7.0 Hits Haiti

[Sybil]

What a report and test for everyone involved. Poor Haiti!

[Richard Myers]

This topic will be directly related to a ministry that is on the ground in Haiti and has been for many years. They are working to relieve the suffering. I am personally acquainted with some of the church members who are heading up the ministry. I say this in an effort to support their work. They are in need of financial support as are all involved. This is one effort that will go immediately to support our brothers and sisters in need of help and their effort to minister to those not of our faith. This ministry helped to develop the water system for our hospital and are now getting it up and working as a source of water for the many who in dire need of water. I will be presenting updated information through this ministry and will provide a link to a site where you can help support their work.

Haiti Medical Relief - January 12, 2010 earthquake.

Hi: Friends, our non-profit CA corporation, CRCLinc.org has been operating a medical clinic and schools in Haiti since 1994. We have been shocked and devastated by the widespread damage and deaths and injuries from the recent earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

We are still assessing the extent of damage to the schools and clinic CRCl operates in Haiti. Meanwhile we are sending in a team of doctors and medical personnel today through the Dominican Republic. We need your immediate help for this relief operation and the long term reconstruction that will follow.

[Richard Myers]

HAITI Update:
ATTACHED IS AN UPDATE OF OUR ONGOING EFFORTS TO SEND MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS INTO PORT-AU-PRINCE.
 Lee Moore and Reg King prepare to depart Florida with much need medical supplies:
Jim, Betty;

As promised, an update:

We were joined Thursday evening by Dr. Mimi Batan-Van Rooyen, Trauma Specialized Orthopedic Surgeon who is accompanying Reg, Lee, Raul, Jeremy Moore and our security officer. The USAID flight slots kept pushing us back, the UN slapped Agape flights wrist for authorizing non-Agape mission flights to take their slots and delay after delay was wearing on us. All we could think about was the continued disease and loss of life that may have been averted with good water and the medicine we were to bring in. With much prayer, long hours and ceaseless energy, the group secured a corporate donor late Friday to underwrite transport this weekend on a chartered Metroliner which is capable of handling all 2800 lbs of the cargo as well as the 6 passengers. Cargo includes over $100K wholesale value of medicines, purchased for $8,000 , all the parts and equipment to refurbish and improve the spring on the campus to 100 gallons per minute and prepare it for larger capacity production. The initial repairs and filtration will provide adequate safe water for the 50,000 people currently camped at and around the University. In addition, the team is carrying replacement evangelistic equipment and supplies destroyed in the quake.

Dr Batan-Van Rooyen (Dr. Mimi) will immediately begin utilizing the supplies were carrying in at the Diquini Hospital, which we understand was damaged severely, but services continue outside under tarps and trees.

Reg and Lee will be meeting with ADRA officials to discuss imminent and future developments and how to best work together.

Some good has come from the delay in the process as we've forged a working relationship with another water-mission provider that had expertise in testing, chemical treatment and purification. The delay enabled them to get parts to us to add test and chemical injection equipment to our efforts. Between the two of us working together, we have a much enhanced capability to deliver 100% safe water in the future quantities required to serve the entire neighboring community of some 300,000 people. Another added benefit is that literally dozens of other missions and business who we approached for help getting into the country are now aware of HMO, and a whole new network is being put into place to leverage for future projects.

LEE MOORE

[Richard Myers]

Jim Henderson who I spoke with last  night was scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince the day of the quake. He had to cancel his flight due to a meeting here in California. If he had arrived as scheduled he would have been in the middle of the disaster. Now he is working with this ministry to provide relief.

Haiti Mission Outreach Works to Improve SDA Hospital Power and Water supply


Following is a brief summary of the meeting Reg King, field president of CRCL-Haiti Mission Outreach and I (Lee Moore, CEO of Geo Trac) were involved in as well as our understanding of immediate actions required on our part as well as prioritization of tasks;

We first met with Jesse Bliss, Dir. Office of Public Health Practice, NAHL, LLU, School of Public Health. After a briefing of who we were, what we were here for and what we have the capabilities of providing, Jesse voiced an interest in working with us to stabilize the current list of situations, and work towards a well managed operation and maintenance program focused first on the power requirements of the Hospital as well as a stable and clean water supply. He directed us to Dr. Andrew Haglund, who is heading up the efforts to ramp the hospital up to standards, and morphing it into a world class orthopedic surgery hospital, as he’s been directed by the Loma Linda School of Medicine to do.

