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Precious friends all over the world,
We know you are with us and have been since the beginning of the horrendous events of the past few days, which seem like an eternity. I haven't been able think straight or had the time to send messages, but as things seem a little bit more stable and the huge influx of wounded is slowing, I know you want to hear what's happening and where we are.
Our group left Port au Prince only about 30 minutes before the earthquake, and didn't know what had happened until we arrived in Mirabalais. Wondered why there were so many people in the streets and all the commotion, only to learn of the event and even then we were unaware of the enormity of what had happened.
Of course most everyone up here in Cange has family in Port au Prince and so a general exodus to go and search was the first thing that happened, leaving a skeleton staff here for the first few days. Fortunately there was a visiting team of a surgeon and drs., who jumped into the fray and with Dr.Koji and Sarah Marsh. We started to prepare for the inevitable wave of injured who would arrive.
The church was cleared and we started gathering mattresses, sheets, and setting up a pharmacy, with Jackie raiding the Artisan Center for all that could be used and laughing that all the stock she couldn't move was being used for a wonderful cause.
“Mash” has now become my most favorite program—I know exactly how it all works!
The cases coming in are tragic, mostly all with crushed bones in every part of the body, but the stories coming with them are even worse—always buildings falling on top of people, students from schools which completely collapsed, markets gone, houses gone, families gone. Now we are getting those who spent days under the rubble and only just being brought here, some who have already been treated by someone but sent on.
We have many cases where children have been brought in and just left, and what we are to do with these little ones remains to be seen. Children's bones being so fragile have been shattered, but seeing two little girls lying face to face, trying to help each other drink, sharing the one sheet to keep warm, and giving one another the courage to face the future with the loss of a limb—well what can I say?
Amputations have to be done more and more as patients coming in with infected wounds to limbs that cannot be saved and others with limbs so crushed that they cannot be repaired.
One young seminarian who was in class when the building collapsed, spent two days under the rubble with one live and two dead friends lying on him, and will now probably lose his leg because all the muscles, etc., were so compressed they cannot revive.
Our beautiful Episcopal Cathedral is nothing more than a pile of rubble, all the murals and frescoes gone. The school and auditorium—same thing. We have the wife of the Archbishop and the head of the school here. Fr. Val in Croix des Bouquets is OK but with severe damage to the church and school.
The stories go on and on—no time for all of them here.
In fact all the universities are gone and most of the schools. I am sure you have all seen the Official Buildings list, so I won't go there. Every house and family without exception has been affected. Fr. Lafontant, Marie Flore, JeJe—all have serious damage.
Our church in Cange is proving to be the perfect place (in fact, Dr. Sheridan said "what a wonderful use for a church"), and now there are several school rooms in use for those who have been treated and are able to walk. Everyone has a role to play. I have become the chief pharmacienne and anything else, and Jackie is wonderfully bathing the patients in the morning and emptying bedpans; food is being prepared for the patients, and students have become runners and assistants taking people up and down to the operating theatre.
Logistics are going to be the greatest problem. The largest food market in Port au Prince is on the ground and of course gas and diesel are at a premium, if they can be found. The problem of feeding all those coming to help when there is very little food left in Port au Prince is real.
For the moment our water is in fine shape and we will speak to Marcelin today to see if there is anything we need to think about. I actually told him last night that he needs to prepare for 1,000,000 people—you can imagine how he laughed. This in fact is a real possibility— people are coming from everywhere because they have nowhere else to go, and once they get here they have no desire to leave. People are in the streets walking, but not knowing where to go, and most are heading up the mountain.
Everyone is asking what they can do. I really don't know at this time apart from praying and sending emergency funds.
OK, everyone is calling now, so I will send on this first chapter, hoping to be able to send another, which is never sure as all system are very precarious. I guess you must realize that I am OK and while the first three day were exhausting, I have had four hours sleep and am a new person!
I don't think I could have been in any other place.
Please know that we feel all your prayers, we have had a miraculous escape here in Cange, I keep thinking of the songs we sing on Wednesday night like "Have you seen Jesus?"
YES.
We are expecting Charles and Breck at some time today which will be wonderful.
Much love and hugs to you all.
Gillaine
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Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 8:25 AM
Subject: Report of my trip to Port-au-Prince
Dear friends and daughters,
First of all I want to praise the Lord who has allowed me to make the trip to Port-au-Prince and be back to Terrier Rouge. Thank you to all of you for your prayers and generosity. Thank you for accompanying the people of Haiti in their moment of trial. We urgently need your continued help.
I left Terrier Rouge on Sunday 17th at 5.00 am with a truck loaded with food for 250 families affected by the earthquake and 10 young volunteers. After eight hours on the road we arrived at the Capital of Haiti. Immediately we started our relief work by visiting the most affected areas. I could not believe what I saw. The City where I grew up does not exist any longer. The Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Church attended by my family, the temple which witnessed my ordinations was completely destroyed. My primary and high school where I had my education was leveled. Most of the government buildings including the National Palace either were severely damaged or do not exist any longer. One cannot describe the scene. One has to be there. TV coverage shows only part of the devastated Port-au-Prince.
I went to one of the Episcopal high schools, named College St Pierre to see the Bishop and saw the damages. This school which was the pride of the Diocese for their academic performance fell down and killed lot of students. In the court yard the sisters of St Margaret, the Bishop and two other priests along with more than a thousand people took refuge there. They live under camping tents. The Bishop was not there but I visited with the two priests. One of them was the Dean of the Seminary, The very Rev. Oge Beauvois who explained to me that they do not have the means to feed the people there. I promised him that I will send food for them this coming Friday.
