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The GlobalGiving Relief Fund is working with 18 partner organizations to support comprehensive emergency relief and recovery efforts for victims and survivors of the devastating January earthquake.
The earthquake was the biggest to hit Haiti in over 250 years. Widespread damage and collapsed buildings are widespread. Casualties and death toll are not yet known, but are expected to be high given the quake's proximity to the capital and flimsy construction of buildings. This Fund will provide emergency relief to victims and survivors.
Through GlobalGiving's partners on the ground, provide victims of the earthquake with critical necessities including water, food, shelter, and medical care. More details will be provided as they are available.
Assist residents of the Western Hemisphere's poorest country as they struggle to recover from this devastating natural disaster.
Gina Herakovic
Dear GlobalGivers,
Sometimes it seems as though the natural disasters in Haiti will not stop. From the horrendous earthquake that struck more than 3 years ago to the massive flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy and most recently, regional droughts that have hindered planting and harvesting efforts. Yet there is hope. With your support, organizations such as the Lambi Fund and Partners in Health have been able to continue their work in capacity building.
Farming is difficult in Haiti as a result of the unpredictable weather leaving much of the land either flooded or barren. The Lambi Fund works with local organizations so that farmers are no longer at the mercy of the land. Resources such as irrigation canals and water pumps help the people cope with current weather situations while relief grants provide the people with seed and fertilizer. Not only does this help them get back on their feet, but they can also store food and grain for when future storms or droughts hit.
A member of the local organization AFDL explained that, “Before relief funding from Lambi Fund came, people weren’t sure when they could plant and harvest again. This was a major concern for everyone. The Lambi Fund of Haiti helped us till the land again…we have gardens again. The emergency relief was an opportunity for us. Hurricane Sandy came during planting season and we weren’t sure how we were going to repair the land. With Lambi Fund’s support, we re-tilled the land and planted again. Now we have corn, nuts, and black beans and harvesting has begun.”
Partners in Health is also helping to provide critically needed resources, one of the most important being electricity. Having recently finished the construction of a national teaching hospital, Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM), they’re now working on sustainable solutions to keep it up and running. Across the roof of the 200,000 square foot hospital are 1,800 solar panels meticulously arranged in order to produce more energy than HUM will consume. To put this into perspective, before the hospital was even open to the public, these solar panels produced 139 megawatt hours of electricity. This is enough energy to charge 22 MILLION smartphones, and offset 72 tons of coal and more than 140,000 pounds of carbon emissions. Using solar energy is expected to cut $379,000 from HUM’s projected annual operating costs. The environmental and financial benefits that these solar panels provide for Haiti are countless!
While you may only see heart wrenching stories about the people in Haiti on the news, there are so many more stories of hope and joy. This is why we provide you with these reports so that you can read about the inspiring things our partner organizations are doing on the ground. It is because of the support from donors like you that these organizations can continue their groundbreaking and catalyzing work.
One such story of hope comes from a Haitian doctor working with International Medical Corps. Raised in Port-au-Prince and the second child of four, Virginia was a witness to Haiti’s extreme poverty. The lack of health care and large inequalities struck a chord in her which solidified her decision to earn her medical degree. The earthquake hit when Virginia was still in her residency in the southern part of Haiti. She rushed back to Port-au-Prince to find her family who thankfully were unharmed. Yet being a doctor could not have prepared her for what she saw. Patients “without hands and legs; with broken eyes” and the crumbled streets “smelled dead.”
Life circled around survival. There was a constant flow of patients coming to her, begging and pleading for help. Her mind was “without energy.” She returned south to treat victims, yet everyone was always on high alert. Explains Virginia, “you just keep wondering when something will happen.” This psychological impact ran deep in the Haitian people’s minds. The survivors constantly wondered why they were alive when their family and country was in ruins. But Virginia refused to give up. “You have to fight – with everything you have. Otherwise, you will lose your mind.”
After finishing her residency, she applied for many jobs in Port-au-Prince, but found nothing. She expanded her search to areas outside the capitol and was flooded with responses from several NGOs including International Medical Corps. The match between IMC and Virginia was perfect. After one month, she became the supervisor of one IMC site, and then another, until finally her work took her back to Port-au-Prince. She constantly moved up in the organization where today, she is a capacity building manager. She says she sometimes does miss patient contact, but she knows that she is “helping lay the groundwork for more.”
