Falee Returns to Williamson

As many of you will remember Falee, a precious little girl who was rescued from the Mercy & Sharing’s abandoned baby unit at Hopital d’Etat de l’Universite, the public hospital associated with the medical university in Port au Prince. Through the tireless efforts of Dr. Rodriguez, we were able to get her medical care on the US Navy medical ship - USNS Comfort - shortly after the earthquake. She had been beaten by her mother so severely that her right eye was dislodged from the orbital socket, and as it turns out, stuck inside her skull but the eye was not permanently damaged - during a two-hour operation her eye was surgically moved back into the eye socket and she can see both eyes again!!

She is starting to come out of her state of shock and tell us what happened to her. Stay tuned for her own story, in her own words, that she is writing to everyone who helped her, including each of you through your generous donations to Mercy and Sharing.

She doesn’t appear particularly pleased in the photographs with today’s update - but it was a little embarrassing for her - after all she is a tender young girl who cares what she looks (like all of us). She is starting to interact with the other children, and has bonded with Dr. Rodriguez as her surrogate mother. She is very intelligent, and anxious to continue her schooling. It is amazing how resilient children can be, she suffered with this problem for many, many months. Thank you for your prayers and support for Falee.

Please continue to support Mercy & Sharing financially by donating on-line at www.haitichildren.com We appreciate your donations, and we will continue to update you on how your donations are making a difference for not only the orphans and children of Mercy & Sharing, but the now more than 40 other Haitian nongovernmental agencies or organizations that Mercy & Sharing has been supporting with relief supplies donated to us. We have now shipped over 145 tons of supplies into Haiti, and have our distribution set up so that we can support other NGOs.

We also wanted to thank Anderson Cooper of CNN’s AC360, so the kids at Williamson did a picture to thank him and all of our other friends at CNN.

Reconstruction Troubles

As the rubble is removed, filled with human remains that were not removed from the collapsed buildings, Port-au-Prince is engulfed in a deadly mix of pollutants, bacteria, and disease in the air – which has a haze of red that is clearly visible. Many people are suffering from respiratory infections, pinkeye, and other serious problems, such as typhoid. Our staff reports that they awaken in the morning covered with a red dust. We are sending medical supplies targeted for respiratory infections.

The capital of Port-au-Prince continues to be filled with temporary tent cities, many located in drainage swales and river bottoms. The Government of Haiti has been stalled trying to negotiate with private landowners to relocate the hundreds of thousands of people who are living under no more than tarps, with no sewage system, and relying on relief organizations for water and minimal food supplies. The government itself claims it only owns 47 acres! A second humanitarian crisis is in the making, as April begins the rainy season and if these tent cities are not relocated many will be washed away in the inevitable flooding. As the water drains through the rubble and remains, we expect a spike in infectious diseases.

It is vitally important for the international aid community led by the United Nations, to move quickly. However, Haiti’s history of deeply ingrained corruption and graft, and well-documented history of the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to ruthless dictators and government officials, understandably makes the international community reluctant to let the billions of dollars that have been pledged to Haiti flow through the hands of the government. On March 31 there will be a major conference at the United Nations to decide how to proceed. We pray that the international community will move quickly to restore basic infrastructure, and to solve the problem of the hundreds of thousands left homeless and stranded in tent cities or worse conditions.

Thank you again from Mercy & Sharing and all the children for your continued prayers and support.

Joe & Susie

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 20th, 2010 at 8:18 am and is filed under Earthquake. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.