The past few days feel like we've been operating in excruciatingly slow motion. We have managed to communicate sporadically with World Hunger Relief, Haiti staff and they are eager to pitch in and help wherever they can, but making that happen in a way that contributes to the larger effort in Port-au-Prince without putting WHR-Haiti personnel at significant risk is a serious challenge. With the national offices of Fonkoze destroyed (the credit union we normally use to transfer funds) we have been trying alternative routes in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Yesterday we succeeded in transferring funds to Dajabon, D.R., opening the possibility of purchasing Dominican goods for transport to the earthquake site.
On the other end of the equation, we are communicating with MCC personnel to find out first what goods are most needed, and second, whether it is possible to deliver them safely to a location where they are needed. Reports of hijacking are not rampant, but they're common enough that we want to move cautiously and not put our well-meaning Haitian brothers and sisters in danger.
Meanwhile, those amidst the devastation continue to work tirelessly. As of late last week, many neighborhoods were still digging on their own with picks and shovels, including MCC volunteers Ben and Alexis Depp: http://mcc.org/stories/podcasts/world-shaken
A Haitian physician friend e-mailed this morning:
"I live five minutes from a 75 bed hospital, an I just spent the last five day working there...It is difficult to work because many people in the decision process of the organization are either dead, or hurt, or have no home.
At the hospital we had about 1000 people calling for help with terrible wound. The second in the (hospital) administration is dead with her family. The administrator with a nephew is under rumble and one of the orthopedic surgeons was dragged out of his house 30 hours later. Phones were not working. We worked day and night to help
Now that we had help that come we are assessing, but the help some time is a problem because there is no place to house them since we already have friends over, there is no market open and no gas delivery. More and more the us army is taking control. From there you may decide in what area you can help."
Join us in praying that tireless workers like this will receive some respite.
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