Virginia describes her work: “If you work in a clinic, you may deliver a beautiful baby girl. But I get to fight for something else: to have more health facilities where women can give birth safely and hygienically, more trained OB/GYNs; places where a mother can take her child if it has disabilities.”
Today, Virginia believes that the earthquake literally shook Haiti to move forward, to rebuild in a more equal and sustainable way. “I think the earthquake brought something to us. We started to realize that the way we used to live was not correct, and that we have to integrate into the world. If every Haitian can think like this, I think that everything that happened to us will serve to progress us; to bring something different for the next generation. There is a lesson. We have to push to enter into life; to not be separate.”
Without your help, these inspiring stories from our partner organizations would be far and few. Every donation makes a difference and helps tell a story. From us at GlobalGiving to Haitian nationals like Virginia, we thank you for your support from the bottom of our hearts.
Gina Herakovic
Our most sincere gratitude goes out to all of you GlobalGivers who have continued to help in our efforts to bring relief and rebuild Haiti. It has been more than 3 years since a massive earthquake devastated the world’s poorest country, yet with your generous contributions we have been able to support organizations that have been on the ground since the initial emergency response.
One of these organizations, Partners in Health (PIH) and its Haitian sister organization, Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health in Creole) is the largest healthcare provider in Haiti. Not only are they dedicated to treating the here and now, but PIH and ZL are building sustainable solutions that will raise standards of healthcare for the poor in rural Haiti. They are introducing new treatments and diagnostics to Haitian doctors, nurses and specialists that will address common and complex illnesses.
These illnesses which have common prevention methods tend to run rampant in poverty stricken areas like Haiti. Cholera has had devastating effects ever since the epidemic began 10 months after the earthquake. According to special correspondent for PBS Newshour Fred de Sam Lazaro, “Fatalities have dropped from 10% of cases early on to about 1%.” While these short term efforts have proven successful, cholera is likely to remain for some time. Problems such as the cholera epidemic have shown how vital it is that rebuilding efforts remain strong and relentless both in the literal sense and physical sense. PIH and ZL raised $22 million to build a state of art teaching hospital with 300 beds. In 10 years’ time, they will turn it over to the government to have control of.
Like PIH, International Medical Corps has been on the ground since the beginning of the disaster and are focused on rebuilding Haiti’s infrastructure from the bottom up. By providing vigorous training programs and technical assistance to local health officials, they are slowly making it possible for Haiti to be self-reliant. As a result of the cholera outbreak, International Medical Corps added two additional mobile medical units to provide cholera screenings, hygiene promotion and other health care services. This is in addition to the network of health care clinics that have already been established that administer a range of programs such as disaster risk reduction, nutrition, early childhood development, mental health, etc.
Both organizations have done amazing jobs at not only providing relief to Haiti, but also by working side by side with its citizens so that they may learn from them and become self-sufficient. This is fundamental to the survival of Haiti. In order to stand on its own, it must have a strong infrastructure with educated citizens. So much has been accomplished in the past three years, and this has only been made possible by you. Three years and counting of unwavering support have resulted in quality healthcare delivered to poverty stricken people. You have helped to save the lives of Haitians of all ages. So thank you for your commitment and belief in rebuilding Haiti one day at a time, and one life at a time.
Carly Anderson
Thank you again for your generous donation to the GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake. As always, we’re committed to keeping you updated on how your donations have been used to help in the recovery effort for people in Haiti. In this report we will be highlighting two of the organizations that are working on the ground with your support.
Architecture for Humanity and their project is Earthquakes Don’t Kill; Buildings Do: REBUILD HAITI. Architecture for Humanity has responded to the crisis in Haiti with Earthquakes Don’t Kill; Buildings Do: REBUILD HAITI – a long term rebuilding plan that has designed, developed, and implemented community centers, schools and sustainable housing.
Recently, Architecture for Humanity begun its Education through the Arts program focused on civic arts. They believe that the rebuilding of Haiti is essential, but so is remembering its history. The cultural past and present of Haiti cannot be forgotten as the country builds for future generations. As a result, the REBUILD Haiti project has instituted the civic arts program. The civic arts program will engage schools to teach students about the impact civic art has on a community.
Volunteers for Interamerican Development Assistance (VIDA) has also been working on the ground to bring Medical Supplies for Hospitals in Haiti. Immediately following the devastating earthquake, VIDA took action to ensure that medical supplies were delivered to Haiti.
