EJF collaborating with ESF in Haiti
Upon learning the 7. 0 earthquake hit Haiti, my heart was immediately overwhelmed by the knowledge of the devastating impact such an event would have upon my Haitian people. My “Haiti Cheri” (Beloved Haiti), how much more do you and your people have to suffer? A country where 80% of the population lives below the level of absolute poverty and 47% suffer from undernourishment (FAO 2006 World Report). I arrived six weeks following the disaster on March 4, 2010, I accompanied with the Explorers Sans Fontieres’ (ESF) nursing team of 10 and a Pediatric doctor to provide medical assistance and support to Hopital Adventiste of Diquini-Carrefour and came face-to-face with the enormous needs and challenges my people are enduring.
EJF Advisory Board member, Pastor Aaron Campbell, counsels alongside CEO, Gilda Jean-Louis
What touched me the most are the survival stories. Pastor Aaron Campbell of Antioch Calvary (EJF Advisory Board Member, pictured above) and I provided counseling for several patients and their families.
Young survivor Sebastien, now an amputee, waits in hopes for a prosthetic leg
Stories like that of eight year old Sebastian, whose mother and father, both fell and died on his legs while trapped under rubble. Upon seeing his grandmother nearby stated: “Grandma, I think a truck hit the house,” who then replied “no, it was not a truck,” as her dying last words. Despite his amputed left leg, he is filled with faith and assurance of a brighter future. Marie and her five children , whose husband died in the school where he was teaching , was breastfeeding and battling suicidal ideation; unable to come to grips with the desperate situation she was facing with her children. While tears are streaming down her face, she expressed, “I sometimes let the baby cry because I am so hungry, I can’t breastfeed her; I am a terrible mother.” There’s the 14 year old who was raped and recently found out she was pregnant and let’s not forget 12 year old amputee, Marvens and 18 years old brother Robenson who begged their mother to hold on, but her last words to them were: “I can’t hold on anymore, I am sorry……” There’s a great need for an holistic approach to nursing care for the survivors of Haiti’s earthquake.
Children of Diquini, Carrefour, Haiti
Here are some ways you can help us serve our people…..
