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One Year and Nine Months Ago

Written by Carrie Petersen, a member of the medical team working in Haiti:

We arrived safely in Haiti today. After traveling for more than 20 hours, we ate a hearty meal and are now resting for tomorrow.

On the drive to our final destination today, we took a right turn onto a road that I’d never noticed before. We drove about 200 yards uphill to a spot where the ground leveled off. The ground was covered with small rocks, and green bushes were taking over the land. It was a memorial for the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. On that spot, under those rocks, thousands of earthquake victims had been buried – buried in one mass grave and without any markers. At the time it had been a burial of necessity.

Sometime after the earthquake and the burial, a memorial appeared on the site. There are no road signs or large statutes or even a permanent marker. But the visitor who turns down the unsuspecting road will see hundreds of black wooden crosses about two feet tall placed among the rocks. Some of the crosses are standing but most have fallen down – I suppose they have been knocked down by wind and rain and time. Among the crosses are wreathes and higher up on the hill stands a large cross draped with purple cloth.

I don’t know who is responsible for the memorial. I only know that it was a privilege to visit there today. To remember all of the lives that were lost one year and nine months ago today.

Before loading into the vehicles to continue our journey, we stopped to say a prayer. To summarize our prayer, which was all that needed to be said: God be with the survivors.

Postscript: Almost two years later, the effects of the earthquake are still visible here in Haiti. Today it was seen in a man with one leg standing on the side of the road in Port-au-Prince, a crumpled building that has yet to be rebuilt, and the thousands of makeshift shelters that have become homes to the homeless.

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clinic

We support a permanent medical clinic, collaborate on a clean water project,…

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community health

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economic development

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teams

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Reflections on Trip to Haiti

Written by Ann Petersen, HFH board member and part of the March medical team to Terre Blanche.

I arrived in Haiti just seven weeks after the 7.0 earthquake of January 12.  After seeing the devastation on the news and reading stories I wasn’t sure what to expect.  As our plane made its approach into Port-au-Prince everyone was peering out the windows to get a first glimpse of the area that had been hit by the massive earthquake.  A hint of the destruction could be seen as piles of rubble came into view.  We soon touched down…

As we drove along the outskirts of Port-au-Prince I didn’t see widespread areas of collapsed buildings.  What I did notice was the usual hustle and bustle of life on the streets but with a changed backdrop of broken homes and buildings.  Homes that appeared intact have tents or tarps outside where people are living – people are afraid to sleep in their homes or spend any time inside buildings.  We passed several vacant lots full of tents or tarps and outside the city we saw a hillside filled with shelters built of blue tarps and plastic hung on stick frames.  As the rainy season approaches these temporary shelters are inadequate and present health issues…

We arrived in Terre Blanche after dark and were warmly welcomed with singing and a prayer of thanksgiving by some of our Haitian co-workers.  Our medical team had been scheduled for over a year and we worked alongside the Haitian clinic staff to meet the needs of people coming through the clinic.  The earthquake was heard and felt throughout the country of Haiti but in our area there was no loss of life and the buildings are intact although some have cracks now.  Like in PAP, people live with fear about future earthquakes.  This area has not had a harvest for two years due to the devastating hurricanes of 2008 and then droughts that dried up later crops.  The riverbed has only a trickle of water, barely enough to wash clothes.  Many households have doubled in size as displaced people have moved out of the earthquake-affected areas.  In a community that is already feeling the lack of food and water, more people have caused additional strain.  Because of the generosity of churches and individuals, we were able to give beans and rice to every patient coming through the clinic – that was over 1,100 people.

Clinic of Hope stories: Healthy newborn baby boy; severe leg injury from a motorcycle accident; advanced cancer diagnosis given to several different patients; beans and rice given to every patient; waking in the morning to hymns of praise being sung by those in the clinic waiting area; young woman suffering depression after her five year old son and 21-year-old sister died in the earthquake; people receiving prayer as well as medicine; smiles of children as they receive lollipops at the doctor tables; happiness that we were able to see every waiting patient each day; patients spending the night in the observation room; minor surgeries done; malnourished children receiving high nutrition peanut butter supplement on the Medika Mamba program; and the list goes on.

Terre Blanche School: There are 850 students registered at the Terre Blanche school in grades pre-K through 9th grade.  It was wonderful to see how much these students value their education and love and respect their teachers.  Students receive a meal each day, a generous serving of rice and beans with a sauce.  There were four educators on our team and we were able to spend time in the primary and secondary classrooms.  We met each of the teachers, talked with students and then had the joy of going into the 9th grade English class to have English conversations with small groups of students.  Students start learning French in pre-K with English and Spanish added in the secondary school.

It was a blessing to tell people we met that Haiti and her people are not alone or forgotten – that people back home care and are praying for them.  I told them that we have seen and heard news reports of prayer gatherings, hymn singing, church services and people’s individual faith – it is a testimony to the rest of the world.  I continue to be impressed by the strength, courage and faith of the Haitian people – I see hope.  There will continue to be difficult days ahead for the people of Haiti as they deal with the hardships of life and the results of the earthquake.  Please remember Haiti and her people and the many needs that exist.