Recognizing the great need that has persisted the past two years, VIDA has not only sought to bring medical aid to Cayes Jacmel, but they have now expanded their reach. Gymboree made a generous donation of $100,000 in children’s clothing to the city. Also, VIDA has sent over $50,000 in respiratory supplies. For every $1 collected, VIDA is able to send $150 in aid.
Architecture for Humanity and VIDA are continuing to assist Haiti with their rebuilding efforts through the people of Haiti. Connecting with people on the ground is essential because each community is unique and must be looked at individually. Both of these organizations have accomplished grassroots-level work.
Thank you for your generous donation to the GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake, which supports the people of Haiti and the work of GlobalGiving partner organizations like Architecture for Humanity and VIDA.
Mattie Ressler
Hello GlobalGivers!
For this month’s project report for the GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake, we would like to feature one of the organizations that the fund supports: Lambi Fund of Haiti. Established in 1994, the Lambi Fund has offices in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and in Washington, DC, USA, and supports “peasant-led community organizations” working in the fields of sustainable development, non-violence, and gender equality. Many of the Lambi Fund’s projects provide capital for community associations to plant seedlings, establish coffee, sugarcane, or livestock farms, invest in more efficient farming technology, and purchase or restore grain mills to produce high quality ground corn and millet.
One of the Lambi Fund of Haiti’s new projects will be supporting the Youth Association of Sel (AJS) as it builds a grain storage facility and starts a microcredit fund. These twin efforts are designed to respond to two needs within the community of Sel, Haiti. The first need is for affordable high-quality grain and seeds for farmers. The second need is for access to credit at a low interest rate so that local farmers can purchase the seeds and equipment necessary for self-sustaining farms. The Lambi Fund will provide training for the community members in project management and grain storage so that participants can manage their resources themselves. As farmers gain access to better farming supplies, their businesses will become stronger. Loan repayments will be reinvested in the community, providing wider access to credit for the residents of Sel. Ultimately, improved access to credit and resources should revitalize agriculture and generate employment in the area, so that the residents of Sel can kickstart their own businesses and build a stronger Haiti.
The Lambi Fund of Haiti has many projects, of which this partnership is only one. Thank you again for your generous donation to the GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake, which supports the people of Haiti and the work of GlobalGiving partner organizations such as The Lambi Fund of Haiti.
Mattie Ressler
Hello GlobalGivers!
You are receiving this email because you donated to the GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake, and we want to update you on what our partner organizations have been implementing with your help. As you might expect, disaster relief doesn’t last forever. Our partners have refocused their efforts on rebuilding and strengthening local capacity in areas such as health and information so that Haitians can continue rebuilding their homes, their communities, and their country long after disaster funds move on.
It has been over two years since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck just outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. According to UN OCHA, the earthquake killed over 200,000 and displaced approximately 2.3 million people. The GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake was established with your donations immediately following news of the quake.
International Medical Corps deployed an emergency team to Haiti immediately following the earthquake and is still active in Haiti today. They have been training local health workers to respond to medical needs in Haiti, including supporting existing cholera treatment centers by providing supplies and additional training. Another example of training provided by International Medical Corps: courses in emergency medicine for Haitian doctors. One such doctor, Dr. Hervé, was able to save the life of a patient by draining fluid from around his heart using what he’d learned after just one week of the course.
In partnership with Zanmi Lasante, a Haitian organization, Partners in Health runs hospitals and medical clinics and facilitates medical training programs, including a residency program that teaches doctors how to become family care physicians. In another important endeavor, Partners in Health is working with Haiti’s Ministry of Health to build a new hospital, Mirebalais National Teaching Hospital (see video here). The teaching hospital will be equipped with up-to-date technology and equipment for Haitian medical students and patients, preparing the next generation of Haiti’s medical practitioners to save lives every day.
In the months following the earthquake, the Internews Network found that its program, Enfomasyon Nou Dwe Konnen (ENDK), meaning “News You Can Use,” was in extremely high demand. After producing over 450 programs, Internews is partnering with over 15 media organizations to exchange training and to build capacity so that its successful news format can be replicated by local organizations. In addition, Internews is supporting 19 Haitian researchers to create an independent research firm called BRESI, which provides bi-monthly research briefs to other non-governmental organizations and the Haitian government.
