On Thursday January 14 we got a text message from Mde. Chenet, the Mercy & Sharing in-country supervisor — with one word: “surviving” — otherwise communications to Haiti were down all day Thursday.
Jeff Swope, a member of the Mercy & Sharing Advisory Board and his team arrived in Cap Haitien today. He was able to reach Mde Chenet, who is reported that many of our employees are unaccounted for. We have preliminary reports at the office and hospital at Delmas 75 in Port au Prince have been completely destroyed. Mde Chenet said that her house is partially damaged, and she and her elderly mother are sleeping in a car outside because of fear of further aftershocks. Likewise, the children remaining at the Cazeau orphanage are all sleeping outside, most of the country is sleeping outside because of fear of more building collapses.
We have reports the general hospital is operating, we have still not received any specific information about the 32 children in the abandoned baby unit, but we are optimistic that if the General Hospital is operating that the abandoned baby unit is still operational.
Mercy and Sharing has over 100 tons of medical supplies, food and water ready for shipping to Haiti. However, relief flights were turned back from Haiti’s airport yesterday, the port remained closed and most of the capital’s infrastructure has been destroyed. Of the first relief flights arriving Thursday, but the airport had to stop them because it had no aviation fuel for the return trips. It took six hours to unload a single Chinese plane because of a lack of equipment. A British aid flight was one of eleven turned back. Supplies are piling up a few hundred miles away in the Dominican Republic. The port is closed because of damaged wharfs and debris in the water. Most roads are impassable. The Government is barely functioning because whole ministries were destroyed. There is no running water or electricity, little heavy lifting equipment and most communications are down.
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contactus@haitichildren.com
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