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Our Mission Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti was formally partnered with Herbs for Orphans, originally in the hard-hit Delma 33 area of Port-au-Prince, but eventually branched out to other cities and to the countryside. Most hospitals, clinics and triage centers in and around the Port-au-Prince area were overrun with casualties. Tent cities have been set up with no medical coverage, and although the United Nations estimates there are 500 of them, they only know the locations of 100 of them (as of mid-January 2010.) Due to the overwhelming destruction the removal and burial of bodies had become difficult if not impossible. With an increasing militarization of Haiti the in-country distribution of medical supplies and food and water became bogged down and delayed. MADRiH's structural belief in operating was that it was imperative that relief groups adapt to the developing situation in order to provide the help that the Haitian community needs during this crisis. Large non-profit organizations and international assistance are going to be crucial to Haiti's recovery but fail to be nimble and adaptive to day to day changes in a disaster zone. The delays in emergency medical attention, food and water are costing lives every hour. With assistance from Haitian organizations Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti organized teams of volunteers that can swiftly mobilize and set up triage centers and distribute medical services. As the situation develops and changes the collective evolves to meet the on the ground needs on a day-to-day basis. Our network has assembled teams that include medical personnel, translators, communications directors, journalists, search and rescue, construction and mechanics, and community organizers. Our in-country teams consisted of people that have lived and worked in Haiti as well as those that have worked in other disaster zones such as those in post-Katrina New Orleans, LA. Stateside we developed a team of fundraisers, medical professionals and logisticians that are providing support to the volunteers in Haiti. Our first team of relief workers arrived in Port-au-Prince Tuesday, January 19, and our second team landed in the Dominican Republic on January 24, traveling overland to Port-au-Prince on January 25. Four teams traveled to Haiti in all. Through working closely with existing Haitian organizations and community organizers our smaller independent teams were able to effectively navigate through the disaster areas as well as the developing bureaucracy to provide immediate relief. Page last updated: Sunday, February 28, 2010, 9:50 PM HT |
