Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts Summary - Jan. 27, 2010
D7020 Website - Haiti Updates
District 7020
January 27, 2010
On Wednesday January 27, 2010 a delegation of Rotarians (PRID Barry
Rassin, RIDE John Smarge, PDG Richard McCombe and PP Carla McCombe,
DGE Diana White) along with one Orthopedic Surgeon (Dr. Patrick
McGrath) who would stay, and ZNS News Anchor Jerome Pyfrom and
Videographer Burton Wallace flew from Nassau to Pignon, Haiti. Our
purpose was not to visit the epicenter but to meet with the Rotarian
Leaders who have working tirelessly to bring relief to all they can.
We met at the Hôpital de Bienfaisance de Pignon which is run by DGN
Dr. Guy Theodore. Dr. Theodore, AG Caleb Lucien and Adele Noel-
Romelus from Pignon met us at the airport and transported us to the
Hospital. AG Dr. Claude Surena, PP George Nicolas and Jean-Baptiste
Brown flew to Pignon from Port-au-Prince to join us and ensure that we
understand the present conditions and anticipated short term future
needs of the most affected areas. Dr. Surena is our Rotary Disaster
Chair for Haiti and also the President of the Haitian Medical
Association and was appointed by President Preval to coordinate the
receipt and distribution of all medical relief. His complete
involvement into the relief efforts of the country is a great help for
us to understand what is happening and what we need to do to assist.
The Rotarians from Pignon have been coordinating the delivery of items
sent in by Rotary to ensure they get to the appropriate people.
We only had a few hours as Dr. Surena had to return to meet with
President Preval. When the meeting concluded we toured the Hospital
which is overloaded with victims from the earthquake. We also toured
the Hosean Mission and saw the housing for visiting physicians.
Below I have summarized the primary points made during our meeting:
1. The Government of Haiti immediately called a State of Emergency for
three months which will enable an easier and more efficient entry of
goods and medical personnel into the country. This could be extended
to six months.
2. The acute relief efforts are coming to an end over the next couple
days.
3. The next phase will be on fixed clinics and then hospitals as the
medical care becomes much more focused.
4. They are working closely with WHO to get the supplies and equipment
needed for patient care.
5. Orthopedic supplies and strong antibiotics (Bactrim, Cipro and
Keflex) are still the most urgently needed in the medical area and
will be for some time.
6. The Hospitals have been treating and the patients are recovering to
go home but they have no home to go to. The plan is to put tents up
next to the Hospitals in order to provide a step down situation for
the patients out of the hospital.
7. They estimate a need of 200,000 tents to house those who lost their
homes. Not necessarily full blown shelter boxes but just the tents.
8. Dr. Surena suggested that one possible Rotary project, in
partnership with other agencies, would be to establish a
Rehabilitation Center for all those who need Physical Therapy,
Occupational Therapy and Psychosocial Counseling. In conjunction with
the facility we need to establish a workshop for artificial limbs (DGE
Diana White has begun discussions with the Rotary Jaipur Limb project
to plan for establishing locally the necessary workshops). There have
been a substantial number of persons with crushed limbs resulting in
amputations.
9. The School System in Port-au-Prince has been shut down. Those
migrating to unaffected areas of the country are now causing an
overflow situation in all schools that are available to continue.
Many children have no school to attend.
10. The Government is now setting up a committee to handle the airport
landing priorities as the Port-au-Prince airport has been overwhelmed.
11. Significant Rotary manpower will be needed but not yet.
12. They are in great need for psychological counselor who speaks
Creole.
13. There is probably no more need for Rotary to supply medical teams
as other organizations have now geared up and are providing
appropriate manpower in the medical arena.
14. There is an urgent need for Food and water and that will continue
for some time. While fixed and pre-prepared foods are good they would
like to see more of a focus on staple goods like Rice and Beans. They
will need to provide about 150,000 meals per day for many months to
come. They are able to buy some of the basic food items locally for
distribution if they could receive cash donations to do so. That
would also help the economy.
15. They need clothes including shoes as they lost all of their
possessions. They ask for separated and sorted clothes.
16. They understand the need for an overall plan for relief and will
begin on that task as they can; however they must do all they can to
sustain life and develop an ability for the population to become self
sufficient in the short term.
17. They have begun a concerted effort to locate Rotarians from all of
the five Rotary Clubs that were affected. We will develop a report
from each of the five Rotary Clubs so that we can also support them
and assist them as individuals as they are also victims of the
disaster. They have lost everything and need our help.
18. We are considering the purchase of a truck for Rotary in Haiti in
order to help them move the high volume of supplies from the ports or
the airports to those that have been targeted for distribution and
assistance. What Rotary sends in aid is received by Rotarians and
distributed to those in need.
19. All of these priorities listed does not mean that there are not
other needs like x-ray machines, autoclaves, or specific supplies, but
these listed are considered the top priorities for Rotary to pursue.
20. We in Nassau are now organizing a cargo ship to take into Port-au-
Prince all the collected supplies from Rotary in The Bahamas, The Red
Cross and the Methodist Conference. We are able to fill about 12
containers or more and so it will be much more effective to spend
about $40,000 for the ship to transport the goods. We will ship when
the Port is ready to accept which is expected in two weeks. We will
need the cash to pay for the ship but the containers are being lent to
us at no charge. Again our Rotarians will meet and unload and
distribute.
21. The Rotarians in Haiti greatly appreciate the outpouring of
support from Rotary in The Bahamas and the District 7020 but also from
all the neighboring districts and around the world. They are strong
and positive and will continue to work to bring their country to the
healthy, vibrant and productive country that it needs to be.
22. They specially thanked PDG Richard (Dick) McCombe for his
incredible support and assistance from the first moment of the
disaster. They also thanked RIDE John Smarge and DGE Diana White for
our District 7020 for taking the time to fly in for this visit. They
also appreciate the hard work being done by Rotarians within our
District led by our excellent District Governor Errol Alberga.
We ask Rotary Clubs and Rotary Districts to consider the above and
work with us to focus on their needs for today. However, please keep
in mind that this is a long term relief effort and we will be part of
the rebuilding and will need significant cash to participate in
meaningful projects as time goes by and we have a plan in place for us
to help implement.
I am proud to be a Rotarian and know that Rotary around the world will
work side by side with our Rotarians in Haiti to bring them to a new
and positive era for their country.
Please stay current with the needs as the transitioning of relief
efforts will continue.
Barry Rassin
PRID 2006-2008