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clinic

We support a permanent medical clinic, collaborate on a clean water project,…

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community health

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economic development

We provide adult education, resources and local employment to support self-sufficiency.

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teams

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In the News

Dr. Joe and Linda Markee were featured today in an article in The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.) newspaper about their work in Haiti following the January 12 earthquake.

Joe and Linda, board members with Haiti Foundation of Hope, traveled to Haiti within days of the earthquake as part of a disaster relief team with Medical Teams International. They worked in Port-au-Prince and later in Terre Blanche, providing medical care and administrative assistance.

Couple lend Haiti a healing hand (The Columbian):

Linda and Dr. Joe Markee have learned a lot about the damage an earthquake can cause.

The Vancouver couple just spent two months in Haiti as medical volunteers. They saw how falling bricks and collapsing concrete can crush flesh and shatter bones, but that was no surprise to the Markees.

What they didn’t know was how something that sounds like an earthquake can create a panic that produces more injuries.

Yes, an earthquake has a distinctive sound, the Markees were assured by survivors.

“There were stories about how you could hear the ground roar,” said Joe, a retired obstetrician-gynecologist. “It’s the earth moving.”

“The noise was described as a loud truck coming down the road,” said Linda, a nurse.

Read more of the article.

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clinic

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community health

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March Newsletter

Read the latest Haiti Foundation of Hope news in our March newsletter:

The rumble and roar of the earthquake was felt and heard in Terre Blanche, a village about 100 miles north of Port-au- Prince, however the buildings remained intact and no one was injured. But the emotional impact of the January 12 quake was very real and continues to be felt every day… Read More.

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Enduring Faith

Dr. Steve Sethi, HFH board member, reports on his recent trip to Haiti:

The situation all around Haiti is so incredible that it’s hard to express in words. The sheer enormity of the destruction can hardly be conveyed adequately by words or pictures, and the emotional trauma is even more hidden. There are fallen buildings for miles, thousands of people living in the open, and many Haitians just struggling to keep their families alive. I was privileged to contribute a tiny fraction to the work many are doing to help relieve and reconstruct.

For a week, I worked with a public health specialist with our partner organization MTI, interviewing people in earthquake affected villages around Leogane to find out their longer term needs. We did hear that health care is very hard to find, but most people are just struggling to get enough water or find a usable latrine. The early recovery needs will certainly include the basic necessities of water and sanitation.

Beyond the physical needs, the emotional catastrophe is widespread. Nearly every person I saw, either in the villages or in clinics, talked about how fearful they were. They talked about being easily startled, quickly forgetful, preoccupied by a feeling of shaking, and a sense that they just weren’t the same person anymore. They are worried about their families and how to take care of them. They are going to need the support of churches, counselors, and our prayers.

The second week was spent with our partners in Terre Blanche. While the physical destruction can’t be seen after 20 miles out of the capital, the impact of the earthquake is unmistakable. I spent a day interviewing patients at our clinic and visiting homes in the village, and found that earthquake survivors are in every community, usually doubling the household sizes. Just as in Port-au-Prince, people everywhere are traumatized.

A Haitian friend at the clinic told me that 99 percent of the country has been affected — either a family member or a friend or a distant relative was killed. Even more than 100 miles away from the earthquake, he carries the burden of thinking his family might die at any moment. But he also sees this as a wake up call from God — an indication of his power and a call to turn to him. It is true that things have changed — Carnival (with the loud ra-ra bands and dangerous alcoholic crowds) was cancelled and instead there was a three-day period of prayer. Along the roads in every town, whole churches went out marching, singing hymns and praying.

It was this commitment to prayer that gave me hope. In the midst of tragedy, people are praising God! Could I have that kind of faith? Our friends in Terre Blanche, the volunteers we’ve trained in health promotion, are still eager and active, visiting homes to teach families how to prevent diarrhea and referring sick children to the clinic. These brothers and sisters are a testament to enduring faith and, as Pastor Delamy says, a personification of grace. And people here at home are giving hope as well, by praying and caring about Haiti. Thank you.

Steve and other workers in Haiti.

Collapsed house in Leogane.

Church members singing on a street corner.

education

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clinic

We support a permanent medical clinic, collaborate on a clean water project,…

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community health

We empower the communities we support to increase their education, health, and…

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economic development

We provide adult education, resources and local employment to support self-sufficiency.

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teams

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The Challenges

Haiti Foundation of Hope has had a volunteer medical team in Haiti this past week. The team is scheduled to return home tomorrow and another team will leave for Haiti on Thursday.

“This past week has been very hard in Terre Blanche,” writes team leader Linda Markee. “One reason is the unexpected number of young mothers who died in the earthquake, leaving infants and newborns with no means of nutrition. Obviously the families are trying to find help anywhere they can.”

Another difficulty is the large number of patients who had been receiving care from Port-au-Prince physicians who died in the quake. It’s hard to know where to turn to find referrals for patients needing more treatment than is available at the Clinic of Hope. “It was difficult to find consultants in the past,” Linda writes. “Now it is overwhelming.”