Andrew was very welcoming to us, and after a briefing of who we are, what we have brought; he went through a list of their immediate and mid-long term requirements. He informed us that there is a “substantial” investment of new orthopedic and surgical equipment coming and that a consistent power supply was critical to their requirements. His 2nd priority was a safe, clean water supply to the hospital. He introduced us to the USAID rep who was there to set up a temporary purification station on-site, capable of purifying upwards of 10,000 gallons daily.
Immediate Needs:
1. Evaluation of Hospital power generation equipment and recommendations as to how and what it’ll take to get it up and keep it up.
a. Our timing was perfect, as he was having to make a decision as to whether or not to import yet another 250KW generator from Florida. He had been told that it was “necessary”. We shared my inspection results with him and our recommendations. He made the call on the spot to not take the big new generator in favor of repairing and maintaining these.
b. He had been under the impression that the primary generators “needed to be shut down” and only run a couple hours a day.
c. We informed him that based on our evaluation, there was no need to be shutting down the generator(s) other than to give one a break while running the other and that the system was built to run 24/7.
d. We also shared with him, and later Dr. Honore’ that the system was engineered to provide consistent, and full time power to both the hospital and the UNAH campus, as a centralized power supply. Both emphasized the necessity of a well maintained and on-line system, and both were greatly relieved to hear our observations, recommendations and offer of extended Technical Supervision Services.
2. Provision of a clean and permanent water supply to the Hospital. As discussed, we have done a quick, rough overview with the USAID provider, who is literally thrilled with the prospect of a clean permanent, supply not dependant on any power or pumping station. In initial discussion, it was determined that we’d get the tank system filtered and chlorinated, and bridge it as the source to the hospital, providing a 1 micron filtered and chlorinated supply that was gravity fed, impervious to power outages. (Our filtration system does not require power). The tank source would then be attached to the hospital supply at the spring header, and the supply then run to the USAID system for final purification into the hospital.

a. Reg immediately began working with them on set-up and scheduling
b. Raul is to be immediately engaged to assemble the filtration system we brought in, which will provide the pure water down from the 60,000 gallon reservoir and the subsequent “switching” of the hospital source away from the un-filtered spring and fed direct from the supply tank.
c. Eventually, a permanent back up filtration system with charcoal-carbon filtration would be used to remove the chlorine “taste” from the water at the hospital.
3. Provide an “informed guess” as to the structural integrity of the hospital buildings.
a. At first cursory examination, it appears the hospital structure is intact, with minor surface and façade damage only.
b. It is anticipated that a complete examination will support those findings. Reg made the point that he is not a structural engineer himself, but that his office deals with structural engineering all the time. He acknowledged he would sign it, but that he’d have no problem sleeping in the building.
c. A quick cursory examination of the Generator shed noted some superficial , non structural damage.
d. A complete room by room report of requirements to be class hospital is requested. Plumbing requirements, electrical requirements, etc. A complete SOW (Statement Of Work) would be generated from this document)
4. Of an immediate need, I was asked to trouble shoot their new autoclave. This I am happy to do as soon as I get the documentation from them.

From this discussion, it is anticipated that a complete requirements, maintenance and services agreement could be generated from the Hospital perspective with regards to their power and water needs. HMO (Haiti Mission Outreach) would prepare this document and will be recommending the engagement of Raoul Eugene, Haitian born US citizen, as the Technical Services Supervisor, employed by HMO, and contracted to ADRA for a minimum of one year, as per the attached description overview of services, consistent with the listed discussion points above. His resume’ is available on request.

ADRA would contract Technical Services Supervision from HMO at cost. ( no administrative margins)

This discussion did not go into ADRA’s requirements for maintenance or repairs anywhere except the Hospital.

In anticipation of a working agreement, we have pulled the trigger on assembling and installing the $45K worth of equipment we have brought with us. I will be returning to the hospital to work on the autoclave as soon as documentation is available.

We stand ready to serve.

[Richard Myers]

Here is a link to make a donation that will go to immediate support of our church family in Haiti.

CRCL Haiti Mission Outreach

[colporteur]

My wife came hold Friday and said that it is probable that she will be sent to Haiti in a couple of months to access the damage. The fact that it will be another 60 days or more before the damage will even be accessed the the federal gov't agency testifies to the magnitude of the damage.

[Sybil]

A young girl was rescued 15 days after quake!

Source

[Sybil]

Relief Efforts Continue ...

http://www.stanet.ch/apd/news/2465.html

[Sybil]

Haiti earthquake: death toll reaches 212,000

The death toll from Haiti's catastrophic earthquake last month has reached 212,000, while the number of homeless may be far higher than the one million estimated by authorities, the prime minister has said.

Source

[Sybil]

After one month - a man found alive!

Haitian Man’s Four-Week-Survival Story Draws Amazement and Some Skepticism

   

By IAN URBINA
Published: February 9, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The case of a Haitian man said to have been pulled alive from rubble nearly a month after the earthquake here amazed doctors on Tuesday, but his story of survival also drew a note of skepticism.

Neighbors who had been digging through the rubble of a market in Port-au-Prince apparently discovered the man on Monday night and rushed him to a field hospital near the country’s main airport. Doctors said the man had been severely dehydrated and had cuts and scratches, but had not sustained any crush wounds or other traumatic injuries.

“It’s not just amazing that he survived,” Dushyantha Jayaweera, a doctor at the field hospital, told reporters. “The amazing fact is that they found him. You never say never in medicine.”

