to take over the management at that community hospital on an ongoing basis.

Brad and David Miller, chairman of the One Five Foundation, were on the scene with team members managing the hospital where volunteer medical teams from all over the world were working. They performed incredibly well in the face of the worst crisis anyone had ever experienced. They assisted a large number of patients every day, stabilizing people with broken limbs, dressing wounds and administering antibiotics. When they ran out of space in the building they set up large tents outside and continued their good work. On numerous times, our people were told that it was the best-run hospital in Port au Prince.

Our team could not have performed at the high level that they did without the support of the Nueterra employees and One Five volunteers who staffed the Haiti war room at the Nueterra offices. Mary Beth Jackson, our One Five Foundation administrator, and her volunteers did a phenomenal job of organizing the entire effort and obtained donations of medical supplies from our partners around the country. The One Five Foundation sent more than one million dollars worth of medical supplies to Haiti.

Other volunteer teams to Haiti had to turn around and come home because they didn’t have the logistical support at home. Our foundation has proved it can have a real impact and is nimble enough to find ways to help when others cannot.

The One Five Foundation is in Haiti now and will be in the future.

By JIM SULLINGER

The Kansas City Star

When Brad Gautney of Kansas City arrived in Haiti on Thursday, the scene was almost unbelievable.

“It’s just so bad you can’t imagine,” said Gautney, the medical operations director of the One 5 Foundation, a medical relief organization with headquarters in Leawood.

He found 28 children from an orphanage on their own, and one child had been killed by a collapsed wall.

“We left two members of our team there to set up barbed wire so they could be secure, and we’re going right now to get them water,” he said in a cell phone call Friday to the foundation. “We’re trying our best right now to have an impact where we can.”

The barbed wire was to prevent looting of the orphanage’s food supply, he said.

Gautney said medical relief organizations were scouting locations Friday to set up clinics around Port-au-Prince, where there is a critical need for nurses and doctors, especially orthopedic surgeons.

“There are a lot of broken and crushed bones and so surgery and orthopedics will be desperately needed from the Kansas City area,” he said.

One5 is already assembling a local team that hopes to get into the country within the next week, but that won’t be easy.

“It’s extremely difficult if you’re not military or government personnel to get in,” he said.

Gautney and a team from another medical organization found a private pilot Thursday to fly into the Port-au-Prince airport. Only private planes have gotten in because all civil air traffic is closed and only military planes are coming in now.

Donations were critically needed so One5 and other groups can buy medical supplies, he said. The group is working with Missions of Hope to try and move medical personnel and supplies into the country in the coming days and weeks.

“The frustration is there is so much to do, and it’s so difficult with the lack of resources to do it,” he said.

As the details continue to unfold about the impoverished country of Haiti and the damage done by a massive earthquake there, one Kansas-City area group is on the way.

Brad Gautney, Medical Director for One5 Foundation, is headed to Haiti with a team to assess the situation there. Once there, they’ll provide medical and logistical support. Chairman David Miller says not much is known until the medical team gets inside the borders.

Gautney is flying into the Domenican Republic via commercial air today. Once inside the Haitian borders, he’ll communicate with One5 to let them know what’s needed in the way of help and medical supplies.

Miller says the group is looking for donations, medical supplies and volunteers who can travel to Haiti, especially those with medical training. He says they’ll be working with the medical community in Kansas City to collect medical supplies.

The Missourinet will be checking in with Gautney later this week to get his first-hand accounts from Haiti.

Jessica Machetta reports [1:10]

Jessica Machetta interviews David Miller, One5 chairman [2:33]

(http://www.missourinet.com/2010/01/13/kansas-city-group-mobilizes-medical-team-to-haiti/)

housing, education, health care, nutrition and economic development. Countries can’t depend on international handouts if they are to pull themselves from poverty; they must learn how to do it themselves, once given the knowledge and tools

Because Nueterrra’s business is health care, our end of the bargain is to encourage our providers to donate their time, expertise and materials to directly tackle the health care needs in specific communities. Our partners build on their own areas of expertise to provide the housing, food and education needs.

In keeping with our health care expertise, we will be changing the name of our foundation from Integral Life Foundation to the One5 Foundation, which comes with the tagline, “One child, one world, five killers.” This refers to the five greatest killers of children in the developing world:

1. Acute respiratory infections (pneumonia)
2. Diarrheal diseases (cholera, typhoid, dysentery)
3. Malaria
4. Infectious and parasitic diseases (measles, whooping cough, TB, worms)
5. HIV/AIDS

We believe the new name will more accurately portray our role in the overall philanthropic strategy – health care. We will help one child at a time to make this one world smaller by connecting them to the health care they need to avoid the five most deadly diseases in the world.

It is tragic that so many children in the world must succumb to these very treatable diseases. We think the new One5 Foundation will be more descriptive of our role so we can better tell our story to potential donors. Countries can only pull themselves from poverty once their basic needs are met, which include basic immunizations, food and clean water.

We continue to support the NCM-C3 Global Growth Fund to provide the financial means to help communities sustain the move from extreme poverty.

The name is changing but our commitment is unwavering.

Today was probably our best day yet.  When we arrived at Arniquet, which is a smaller home, the kids were at school.  Brad and Candace went to the school to provide medical care.  This gave the rest of us time to get started cleaning the beds and mattresses and hanging the nets. What a great surprise for the kids when they got home!

I got a surprise of my own when I was trying to communicate with one of the mamas and she knew how to speak English!  All of the mamas were thrilled to be helping. Even the cooks wanted to make us a special meal, which unfortunately we did not have time for.

We also got to distribute the 12 blankets we brought. I wish I could convey the mama’s feeling of joy when she received them.

From Arniquet we went to Cayes to leave the remaining nets and other supplies. Candace and Brad treated 20-30 kids during our brief stop, then off to Cavillon where they quickly treated another group of kids before we had to leave for Port au Prince.

Tomorrow morning we head home, but tonight I pause to think about the past week and all the hard work put in by Candace, Cynthia, Emily, Gerardo, Brian and Brad. I feel so thankful for the opportunity to work with them.

Another change of plans but still another great day!  Our first stop was the Cayes campus where we saw our clinic building!

Thanks to Meghan for being available by phone so we could communicate a few minor changes to the structure.  The building is great. The interior still needs to be finished, but it’s time to start gathering the equipment.

Our next stop was Cambry where we first enjoyed the beautiful view.  We then went to work cleaning beds, hanging mosquito nets and treating kids.  At the end of the day we stopped work to enjoy a short game of soccer with the kids.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped by Darivage to check out some land for a potential agricultural project.  The land there looks so fertile; it’s exciting to think of the possibilities.

Tomorrow our plan is to go to Arniquet in the morning and then back to Porte au Prince in the afternoon.

I can’t believe the trip is almost over.