Haiti is rebuilding, but life is still difficult for many people. Over 500,000 people are still displaced from their homes and living in temporary camps. Cholera, a highly contagious disease, emerged in late 2010 and continues to threaten the health and lives of Haitians, with over 492,000 cases and 6,700 deaths associated with the disease as of November 2011.
Would you like to give to Haiti again? If you do decide to donate, you will be supporting the work of International Medical Corps, Partners in Health, Internews Network, and other GlobalGiving partners engaged in re-building a strong and healthy Haiti from the ground up.
Click to donate to the GlobalGiving Relief Fund for Haiti Earthquake.
Britt Lake
GlobalGiving’s partner organizations continue to make a positive impact for the long term construction of the country by continuing to provide medical care, food, and shelter, as well as engaging in the construction of schools. Below is a short update of the activities of some of the organizations that your donations have helped support:
Architecture for Humanity continues to progress in the building of schools and community centers. The Santo Community Development Plan, with Habitat for Humanity International, moves into its third phase of planning a fully-serviced development for 500 families. The school, École La Dignité, has completed foundation; slabs and walls are now going up. Meanwhile, builders are being trained in safer building practices as foundations are being dug.
Deep Springs International has partnered with local leaders and health agents, as well as large-scale actors like UNICEF and DINEPA (the Haitian government’s Directorate of Water and Sanitation). The partnership with DINEPA aims to provide 260,000 families, or over 1.2 million individuals, with Gadyen Dlo, DSI’s locally produced chlorine product.
VIDA has supported a medical team (headed by Haitian born physician, Alix J.Magloire, Chief of Medicine at the Oakland Veterans Administration Clinic) working at a healthcare center in Cayes Jacmal. They are treating people for infectious diseases such as malaria, gastrointestinal disease, cardiac, metabolic diseases and orthopedic issues. Infectious diseases continue to be widespread due to poor infrastructure and clean water.
The Lambi Fund of Haiti is engaged in eight new projects are starting throughout the country that will strengthen communities and create important means for sustainable incomes. One project is a sheep breeding project for which 44 sheep will be purchased to start breeding and workshops for training in sheep farming will be provided.
Save the Children has more staff in place, with an estimate of 430 national and international staff present in Haiti at the end of the year. Save the Children aims to take advantage of this opportunity to better coordinate programs and support services provided as part of the earthquake relief effort.
Thank you again for your continued support to Haiti’s rebuilding efforts.
Britt Lake
A year and a half after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the effects of the damage are still being felt. Immediate relief emergency activities are winding down, and organizations supported through your donation to the GlobalGiving Haiti fund are investing more in their long-term rebuilding efforts in the country. From injury rehabilitation centers to infrastructure rebuilding, these organizations are working to improve conditions for all those affected in the country. And they are having an impact of the lives of many.
Roselette Dupervil, 23, is one of those impacted by your donation. Roselette had always dreamed of becoming a civil engineer, but never had the opportunity to pursue these studies. After the earthquake she heard about a program that CHF International was running to train Haitians in earthquake-affected areas to operate heavy machinery. Roselette joined the program and is now the only female operator on a construction team removing the rubble that still remains throughout the country.
“I love being on my engine and working,” says Roselette. “What I love most is land boring to make roads, making the openings. I get a great feeling of satisfaction when they give me a plan to go bore a way through the foot of a mountain. It is difficult work with a mountain that has a lot of cliffs, but one has to do it.”
From providing medical supplies to preparing for the upcoming hurricane season, the organizations that your donation helped support are working hard to rebuild Haiti. Below is a short update about some of these activities:
Deep Springs International is currently serving over 40,000 families by giving chlorine to purify their water. Through this work they are providing jobs for over 260 Haitians and helping to curb the cholera outbreak.
International Medical Corps is preparing for the upcoming hurricane season by training doctors and nurses, holding disaster drills at local hospitals, employing the “train the trainer” to spread emergency response information to churches, schools, and community members. They are also fighting the cholera outbreak by operating cholera treatment centers.
The Lambi Fund of Haiti is implementing the use of the oxen plowing system with local Haitian peasant farmers to improve crop seasons.
Save the Children is constructing safer school for Haitian children that are more hurricane and earthquake resistant. These buildings are the first of their kind and will better protect the children who learn within their walls.
VIDA is planning a three-year program to annually ship medical supplies and equipment to hospitals in Haiti. They are also supporting Haitian physicians who are running a clinic that serves about 3,000 people.
