Latest from Haiti

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

By MIKE MELIA and BEN FOX, Associated Press Writers – 1/22/10

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – By boat or by bus, by bicycle and on foot along clogged and broken roads, earthquake survivors streamed away from this city and its landscape of desolation Friday and into Haiti's hinterlands and the unknown.

The government and international agencies urgently searched for sites to build tent cities on Port-au-Prince's outskirts to shelter hundreds of thousands of the homeless staying behind before springtime's onslaught of floods and hurricanes.

"We need to get people out of the sun and elements," U.N. spokesman Nicholas Reader said as relief teams worked to deliver food, water and medical aid to the population, estimated at 1 million, sprawled over some 600 settlements around the rubble-strewn capital and in the quake zone beyond.

Into this bleak picture Friday came stunning word of rescues from beneath the ruins, 10 days after the killer quake.

An Israeli search team pulled a 21-year-old man from a crevasse in the rubble of what had been a two-story home.

Emmannuel Buso, a student and tailor, was so ghostly pale that rescuers said his mother thought he was a corpse. He said he survived the ordeal in part by drinking his own urine. Doctors said he is expected to make a full recovery.

"I am here today because God wants it," Buso told The Associated Press from his bed at an Israeli field hospital.

Earlier Friday, an 84-year-old woman was said by relatives to have been pulled from the wreckage of her home, according to doctors administering oxygen and intravenous fluids to her at the General Hospital. They said they had little hope the woman, in bad condition, would live.

[phkrause]

Wow, pretty interesting Pam.

pk

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Subject: Haiti update...

This is the report sent by Israel Leito to Elder Paulsen regarding Haitian Union situation.

Dear Elders Paulsen and Schneider,

We have concluded our visit to Haiti (Elder Verduzco and myself), and the situation is very bleak. However the outpouring of support and sympathy shows the appreciation and love we have for one another. I want to thank the GC and the NAD for the strong support for the church in Haiti. Honestly, this is beyond any one of us and all of us combined. We are so thankful for the gift of the NAD churches to ADRA for Haiti, and the extraordinary support of tithe and non-tithe funds from the NAD and the GC.

Ironically, the fields having suffered the most are the richest field and the poorest field in Haiti. I perceive that the Central Conference, the only conference in that union, will have very difficult days ahead, because it's tithe base has virtually been wiped out. Next Monday the 25th the workers must be paid, and there is no banking system and no money to pay the workers. The IAD has decided to help the workers with a stipend consisting of only the basic wage factor, until the situation normalizes.

The Dominican union has put all its resources and personnel at the disposition to help the members in Haiti. This union has become the nerve center to provide assistance to the church and the Haitian public. The Puerto Rican union, having the facility of a ferry from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic, has shipped hundreds of thousands of aid to Haiti. They have received two vans from the public in Puerto Rico that they have given to the effort to help. They are setting up kitchen in Haiti to feed the members with at least one hot meal per day, all at the cost of the Puerto Rican Union and the public.

1. Insurance of church properties.

As mentioned before, the union was so wise to promote for all entities to have earthquake insurance coverage. However, this catastrophe could bankrupt any insurance company. Because of this, the limit of insurance is one million dollar for all the properties combined. The extent of damage and destruction is of such magnitude, that each building can get only a little more than 10,000 dollars from the 1 million after the deductible. 115 churches have been totally destroyed. 60 others have sustained significant damage, so much so, that the union administration believes they have to be inspected before allowing the members to worship in them. Others have also sustained repairable damages. Five schools were totally destroyed. If you have seen the piece on Fox News, the church mentioned in that piece is the church just across the presidents palace, where the school we thought so many children perished is located. In that school, only the watchman died, he was taking a bath at the time of the quake, and could not leave the building. When the church collapsed, the children ran outside to see what was happening, and at that moment the school collapsed. Fourteen bodies were recovered from another large church, where two different church choirs were rehearsing at the time of the quake. What took so many years to build as church infrastructure has been laid to waste in matter of a few seconds.

The university has lost the roof of the Girls dorm and has suffered damage to other buildings. Most of the industry section of the university has been greatly damaged, thus causing other means of income for the university to be gone.

2. Membership casualties and situation

Thus far, it has been verified that nearly 600 members have died in the quake. There are around 600 having suffered serious injuries with many amputations. There are countless others having sustained minor injuries.

