Life in Haiti After the Earthquake
Received from Scott Todd, our Senior Ministry Advisor, who is leading our medical team in Port-au-Prince.
Last night’s (Jan. 25) arrival – in the dark, no lights in the airport, Humvees and Marines roaring around, bags thrown on the tarmac, smell of jet fuel, shouting, chaos, can’t find our pickup, pulling out over 30 duffel bags and boxes, driving through the chaos of Port-au-Prince with three of our guys on top of each pickup “guarding” baggage.
Touring our office at night with flashlights, framed mission statement on the wall tilted, leadership principles tilted, warning to walk clear of certain walls which are collapsing – pitch tent in parking lot, spray some DEET, take some Malarone, sweating from hauling stuff.
Today (Jan. 26), our medical team worked under tarps because the people are afraid to go inside buildings. Within an hour we were up and running and saw approximately 100 patients.
Each patient registered at entry through a gate with name, basic info including height, weight etc… and took a number. Some were triaged. Others waited to be called to one of four (sometimes five) stations. Each station had a doc, nurse and translator (though some of our Haitian nurses also served as translators).
The cases were not as severe as I expected with some very serious cuts and abrasions that were infected and needed dressing, some dislocations, a few bone issues. Many were just overwhelmed and needed someone to look at them and tell them they were okay. We prayed with some of them.
Continue Reading ›Looking Past Haiti’s Short-Term Needs
“First, I ask God to forgive me for my sins.”
That’s the answer 12-year old Robinson gave me when I asked him what he’s praying for this week.
It might sound like a sweet prayer from a 12-year old, until you realize that Robinson is living with his family in a tent city in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. And the reason for his prayer is that Robinson, like many others here in this quake-damaged country, believes the terrible disaster is the result of sin.
And he feels ashamed.
He thinks God shook the earth to destroy his poverty-stricken city, killing thousands of people—all because he did something bad; he pushed another boy on the playground. It’s heartbreaking.
This is a great example of why the help we bring to Haiti has to go beyond food, water and medicine. Yes, those things are vital. And they need them now. But if we are going to look past the short-term, to the future of Haiti, our relief efforts must include a spiritual component. (more…)
Continue Reading ›It’s Not Natural
It’s not natural. It’s not even remotely right. No mother should have to bury her child.
But Melicia is begging for the chance to do just that.
Her family was at home when the earthquake hit Port-au-Prince. In a panic, she gathered her children and rushed them toward the door. But her six-year old son Simon Peter got scared and ran the other direction, back into the house.
That’s when the cinder block construction gave way to the twisting and jolting. It collapsed. (more…)
Listen to Haiti Update Conference Call With Wess Stafford
This morning, Compassion President Wess Stafford interviewed Edouard Lassegue, Vice President of the Central America and Caribbean Region, who spoke by cell phone from Haiti about the situation on the ground and our efforts to minister to the Haitian people.
The call includes insights into our disaster response work and updates about the status of our staff and partner churches in Haiti.
You’ll also hear about our ability to distribute aid to Haiti through the Dominican Republic and our network of Haitian church partners.
The call is approximately 35 minutes long.
[audio:https://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/uploads/misc/1-22-10 conference call.mp3]Earthquake Pictures From Haiti
UPDATE: Jan. 30, 2010 – The first eight photos are new.
Earthquake pictures from Haiti taken by our staff and contractors. As we receive more pictures, we will upload them to our Haiti Earthquake set on Flickr, which automatically updates this slideshow.
It’s Time to Start Over in Haiti
UPDATED: Jan. 22, 2010 – Listen to Tim interviewed by Rodney Olsen on Australia’s 98.5 Sonshine FM.
You can see the photos and video footage on your television or computer, but they don’t do the devastation in Haiti justice.
Building after building has collapsed. I’ve seen dozens of multistory buildings that have collapsed into a stack of pancaked floors. Looking at the sheer tonnage of cement, I’m amazed anyone survived.