MADRE is working with its local partner KOFAVIV, which runs a women’s center for rape victims. Sexual violence is on the rise in displacement camps where many earthquake survivors currently live. The KOFAVIV center provides counseling to help these women recover.
Britt Lake
More than seven months after Haiti’s devastating earthquake, rubble still fills the streets and 1 million people or more people are still homeless. GlobalGiving donors like you have supported close to 20 organizations working on the ground to provide food, shelter, medical equipment, and long-term reconstruction for Haiti’s earthquake survivors. Below is a short update the organizations your dollars have helped to support and the impact that have already had. Thank you!
- The Lambi Fund of Haiti has provided emergency cash disbursements to 43 grassroots organization throughout Haiti. These local organizations have used the emergency grants to purchase clothes, food, medical supplies and other necessary supplies for earthquake survivors.
- VIDA has already airlifted two containers carrying $2 million in medical emergency relief into Haiti. VIDA is sending only the highest quality medical equipment and supplies, from bandages to surgical suites, to get the hospitals up and running and will then resupply the hospital over a three year period to ensure that the clinics have the resources to serve people in need.
- RedR has trained 871 relief workers from 46 organizations in essential humanitarian and reconstruction skills and techniques - 92% of those trained are Haitian nationals
- Partners in Health’s local staff of nearly 5,000 people have provided emergency critical care and surgical services; helped seriously injured patients regain mobility; resettled abandoned and disabled children into a safe group home; and provided strategic planning assistance to Port-au-Prince’s General Hospital and the Haitian Ministry of Health.
- CHF has registered more than 2,200 shelter beneficiaries and is currently in the process of completing 600 shelters in Port-au-Prince and Leogane. Over 60 shelters have been constructed in Leogane as part of a pilot project using steel materials that are pre-fabricated by trained workers at the local CHF warehouse.
Thank you again for your support!
Britt Lake
Two months after the earthquake that killed as many as 200,000 people in Haiti, GlobalGiving’s 17 partner organizations continue to make a meaningful impact on the ground. - The Lambi Fund has already sent cash disbursements to 43 different community organizations throughout rural Haiti to purchase food, clothing, medicine, and other essential supplies for the thousands of displaced persons who returned to the rural communities following the earthquake, also helping to fuel the local economy. - RedR is providing vital training to aid workers, particularly focusing on effective distribution and warehousing, as well as courses on how to manage people and projects in emergency situations. - Comprehensive Disaster Response Services is seeing between 300 to 800 patients daily and is assisting in the establishment of a new tent village for families with small children. - Within three weeks of the earthquake, Partners in Health sent 66 planeloads to Haiti with more than 235 medical volunteers – orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses and other medical professionals – and roughly 100,000 lbs of medical supplies to support the large network of local health care providers already working in the country. As the focus of the work in Haiti begins to shift from relief to recovery, you can support some of the long-term rebuilding efforts that GlobalGiving’s partners are carrying out at: http://www.globalgiving.org/haiti-recovery/. As an added bonus, GlobalGiving is MATCHING at 30% online donations up to $1000 per person made to any of these projects on TUESDAY, MARCH 16. Thank you again for your amazing support for these relief efforts on the ground.
Britt Lake
Thanks to your generosity, almost a million dollars from about 13,000 individual donors is making its way to Haiti for earthquake relief efforts. Thank you! GlobalGiving’s 17 partner organizations on the ground are helping provide emergency medical care, shelter, and food in the immediate post-earthquake efforts and providing longer-term support in areas including rebuilding and training. Impact on the ground is already being seen, including:
- Deep Springs International distributed enough clean water tablets to purify over 100,000 liters of water at a school in Leogane, 1 million liters of water in two field hospitals, and an additional half million liters will be distributed throughout the countryside by mobile medical teams. (www.globalgiving.org/4582)
- Internews is now airing daily humanitarian information radio programs on 21 local and national stations in Haiti. Reported by local journalists, information includes where to find water, tips on avoiding water-borne illnesses, location of medical clinics and special camps for children and orphans, plans for recovery and jobs, and more. (www.globalgiving.org/4572)
- CDRS assisted in setting up a multi-agency field hospital at Bojeux Parc, right at the city limits of Port Au Prince, which is now seeing up to 200 patients a day. (www.globalgiving.org/4592)
Four new projects focusing on Haiti earthquake relief efforts have been added recently to the GlobalGiving site. They are: 1) Architecture for Humanity - to develop a long-term rebuilding plan for sustainable housing, schools, and community centers. (www.globalgiving.org/4605
2) Freeplay Radio – to provide robust, solar-powered radios to earthquake survivors so that they can access critical information (www.globalgiving.org/4608)
3) GHESKIO Center – to replenish supplies of a local Haitian hospital so that it can continue humanitarian and emergency care (www.globalgiving.org/4611)
4) Water Missions International – to provide solar-powered water purification systems that can be used by communities in both the long- and short-term relief efforts (www.globalgiving.org/4598)
You can read more firsthand accounts and project updates from our partners in Haiti at http://www.globalgiving.org/haiti-earthquake-updates/
Britt Lake
Thank you for supporting GlobalGiving's Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. Your donation will be used to provide medical supplies and care, food, water, shelter and other necessities to the survivors of last week's 7.0 Earthquake in Haiti. As of Monday, January 18th, more than $250,000 has been contributed from over 4,000 generous donors like you.
