My Friend Alan Miller just returned Thursday from Haiti. Here is his report:
Summary
The earthquake occurred Thursday Jan 14 at about 5 PM severely
damaging Port Au Prince and surrounding villages. Due to prior bad conditions
in the country, Haiti’s poor population was particularly hard hit. Because of
this and the wide spread nature of the disaster, a first response team from
First Baptist Church of Woodstock with about thirty members went to assess the
situation and provide immediate assistance where possible to show the love and
support of Jesus to the people of Haiti following this particularly cruel
event.
The team divided into two parts after driving overnight to
Haiti from Santo Domingo, the capital of Dominican Republic. The medical team
stopped at a small private hospital in the village of Jimani, Haiti near the
Dominican border. The other continued on 2 ½ hours to a private native church
run orphanage/school in Port Au Prince near the main airport. This report
focuses mainly on team activities at the orphanage and other details of the
trip.
Situation
The orphanage/school has about 75 children in residence and
800 children attending school from the surrounding community when functioning.
The facility consists of a walled compound with several masonry buildings
including a dormitory for the orphans and some resident staff/teachers. The
facility sustained heavy damage but no structures collapsed, so no deaths or
injuries occurred. Some of the structures will have to be razed before
rebuilding can begin. The orphanage founder, Pastor Gene Edmonds, native
Haitian, stated that one building in particular will cost about $350K US to
teardown and rebuild. A new steel reinforced masonry cistern/water tower which
had recently been built, but not in operation, is in danger of collapse as all
four support legs are damaged beyond repair. One leg sustained a compression
failure with only the other legs and the rebar holding the tank up. If it had
been full at the time, the tank would have fallen, possibly into the children’s
dorm.
A portion of the outer security wall had collapsed next to
the water tower. The team rebuilt the wall from the rubble, placing concertina
wire on top until proper reconstruction can be done. Because the wall was close
to the dorm, tarps supplied by the team were erected for added privacy for the
children. 24 hour native armed security is in place due to chaotic conditions
outside the compound and lack of a truly secure perimeter.
The city has no electrical power and of course, no running
water. Ironically the poorness of the country is beneficial in this area as the
poor people are used to doing without. Several hand operated water pumps were
observed around town where people go to draw their water even in ordinary days.
The orphanage itself has a powered pump for its well which was run twice a day by
generator filling all available buckets for cooking, washing, bathing and
sanitation which is minimal of necessity.
Food was brought by the team from Dominica, mostly large
bags of rice and beans, to re-supply the orphanage. One hot meal is prepared at
irregular times with leftovers/snacks at other times. Nonetheless the team was
welcomed with iced soft drinks on the first day. Bottled water was brought by
the team mainly for team use but shared with the people at the orphanage.
The children have very little to do as they were confined to
the compound for safety and no classes are being held. It was stated that no
school is being held in the entire city with no estimate as to when classes
will resume.
In spite of the dire situation the children and staff are
fed, physically and spiritually well and largely happy although ennui is
definitely setting in. The compound itself is an oasis of calm with a large
gate that can admit vehicles into the courtyard. The surrounding area is poor
but not wretchedly so as in other parts of the city where people live in hovels
even prior to the earthquake. The native church associated with the orphanage
school is Baptist and within walking distance.
A large amount of personal materials such as toiletries,
diapers and some clothing were packed into individual bags for staging and
distribution to the immediate community. These supplies came from Columbia. Native
college age young people led this work. Free tickets had been issued to
families to control distribution for the next day. A crowd of several hundred
gathered the next day outside the entrance gate, mostly women. As the crowd
grew, food was demanded instead of the household items. Also many people were without
tickets. About half way, distribution was halted and the crowd instructed to
return the next day. Instead the crowd became agitated and rowdy with more
people gathering and beating on the gate. Finally, native police enforcement was
summoned to disperse the people. No further distribution took place that day or
the next. At no time was there any real danger, merely unrest by obviously desperate
people who are becoming more distressed. The over all atmosphere is the people
are reaching a breaking point almost three weeks after the disaster.