Doctors identified the man as Evans Monsigrace. But the man’s brother, Jeff Paul, 22, said his name was Evans Moussignac. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/world/americas/10haiti.html

[Richard Myers]

Haiti's government raised the death toll for the Jan. 12 earthquake to 230,000 on Tuesday — the same death toll as the 2004 Asian tsunami. Communications Minister Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said she expects the toll to rise as more bodies are counted, and noted the number does not include bodies buried privately by funeral homes or families. source

[Sybil]

In Carrefour, a bustling suburb of Port-au-Prince, the capital, the Church of the Seventh-day Adventists, which has worked in Haiti since 1904, runs a hospital, a wastewater purification plant, a bakery, a radio station and a bookbinder. Even before the earthquake, the church was considered to have far more of a presence in Haiti than the government.  

New York Times article

[Tim2]

Isn't that a wonderful witness!

[Vicki]

Wow. Great article. I had to pass it along.

Troubling about those who go & do quick medical work because they have to go in a few days. Sounded like some non-SDA teams were doing unnecessary amputations because they weren't going to be there long enough to care for non-amputated patients. How said they didn't co-ordinate with the established teams for long-term care.

[Kathy]

  I'm so happy for all the good so many are attempting in God's name in Haiti, but my heart is with the children who are baffled and alone.  I am imagining being a child whose parents have not been found or are injured.  I wonder if some of our organizations could band together to allow Adventist believers to be given large enough shelters and enough resources to take in extra children till their parents can be found?  If Advent believers could be helped to temporarily enlarge family size, this would not involve removing children from their country or culture.  It could ensure safety in real homes, not in understaffed and overworked public facilities, such as hospitals or orphanages.  If I were a frightened child I'd rather be with good neighbors who care about me, and would continue to be aunts and uncles when my real parents are found or are back on their feet.  I'd have some kind of continuing security to clutch to, and Adventists would sing to me, and pray with me and give me the security of looking up to Jesus to help.  This thought appeals to my heart.  This is just an idea, and I'm not sure whom to present it to, but maybe someone else will like it, and know who to pass it on to? 

[Richard Myers]

Hopefully that is just what is happening. The situation was/is dire. Many who had no homes were living on school, hospital, or church property where what was available was being shared.  The immediate problem was getting supplies into the city where many were living.

I think there were camps being set up outside the city so that rather than trying to get to the people, they were bringing the people out of the city into areas where there was available food, water, and medicine.

[Vicki]

Kathy, I so agree with your suggestions. My heart goes out to the children. A safe sheltering environment with a family during this confusing time would be a blessing.

[Richard Myers]

Spring rains threaten displaced Haitians, Adventist aid group says
16 Feb 2010, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Megan Brauner/ANN

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians still living under makeshift shelters face an increased risk of disease and poor sanitation in the coming rainy season, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) workers said.

ADRA workers in Haiti said an early morning rainstorm last week soaked through bedding and clothing and collapsed cardboard shacks in some camps, giving a taste of what days of rain could bring.

"The humanitarian situation could become exponentially worse if the issue of shelter is not resolved quickly," said Frank Teeuwen, bureau chief for emergency management at ADRA International.

Between 1.1 million and 1.5 million Haitians are living without basic shelter, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said. Out of that number, roughly 272,000 people have already received emergency shelter support, the United Nations reported.

ADRA plans to distribute thousands of tarps and plastic sheeting and nearly 1,000 six-person tents over the next few days. The organization is also assisting a camp of more than 15,000 people on the campus of the Haiti Adventist University in near-by Carrefour.

Adventist Church leaders in Inter-America said they are also planning for the foreseeable future -- while members currently worship outside under tarps, leaders said they hope to begin repairs on the church buildings left standing.

"We want to make sure that our temples are functioning as soon as possible," said Israel Leito, president for the Adventist Church in Inter-America. "Plans must be ... in place to repair the churches that were damaged first. Then we can concentrate on rebuilding."

Church leaders said Adventist Risk Management employees have already made an initial visit to assess some of the damage to denominational properties insured before the quake hit, which will aid in reconstruction.

Inter-American church leaders said they have asked Maranatha Volunteers International, a supporting organization of the Adventist Church, to help with the recovery process. Maranatha will construct 185 churches in Haiti with their One-Day Church program, using prefabricated steel frameworks that can be assembled in about eight hours.

In addition, the Adventist Church in Puerto Rico is working with government officials and other organizations on the island to provide about 500 wooden hurricane-resistant two-bedroom homes to both church and community members. The homes can be assembled in one week, said Jose Rodriguez, president for the church in Puerto Rico.

The Adventist world church has pledged more than $2 million in aid to Haiti so far, said Filiberto Verduzco, treasurer for the church in Inter-America.

Adventist-run colleges and universities around the world have also promised additional fundraising and medical assistance, Inter-America church leaders reported.

Inter-America church leaders said they realize the promised aid is just the beginning to the recovery process.

"[Haiti] will be a long-term project, way beyond 2010," Verduzco said.

Source, Adventist News Network-- Reporting by Hearly Mayr, Libna Stevens, Jo

[Sybil]

Haitian earthquake unleashes animosity against Voodoo

By The Haitian Times  Read the article here

1:55 PM on 03/03/2010

[Sybil]

Buried for 27 days: Haiti earthquake survivor's amazing story: Source