Everywhere in Port-au-Prince people live in the streets or they use any park or space they can find. They sleep under the stars. Their temporary shelters are made of sheets some of them have recovered from the ruins. Praise the Lord is not raining. Tears came down as I was walking between the bodies of the dead who were still laying on the pedestrian walk way waiting to be picking up by the truck to be buried in a common grave.
As I was walking I visited a community of 300 families gathered together on a small property without water, food and so on.. They were practically dying. I stopped and was watching them. One guy who happens to be their leader approached me and talked to me. He asked me for help for those people. I agreed to provide food to them. Immediately he gathered the community and we discussed how we will proceed. They formed a committee for the distribution. The next day we drove the truck there and they received the food which was going to be distributed. I gave them food for two hundred people but they told me that everybody will find something. They started reducing the packages we had prepared in Terrier Rouge so instead of 200 families, 300 may have something to eat. They show a real concern for everyone.
The remaining 50 packages were distributed in the area where my family lives to the neighbors. With the volunteers we participated in the recovery of the bodies of my cousin and her granddaughter who were under the rumblings. After we found them, we buried them not too far from their destroyed home.
The needs are countless. I felt since the moment of the tragedy that I had to intervene in a way or other to bring my support to fellow citizen. Families are living the Capital and are moving the country. I am helping also in this area. On our way back the truck was loaded with people from Terrier Rouge we brought to their families.
What we are doing is very small compared to the massive aid that the international community is pouring on Haiti. But it is very significant in the sense that in distributing our help we do not need an army to protect us. We use the channel of community leaders. We do it with discretion. Nobody has noticed that we were transporting food for the victims. There was no fight, no riot and everyone we reach had received something. Neither I nor the volunteer ever felt threatened, on the contrary we did our work with joy trusting in the Lord’s power for protection.
When I had to leave for Port-au-Prince, there was no gasoline in the whole country. I crossed the border and talked to the DR authorities in Dajabon and they allowed me to buy the quantity of diesel fuel I needed for the whole trip. The food also is bought there. So I do not have any problem to get the food to Port-au-Prince.
An idea of what I took to Port-au-Prince: rice, beans, corn, charcoal, oil, spaghetti, matches, cassava, bread, biscuits, candles, dry fish and water.
I am going back to Santo Domingo this Saturday after sending the truck again and will come back next week will make another trip to Port-au-Prince.
I urge you to be part of this relief work. You can give to any organization of your choice but believe me any penny you give our Organization “Esperance & Vie” will go right away to the suffering people.
For the time being school is closed in the whole country. As I was writing this report, we have received an aftershock in Terrier Rouge and this happen from time to time. Last night, the people in Cap-Haitien experienced the same phenomenon. People are still living in a very panic situation. They do not want to take any chance to stay in their homes.
We continue to count on you prayers and generosity. Please forgive me for the length of this report.
This comes with the assurance of my prayers,
Your servant
JMBruno+
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Dear Paul,
Today held more challenges and more successes for Partners In Health. The race against the clock is quickening as infections and sepsis become ever greater concerns for the seriously injured with each passing hour. Fortunately, critical surgical, supply chain and available facility capacity continue to expand rapidly.
In Port-au-Prince, the operating rooms at the city's main General Hospital have been declared structurally sound and are now staffed and ready to receive patients. These ORs will supplement the seven emergency operating tables already set up on the hospital grounds. A helicopter landing pad has been designated nearby to accommodate the most critical patients. An additional facility at Croix de Bouquet has also been opened bringing the count of PIH/ZL supported operating rooms up to 20. This number includes 2 operating rooms at three facilities in the Central Plateau and the Artibonite.
These hospitals outside the city are coming under increasing pressure as a growing number of the injured, homeless and hungry residents of Port-au-Prince continue their mass reverse migration to the countryside. Earlier today, Dr. Jon Crocker reported from PIH/ZL's hospital in Cange, where the work of Partners In Health started and has been ongoing for nearly 25 years.
We arrived at Cange, in the Central Plateau, the heart of operations for Partners In Health/Zamni Lasante, yesterday. As we expected, things are incredibly busy. People are still arriving from Port-au-Prince. Those who have been fortunate enough to survive their injuries this long are now running into complications of wound infections, some of which have turned septic, and venous blood clots (from immobility and trauma). Patients have completely filled the hospital and we have set up makeshift wards in a nearby church and school. Both surgical and non-surgical personnel are working tirelessly....
The Haitian medical staff of Partners In Health/Zamni Lasante and survivors of the quake are working with unimaginable valor and dedication. Many of them have lost members of their own families. And yet they remain here, working tirelessly to provide care for others. They are the true heroes. Those of us fortunate enough to be here to contribute to the immediate relief efforts labor by their side with complete humility. We are in awe of their strength, compassion and dedication.
Thank you for your support and welcomed messages of encouragement. Please continue to help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. Keeping Haiti in the hearts and minds of the world is more important now than ever.
In solidarity,
Andrew Marx
Director of Communications
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Contributions earmarked for the diocesan “Bread and Water Fund-Rescue” will be designated to support the immediate work of the hospital in Cange and to insure the ongoing functioning of the Cange water supply. These may be sent to:
EDUSC
1115 Marion Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
MARK THE CHECKS BREAD & WATER – RESCUE, CANGE, HAITI
Or contribute online at http://www.er-d.org/
LINK TO THIS ARTICLE - http://www.ecsssj.org/show_article.php?myid=142