A friend's incredible trip to Haiti
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 4:08PM A co-worker and friend, Brian, just took a trip to Haiti to help rebuild the city. That's no small feat but he stepped up and did something pretty incredible. He returned from his trip a bit over a week ago and sent out this email to our company. I asked if I could share it with you and he was more than fine with it. If you'd like to get in touch with Brian (if you have questions or comments), feel free to post them in the comments or email me and I'll connect you. Also, please check out the photo gallery from him as well.
Hi, I am back from Haiti.
First off - Thank you! Pardon the cliche, but helping Haiti was an absolute life changing experience.
As of Feb. 19, they estimate three million people were affected by the
quake; an estimated 1,000,000 homeless. The death toll is expected to
rise. From the look of things, 98 percent of residences and commercial
buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. In the nights
following the earthquake, many people in Haiti established makeshift
shanty towns called "tent cities" either because their houses had been
destroyed, or they feared standing structures would not withstand
aftershocks. For this reason, we were not permitted to rebuild any
structures while we were there. Our volunteer group of 120 people
established our own tent city at a local orphanage in Port-au-Prince.
We slept in the middle of the soccer field and were guarded by men
with shot guns and machetes knives.
The orphanage provided our group a safe-haven from the unknown in
Port-au-Prince. It was its own microcosm and civilization. The
children at this orphanage were given their daily chores, provided
schooling and taught English in hopes they will be adopted by American
families. They attend Catholic mass every Sunday under the mango tree.
The orphanage is self-sustainable. There is a garden that grows
vegetables, a rabbit farm and fish farm, and hens lay their eggs. The
food feeds the children and workers of the orphanage. The children
were very lucky to be sheltered from the rest of the city, which
remained in filth, disease, and decay. We also had the opportunity to
play with many of the children while we were there. Coloring and
crafts were made, basketball and baseball games were played, singing
and dancing. It was a blast and I miss the kids already!
Everything you have seen on the news has been true. The earthquake
caused major damage to Port-au-Prince. Many notable landmark buildings
that we saw were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the
Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, and the
Port-au-Prince Catholic Cathedral. Communication systems, air, land,
and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks have
all been damaged by the earthquake, which has hindered aid efforts;
confusion over who was in charge, traffic congestion, and problems
with prioritization of flights continue to further complicate relief
work. It is total chaos and the Haitian government is doing little to
help their people. Port-au-Prince graves have been opened; thousands
of bodies were buried in these mass graves. As the rescues have tailed
off, supplies, medical care and sanitation are now priorities. Flies
swarm over the patches of grass stinking of urine and decaying human
waste. Nearby, mounds of trash pile up around the shelters made of
sticks and sheets. There are nowhere near enough toilets, portables,
latrines or any other kind — for the tens of thousands living in the
camps in and around Port-au-Prince. To try to combat this problem, we
constructed several showers and bathrooms, running 100 feet of pipping
at a local tent city in Port-au-Prince. It was estimated that 100,000
people would be living in that tent city.
Within the four days we were there, there were 4 to 5 aftershocks
ranging in magnitude of 4.2 or 5.8 or greater. We slept very little
because of the sun and heat and the anxiety of wanting to help. I
think I slept 14-16 hours out of the 4 days I was in Haiti, but never
did I once feel tired. There was too much to do! Water was like gold
there. Often children from the streets pleaded forwater and food,
shouting "Hey You" in English and then rubbing their
bellies to indicate their hunger. It was heartbreaking.
It has been said that it could be several years before schools reopen.
Our group was assigned to remove rubble from a local school that
provided education to over 600 children within that area-many of the
children remain missing. The roof had collapsed to dirt and rocks. We
removed all the debris in hopes that the school could start from where
they left off. The principal who was American, remained hopeful. After
our hard work, he rewarded us with a tour of the city.
Our group alone brought over 1 million dollars in medical supplies,
200,000 dollars in food and clothes, totaling to 18,000lbs in aid to
Haiti. I was afraid our plane would crash from the weight of our
supplies. We worked hard to get these much-needed medicines and
supplies distributed on the ground, delivering medical supplies to
local orphanages within the city and also to tent hospitals. In
particular, the Medishare tent hospital, located near the
Port-au-Prince airport and neighboring the US military camp, consisted
of doctors and nurses from the Miami Children's Hospital and the
University of Miami's Jackson Hospital. They have been providing
emergency care from its tent hospital and clinics, since the
earthquake struck. It is estimated that the University of Miami is spending
200,000dollars a day to provide medical support to the victims of the Haiti.
I am very disappointed with the Red Cross and Salvation Army. I didn't
really see their presence in downtown Port-au-Prince. I was pleasantly
surprised by our own military, however, particularly the Navy and
Marines, whose assistance to the people of Haiti has been incredible!
The UN had volunteer soldiers from Canada, Brazil, Jordan, and France.
They were all doing a great job!
I am hoping to go back and help out again. Thank you so much
for all your support! Please see the attached pictures - we couldn't have done it without you!
Sincerely,
Brian
Brian, thank you.
