HOPE FOR HAITI
In January 2010 a population wept in agony. The earthquake that hit Haiti all but flattened the already impoverished nation, and killed at least 230,000 people. Now, in November 2010, Hurricane Tomas has caused flooding in parts of Haiti, forcing thousands of people who had already been made homeless in one disaster, to pack up their few possessions and flee yet another.
The task of rebuilding Haiti has been mammoth, and countless more people have died in the months following the earthquake, from diseases, injuries, and even suicides. It’s not difficult to imagine that some have preferred to choose death over a life from which so much has been lost.
People have, by necessity, tried to soldier on, even if all they have is a small tarpaulin tent out of which to run a basic store. Many Haitians, however, still have absolutely nothing, and, given the depth of the country’s economic and medical needs, there is little they can draw on for support. Help will be needed in Haiti for years to come.
As part of the ongoing reconstruction, Crossroads Foundation recently sent medical equipment and hospital beds, along with other relief goods, donated by Hong Kong hospitals, community groups, business and individuals. When the container arrived in Haiti later in the year, staff from our Global Hand UK branch were there on the ground to see it being opened. They waited with those who had requested this container as it was unpacked.
“I was standing next to a baby girl panting”, staff member Ben related. The doctor told me she’d had a seizure and some of the vomit got in her lungs. He was shaking his head saying that, if he had a scanning machine and some of the other needed tools, he could at least try….”
Soon after, they watched medical equipment emerge from the Crossroads container: IV poles, neonatal resuscitation units, hospital beds and trolleys, opthamology equipment and masses of hygiene kits. As incubators followed, one of the aid workers cried out, “We can start our neo-natal unit!” The doctor dashed off to tell his colleagues.
When we say that the goods we send from Hong Kong donors save lives, we are not only speaking metaphorically. For children in that area, this equipment may very well mean the difference between life and death.
Thank you to all those who generously donated their time, money and goods, for helping us to help them.