One example of this problem is a 4-year-old girl who had had a shunt placed for hydrocephalus, or swelling in the brain, last November. By the time she came to the clinic she was not very responsive due to the shunt having become infected. The neurosurgeon who had placed the shunt and who had been treating the girl was killed in the earthquake.

education

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clinic

We support a permanent medical clinic, collaborate on a clean water project,…

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community health

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economic development

We provide adult education, resources and local employment to support self-sufficiency.

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Earthquake Slideshow

Haiti was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010. After the dust settled, the scope of the catastrophe became clear. Buildings had crumbled, more than 200,000 people had died and even more were injured and in need of medical care.

Some 1 million people were left homeless and searching for food and clean water. Most of the destruction was in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas, although the impact of the earthquake was felt throughout the entire country.

Within days of the earthquake, two board members with Haiti Foundation of Hope, Dr. Joe and Linda Markee, were on the ground in Port-au-Prince, volunteering at a hospital with a disaster relief team. A third board member, Dr. Steve Sethi, soon joined them. Plans moved forward to send already scheduled medical teams to Haiti in February and March.

Haiti Foundation of Hope received an outpouring of support through donations, gifts and prayers. With money received for disaster relief, the foundation was able to purchase life-saving supplies such as food and medicine to distribute to those in need. Money was also spent on fuel to transport the supplies.

 

education

We fund primary school education, supplement staff salaries, subsidize secondary education, and…

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clinic

We support a permanent medical clinic, collaborate on a clean water project,…

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community health

We empower the communities we support to increase their education, health, and…

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economic development

We provide adult education, resources and local employment to support self-sufficiency.

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teams

Throughout the year we send medical teams to rural Northern Haiti to…

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First Day of Flights

Our first full-scale medical team since the earthquake – a team that had been planned since last year – arrived in Port-au-Prince on Friday, the first day that commercial flights had resumed their travels in and out of the capital city since January 12.

One of the team members said that news crews were at the Miami airport as they boarded their plane. Once in Haiti, they were greeted by a Haitian band and made it through customs without any trouble. The team then left the city and headed north to where they are now, the Clinic of Hope. They will be working all this week and will most likely see more than 1,000 patients. In addition to medical care, Haiti Foundation of Hope and its supporters are making is possible for every patient to receive food.

education

We fund primary school education, supplement staff salaries, subsidize secondary education, and…

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clinic

We support a permanent medical clinic, collaborate on a clean water project,…

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community health

We empower the communities we support to increase their education, health, and…

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economic development

We provide adult education, resources and local employment to support self-sufficiency.

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teams

Throughout the year we send medical teams to rural Northern Haiti to…

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Finding a Home

Haiti has become a place where many people no longer have a house to call home.

Many earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince and other hard-hit cities, have moved to other parts of the country. The United Nations estimates that nearly half a million people have fled the capital city since Jan. 12. Some of those people have made their way to the rural communities served by Haiti Foundation of Hope in the northern part of the country.

The Clinic of Hope, supported by Haiti Foundation of Hope and located north of Gonaives, has been seeing an increased number of patients since the earthquake. Some of those patients are among those without a home and others are those who have opened their houses to friends and family in need.

At the clinic, one woman, who lives in Gonaives, told us she has 19 people staying at her home. Sixteen of those people came to her after the earthquake. At another woman’s home there are eight people. Three of them came from Port-au-Prince. A man told us five people moved into his home after the quake, making it now 11 people under his roof.

With more people — people with great needs — moving into northern Haiti, our ongoing programs such as providing medical care, clean water and food are more important than ever. We can’t do our work without you so thank you for joining with us and making a difference.

education

We fund primary school education, supplement staff salaries, subsidize secondary education, and…

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clinic

We support a permanent medical clinic, collaborate on a clean water project,…

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community health

We empower the communities we support to increase their education, health, and…

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economic development

We provide adult education, resources and local employment to support self-sufficiency.

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teams

Throughout the year we send medical teams to rural Northern Haiti to…

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Feeling the Impact


One of the tent cities in Port-au-Prince.

Haiti Foundation of Hope has a number of ongoing programs in northern rural Haiti, which will help people as they move forward from the devastating earthquake.

The Clinic of Hope, the school and the new church building in Terre Blanche were not damaged and people living in the community were not injured when the earthquake struck on Jan. 12. But the impact of the quake was still felt and continues to be felt there.

One of our partners in Haiti says, “Port-au-Prince is the center of the country, sort of like our heart is the center of our bodies … not one family is untouched by the death and destruction in Port-au-Prince.” People all throughout the country have lost family members.

Earthquake victims are still coming to the Clinic of Hope. They are suffering emotionally as well as physically. Haiti Foundation of Hope has two medical teams scheduled to work at the clinic in the coming weeks and three of our board members are currently on the ground working in Haiti.

Food is a struggle for the earthquake survivors in Port-au-Prince as well as for people living in places like Terre Blanche, where floods and drought have destroyed crops for the past year and a half. The price of food is rising but with generous donations from supporters like you, we have been able to purchase beans and rice and distribute them to people in need. Every patient at the clinic is leaving with food.

Thank you for joining with us in helping the people of Haiti.

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