To compound this feeling, there are numerous street vendors
with food such as tropical fruit and dried fish. There is a large open air
farmer’s market at the heavily damaged seaport with plenty of food, some coming
from Venezuela. Modern grocery stores were busy being run on generators. French
military is leading amphibious operations to unload the many ships in harbor
with humanitarian supplies. US military is providing security. Many containers
are already unloaded and being hauled out into the city. Many of the tent
cities are in abject squalor. Shelter consists of nothing more than salvaged
covers of all descriptions on sticks which will not protect from rain let alone
wind. Potable water bladders are being set up at key points in a military
fashion. Sanitary conditions are bad or lacking all together. The stench is bad
and increasing with concentration around the worst piles of rubble and debris.
There is very little heavy equipment around the city. Most
of what there is located downtown. Streets were mostly cleared of debris and
people are able to travel. Many local vehicles are on the streets. There seems
to be no lack of fuel. More heavy equipment is being brought daily. The piles
of wreckage are so tremendous that it will be weeks if not months in removal
with whatever bodies contained. A team member observed one exposed body. Field
and regular undamaged hospitals are in operation although many people with
non-life threatening injuries remain to be treated. One woman showed us her
head wound, obviously infected.
Conclusion
The main problem at the moment is getting food into the
hands of the people who do not have the means to purchase it. This is
compounded by logistics of regular distribution for those that cannot readily
travel and prevent mobs gathering.
Great care must be exercised in moving about the city as
traffic is highly congested and comes to a halt frequently. Continuing aid in
the next few weeks are critical to prevent further deterioration into anarchy. Naturally,
sustained, timely manpower and organization are vital to this end. All
available professionals and volunteers must and will continue to lend a hand
not only now but for time to come.
Sample Incident
A woman with a six week old baby was not bonding with her
child, not holding it or otherwise trying to tend to it. Our team
counselor/chaplain tended to her. She accepted Jesus as her savior and
reconnected with her child.
At the time of the earthquake, she was in the bathtub at
home when the house collapsed around her. Being in the tub afforded some
protection and probably saved her life. Although badly bruised, she went to
look for the baby. Understand the baby was only three weeks old then. The house
being destroyed there was little to indicate where the baby was located. After
much searching amid tremors, dust and chaos she found her baby in the debris
badly hurt but not life threatened. Her husband who was tending the baby was
dead. She wandered through the city dazed for three days, naked without food or
water for her or the baby still having post-natal discharge. Finally, someone
gave her clothes and she was sent to the hospital to be tended by our medical
team physically and spiritually.
Beside the trauma treatment taking place, Dr. G. K. Espy of
our team delivered three babies, twins and one by caesarian. Dr. Espy of
Marietta, GA is 75 years old and has delivered 12,000+ children including one
who is a nurse on this team. He now devotes his time volunteering for mission’s
work of all kinds and is a true inspiration.
Allen Miller
Feb 6, 2010
Burnt Hickory Baptist Church
Post Script
Sixteen individual contributions were made in support of my trip
for a total of $1745. Funds over and above actual travel expenses will be
applied toward support of ongoing relief efforts for Haiti including possible
future trips for recovery, clean-up and reconstruction. As an example of
individual costs incurred, immunization updates for the trip cost approximately
$300 at Cobb Health clinic.
Everyone has been exceedingly generous with their
consideration and prayers which contributed immensely to success of the
trip. The author completed
International Missions Disaster Relief Training Feb 6, 2010 for Georgia Baptist
Convention held at Hebron Baptist in Dacula, GA. If God opens that door, qualification training for first
response team such as the fly away team is in the future.
Some negative response from different individuals has been
received. I think there is some merit behind the comments and they included
here for your own consideration without comment.
- You
have no business going to Haiti. Charity begins at home.
- Conditions
in Haiti are not safe. It is too soon for volunteers to go there.
- The
money spent for travel is better used for purchase of humanitarian
supplies.