Around 15,000 Adventist families have lost their home. Around 27,000 are in refugees centers, mostly on church premises and other places. There are over 50 such places of concentration of Adventists who are in great need of help. We are happy for the organization of the Haitian union and its local fields, because by so identifying the Adventist members, it is easier to get help to them.

Around 16 pastors have been affected, three of them have been injured and four pastoral families have lost everything they ever had, we praise the lord that their lives have been spared. However, the treasurer of the North-West Mission has lost a daughter who was a student at our university, but was visiting her grandmother at the time of the disaster, and perished along with her grandmother and other relatives.

3, ADRA's involvement.

Again, we praise the Lord for ADRA. ADRA International has taken over the critical situation with the thousands of refugees on the campus of the university, and is of great help to the general public and the church. Proposals are being prepared to secure funding for the rebuilding of the lives of the Haitian people. We had a meeting with the union and Local Fields leaderships, along with Chuck and other ADRA professionals. Everything is in place for ADRA to handle the situation at the university. Many of the refugees at the university are church members, and we are so glad they can get the help they need.

4. Situation at the hospital.

The situation at the hospital is at the verge of getting worst. We are so grateful to Loma Linda University that has virtually taken control of coordinating all the medical assistance coming from the Adventist medical community in the NAD. We thank Oackwood University, NAPS, and other organizations for their rushing to help. There are scores of organizations helping the local doctors and other doctors from the IAD territory. Most of the patients are sleeping under a sheet in the yard. Some have the luck of securing a small tent, but most are virtually at the mercy of the elements. One, because the hospital is so full, and also, because many prefer to be outside for fear of another quake. On Wednesday there was an aftershock of 6.1. The hospital has run out of money, earlier in the week were about to run out of fuel for their generators. ADRA could help them with much needed fuel to continue serving. They have run out of food to feed the patients, However, the government of the Dominican Republic has promised to feed the patients at the hospital with at least 400 warm meals per day. The hospital has lost two nurses, and over twenty of its workers have lost everything and are counted among the refugees on the campus of the hospital, and still working. There is no money to pay the workers, but they are still working. ADRA has promised to try to find funding to help the workers. Montemorelos has sent two doctors, who are doing an extraordinary work, especially the orthopedic surgeon sent by Montemorelos. We have a team of French paramedics and Fire fighters working on the premises, and the Turkish police is providing security. Also our hospital in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico have medical teams working at the hospital. Surgeries are being done outside under a tent for lack of space inside.

We are so glad that the administrations of the union and its local fields have survived this tragedy, thus having the leadership of the church in Haiti intact, and gives leadership and guidance to the church. However, the house of the union treasurer is so damaged, that he and his family cannot live in it, and are sleeping in tents.

Dr. Henry is being replaced by Dr. Honore, our Health Director, to help the union administration and ADRA. We plan to rotate a Division worker to Haiti every week, until this is stabilized. We understand commercial flights into Haiti may start next Monday according to American Airlines. If this happens, I am planning to go back next week to help the administration.

On behalf of the church in Haiti, I want to thank you for your support, any little bit helps. As we get more information, I will share this with you.

Sincerely

Israel Leito

[phkrause]

Thanks for the update.

pk

[karl]

2. Membership casualties and situation

Thus far, it has been verified that nearly 600 members have died in the quake. There are around 600 having suffered serious injuries with many amputations. There are countless others having sustained minor injuries.

This is way fewer than the 6,000 Adventist deaths that could have been expected. Adventists number over 300,000 in Haiti. The population is 9.7 million. Adventists are therefore more than 3 percent of the population. The earthquake body count is nearly 200,000. Less than 600 Adventists dead is one tenth what we would expect based on the numbers.

Praise the Lord for His protection even in disaster.

[Don777]

March 11, 2010

Dr. Nelson reports:

For a short period of time we were buried under the heaps of stuff that was generously provided. But, thanks to Dan and Marilyn Patchin from Portland, OR as well as many other Haitian and American volunteers it is now well organized and we are working efficiently with the needed supplies...

We were very fortunate to receive an autoclave from Hope Force International as well as a portable digital x-ray machine from Americares...

Dr. Nelson also provides a financial breakdown of key expenses. Of note, $5000 for much needed shelving which allowed for the organizational development mentioned above; $42000 payroll per month. With all services offered free, this financial load calls for wide support.

His report along with pictures can be read at:

http://lluinhaiti.blogspot.com/2010/03/donors-dollar.html

Don