Donations to GlobalGiving's Fund will be allocated to the following organizations:
- *CHF International* to provide transportation and supplies including axes and shovels to rescue workers.
- *Comprehensive Disaster Response Services* to transport food, water, medicine, and volunteers to disaster areas.
- *Deep Springs International* to provide safe water to survivors.
- *International Medical Corps* for medical care and supplies.
- *Internews* to provide vital information about disaster services.
- *Lambi Fund of Haiti* to provide immediate and long-term assistance to earthquake-affected areas.
- *MADRE* to bring emergency medical assistance and supplies to Haiti.
- *Partners in Health* to coordinate medical teams and supply chains.
- *RedR* to provide necessary training for volunteers in the emergency area.
- *Save the Children* to support children and families affected by the earthquake.
- *Volunteers for Interamerican Development Assistance* to bring surgical supplies and medical equipment to hospitals.
- *WaterBrick International* to bring clean water and food containers to the disaster area. *WaterBrick is a social enterprise, which has been fully vetted by GlobalGiving to ensure that all funds will be used for charitable activities.
Following are updates from these partners, all of whom are working on the ground. To see all updates, please visit http://www.globalgiving.org/haiti-earthquake-updates/ , which is being updated daily with the latest information.
January 19, 2010 – From Rebecca Bryant at Save the Children “On January 18, Save the Children opened the first Child Friendly Space in a church serving as a temporary shelter. Child Friendly Spaces allow children to take part in structured, supportive activities and recover from what they’ve experienced. Kits for us to open 70 other spaces arrived in the Dominican Republic on January 18 for immediate transport to Port-au-Prince. Save the Children plans to open hundreds of these essential sites for children. Two mobile health clinics will begin serving the basic health needs of children and families right in their neighborhoods on January 19. Supplies of water and other materials arrived in the Dominican Republic on January 18 and are being forward to our Port-au-Prince office by truck. On January 17, we received as shipment of 16.5 tons of medical supplies from AmeriCares.”
*** January 18, 2010 - From Todd Shea of Comprehensive Disaster Response Services: "Everyone needs to accelerate and better coordinate relief efforts to avoid conflict and a potentially dangerous escalation of tensions being felt by Hatians throughout the country, some of whom I found waiting and suffering without any outside help whatsoever so far.
The first team of four doctors from IMANA and a nurse from Destiny World Outreach is here. I came back from Haiti to pick them up and will deploy them and more medicines/supplies at 9 am Sunday, after picking up one more doctor. At least 5 more teams are planning to arrive in the next 7 days. The border is OPEN for our mission. Some rumors have led people to believe that the border is closed. The gate in shut and locked it at night, I have been coming and going at all times, including 2 am last night/morning."
*** January 17, 2010 - From Dr. Evan Lyons of Partners in Health: "can't get through much now but beyond the horror, one very striking reality is that things are totally peaceful. we circulated in PAP (Port-Au-Prince) in the middle of everything until just now. everywhere. no UN. no police. no US marines and no violence or chaos or anything. just people helping each other. drove past the main central park in PAP where at least 50K people must be sleeping and it was almost silent.
people cooking, talking, some singing and crying. people are kind, calm, generous to us and others. even with hundreds lying on the ground, open fractures, massive injuries of all kinds.
there are few dead bodies on the street. stench is everywhere. the city is changed forever."