BRINGING RELIEF TO HAITI
I left Miami on Monday, February 1st, together with Dr. Ron Patterson, executive director of Christian Disaster Response, and fourteen volunteer doctors and nurses who were giving two weeks of their time to help victims of the earthquake. My main role was as a translator for the team.
To get to Haiti, we first had to fly into the Dominican Republican and then travel by car for seven hours. At the Haitian border, we were met by Lunise Perard, secretary to the mayor of the city of Cap-Haitian, who helped us gain entry into the country. After we paid for our exit visas from the Dominican Republic, Ms. Perard, the mayor's son, and Mr. Fritz, member of the mayor's staff, accompanied us on a passenger bus that had been sent by the mayor for our two-hour journey into Cap-Haitian.
Once in Cap-Haitian, we were met by the mayor, Mr. Fritz Joseph, with whom I had worked in 2008 on our first WFWP service project. Since we knew each other well, I was able to make this personal connection for the medical team.
The next morning, Mayor Joseph briefed us over breakfast on the situation in Cap-Haitian. As many as 150,000 people had streamed into the city from Port-au-Prince and they were overwhelming their resources. The mayor said they didn't have enough food and water for these people, nor adequate doctors, nurses or medicine to tend to their needs. He expressed his deep gratitude for our volunteers.
After breakfast, we met with the United Nations Chief of Police for Cap-Haitian, and he and two other U.N. officers offered their full support for our work. From this encouraging meeting, we went to the Cap-Haitian airport to pick up the medical supplies that had been sent from the USA.
With a truck loaded with medical supplies, our team drove to the Sacred Heart Hospital which was caring for some of the most seriously ill people, many with life-threatening injuries. Mayor Joseph joined us in the delivery of the much-needed medicines and supplies.
After visiting the Sacred Heart Hospital, the team drove to a large gymnasium where many people had gathered for medical care. Utilizing the remaining medical supplies, our doctors went to work treating the patients. It was not so easy; there were many people with great need, and there were not enough medical professionals to do the job. Still our team did a fantastic job comforting the people and tending to their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
What I learned through this is that the food, water, and medical supplies were not necessarily reaching those who were the neediest. Many of the
donations were tied up by organizational bureaucracies. We were fortunate to have the trust of the mayor of Cap Haitian, and through him and his contacts we could do a lot to alleviate suffering.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help my people in their difficult and challenging situation and look forward to returning soon to continue the work.