Hospitals, schools, churches and businesses all flattened. As if this country didn’t already struggle to provide those services to those who need it. That is the great irony right now. The number of people who need medical attention has increased dramatically as the result of this disaster, but the number of medical clinics and hospitals decreased. It seems so unjust.
Communication and transportation are terrible. I’d love to be able to show you some of the videos that I’ve shot, but I can’t get a strong enough Internet connection to last long enough to upload. At this point, my best connection provides 8kb per second. Terribly slow. And it lasts only a few minutes at a time.
This morning, I witnessed a relief truck get overtaken by a crowd of people in the streets. The people climbed the big rig by the dozens, forcing open the back doors and tossing out bags of rice … all while the truck was driving.
People are desperate for food. All over town, there are makeshift signs (mostly sheets with painted words on them) saying, “We Need Help” or “Please — We Need Food and Water.”
At the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, I saw a couple of relief supply trucks that had been turned into makeshift storefronts. People were trying to sell the food, water and clothing inside. Another example of how important it is for you to make sure you partner with an organization that has established distribution channels.
Many organizations can get stuff here, but don’t know how to distribute it. Parking a truck on the side of the road can cause mayhem. (more…)
Child Development Centers Affected by the Haiti Earthquake
UPDATED: Mar. 6, 2010 – This downloadable PDF lists all the child development centers in Haiti and categorizes each center as: not directly affected, moderately affected or significantly affected.
Six child development centers and one child survival program previously designated as not directly affected have recently reported several children and siblings of sponsored children as having been injured in the earthquake. They have also reported many houses that were damaged.
These centers are now considered moderately affected.
- HA-260
- HA-272 and HACS19
- HA-602
- HA-670
- HA-796
- HA-811
Please Encourage Our Haiti Staff: Prayers Needed
This blog post is about our staff in Haiti. We would like this to be a bulletin board for you to share your prayers and encouragement for them and
with them.
Although many of our staff have suffered incredible losses as a result of this disaster, we are asking them to perform heroically, and they are!
And they’re doing so in the face of loss and widespread devastation that many of us can only imagine. Because we are a world away, it’s easy to overlook that what we’re asking them to deliver must be obtained in the midst of communication and transportation problems, aftershocks and deep personal trauma.
Numerous members of our staff in Haiti are grieving the deaths of family members and friends. Some have lost their homes, and others are injured themselves.
In light of all this, we ask that you leave a comment or prayer to encourage and strengthen them. We guarantee that they will see your comments, even if the comments have to be printed out in order to be delivered. We hope that as communication becomes more reliable, they will have the ability and opportunity to respond to you.
On behalf of our staff and Haiti, thank you.
Recipe to Help Haiti
I know so many of us are riveted to the news, to our emails, to Facebook, or wherever else we can scrap together some information about the Haiti earthquake. Many of us are wishing there was something more we could do to help, some way to respond to the unimaginable things we are seeing.
There is one vital action that is always open to us: Prayer.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” – Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
If you’re trying to find someway to respond, consider calling together a prayer group. Spend the night praying for Haiti and make one of the most traditional Haitian dishes, Soup Joumou, which they use to celebrate the new year.
Things to Pray:
- For the safety and rescue of David Hames and for peace and encouragement for his family
- For those still trapped in the rubble
- For those working to rescue people
- That roads would be passable to get in water, food, medicine, and other aid
- For our staff, church partners, and children
- That reliable communication channels can be established
- For efficient and strategic responses to the crisis
- For God’s will to be done
- For God to get all the glory
Ask your friends to each bring $5 or $10 to help pay for the soup and give the rest of the money to relief or rebuilding efforts. You can cook the soup together and use it as a time to build relationships, share prayer requests, and support one another.
Soup Joumou (Pumpkin Soup) (more…)
Haiti Earthquake Video Message
Get the latest updates on the Haiti earthquake and it’s affect on Compassion and the children we serve.
2010 Haiti Earthquake Update
Note: This article is about the 2010 earthquake. Learn how to donate to help children affected by the August 2021 Haiti earthquake.
