Haiti Foundation of Hope has had a lot of experience with disaster relief in Haiti over the past 15 years.
There were large floods in the Gonaives area in 2004 and 2008. Both of them caused loss of life and destruction.
There was the major earthquake in Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010.
Then there was the cholera epidemic in November 2011.
HFH was there for each of these disasters, working hand-in-hand with our in-country partners.
The most recent earthquake off the coast of northern Haiti on October 6 was another disaster. The damage and casualties were not as severe as other events but it still caused death and destruction.
With each of these situations, our work starts with an immediate response. We assist in-country partners help those who are affected. Often this is urgent medical care or food in the first few weeks after the disaster. But the work doesn’t stop there. We are involved in the recovery process as well. We provide on-going support as people rebuild health, homes and communities.
Thank you for your support. It has enabled our in-country partners to care for the people in northern Haiti who were impacted by the recent earthquake!
Patients were seen in the Clinic of Hope within 24 hours of the earthquake! This was possible because the Clinic of Hope is staffed by Haitian professionals on a daily basis and they were in place to provide immediate care to those in need. There was no need to wait for outside medical professionals to travel to the region.
The 50 community health volunteers who live and work in the surrounding villages are a resource for their neighbors, especially during disasters. Many of the community health volunteers experienced damage to their homes but continued to reach out to their neighbors.
One of those neighbors is Mme Cetoute. She requires constant medical care and the community health volunteers visit her on occasion. She has no income and little family to help her.
Her home almost completed collapsed in the earthquake. Our in-country partners and the community health volunteers are working with her to provide immediate care and long-term assistance.
With your continued support and involvement there is HOPE in the area of Terre Blanche. When disasters suddenly appear, HFH and our in-country partners will be there!
By Dr. Joe Markee, HFH board member.