UPDATED: June 30, 2010 at 1:45 p.m. (MT) – Out of more than 22,000 children affected by the earthquake we are still in the process of locating around 350 children. We are continuing to contact sponsors whose children we do have specific information on.
Our church partners continue to search the tent cities daily to locate the rest of the children. In addition, regionally based partnership facilitators continue to search the countryside to find children who may have relocated outside of the city after the quake.
Classes have resumed in nine of the eleven universities where our Leadership Development Program students are enrolled, 62 students are attending class again. However, 26 of our students for various reasons (sickness linked to the earthquake, stress, trauma, formal interdiction from some parents, etc.) have not returned to school.
Our leadership team is proceeding with the repairs of our three-level office building in Port-au-Prince. Repair work is expected to go until the end of July. A local firm is responsible for the repair but an expert from Engineering Ministries International is in the field for the work supervision.
Two psychologists have been hired for a six-month contract to design a plan to help meet the psychological needs of our registered children, siblings, relatives and church staff members.
Our initial objective for addressing the temporary and transitional shelter needs of our beneficiaries was to provide tarps to 4,000 families in the urban areas, and corrugated metal sheets, wood frames and nails to 2,000 families located in the rural areas.
So far, we have distributed 4,237 tarps to complete the tarp distribution activity. Some families were given two tarps based on need. Also, more than 1,300 families received corrugated metal sheets and wood frames in rural areas. Another 700 will be served as soon as possible.
About 8,000 registered children and 7,000 siblings and parents were seen through our mobile medical clinics. Malaria and typhoid tests have been given to patients who also received medicine, if needed, or are referred to the hospital or a health center for follow-up.
As most of our child development centers also have a school where many of the children attend, our plan to provide transitional meeting places until the damaged centers can be rebuilt is providing school equipment to replace some of what has been lost.
The Haitian government has reopened schools and extended the school term by through August. Most of the schools are allowing children to go home at noon because of the extreme heat, to minimize the amount of time the children are kept under the tarps and canopies.
We are processing letters and gifts for all child development centers in Haiti. If you send a gift, please do not specify how it should be used. It is very difficult for our Haiti staff to follow through with the request.
Until further notice we are not conducting any travel to Haiti (e.g., sponsor visits, individual relief efforts, tours, vision trips, etc.).
All of the affected child development centers have resumed activities, meeting under tarps or tin roofs. All of the significantly affected centers are meeting three times a week.
Although the full scope of regular activities is not currently taking place at child development centers and child survival programs significantly affected by the earthquake, affected church partners are continuing to conduct camps to help address the psychological, physical, nutritional, and cognitive needs of our registered children, as well as the mothers and the babies participating in our Child Survival Program (CSP).
In general, our church partners will host these camps until the development centers are rebuilt or activities can be relocated to a safe indoor location.
Camp activities focus on five areas:
- occupational therapy including art, sports and games
- cognitive therapy including earthquake and natural disaster education
- group therapy for children under 8 years old
- individual therapy for children over 8 years old
- immunization against polio, measles, tetanus and hepatitis A
For the CSP camps, two to three Child Survival Programs are grouped together for efficiency, depending on their geographic location.
Images of Child Development Centers in Haiti
UPDATED: Jan. 29, 2010 – List of child development centers affected by the Haiti earthquake
Here is a Google Earth image showing the approximate location for the earthquake’s epicenter in relation to our child development centers.
The image is just intended to give perspective not definitively identify where all the centers are located. However, there is a discussion thread in Facebook about the location of some centers.
The fact that many development centers are so close to one another means that some centers can’t be seen. And obviously the size of the image makes it difficult to read the numbers that are visible. We published a larger image in Twitpic and in Facebook.
The blue icons represent child development centers, and the red icons represent child survival programs. Most red icons hide behind the blue ones, but for some reason a few show through.
The orange circles represent earthquake activity in the last week (or so).
Here is an additional Google Earth image that highlights a 750 square mile section of Haiti relative to the earthquake so you can more clearly see which child development centers are closest to the epicenter. (more…)
