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From Jim Roxlo & others 1/15/2010 2:47 pm: Have you had any contact with anyone in Haiti? I just got off of the phone with Pat Fuller. She has been in contact with a minister who was at the John Vital-Herne Orphanage in Leogane when the earthquake occurred. Five children and two staff member were killed when the orphanage collapsed. There are two children in critical condition and four children still trapped in the destroyed orphanage. Is there any possibility that Albert (sp) could help?
The Orphanage is within sight of the bay and could be accessed from the water easier than the roads. Let me know if you have any other ideas on how to get assistance to the Orphanage.
From Frank Rothermel 1/15/2010 2:27 pm: In case you haven't received this attachment it is a method thru RI that we can help Haitians.
I have spoke with several doctors and other NGO people who are headed to Haiti. From what I hear it is going to be quite a challenge to find an airport where they can land.
The Leadership of Rotary International has acted swiftly by creating the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, which is a Donor Advised Fund managed by The Rotary Foundation, the sole purpose of which is to provide financial assistance on the ground where it is needed most.
This fund will be directed by the following Account Holders:
Eric E. Adamson, Vice President, Rotary International
Barry Rassin, Past Rotary International Director (from District 7020, Haiti's District)
John Smarge, Rotary International Director-elect
Robert Stuart, Jr, Past Rotary International Director
Attached is a four page document which provides all the details about the fund and how to contribute to it immediately.
I encourage you (club presidents) to share this with your entire club membership via your own internal email delivery method. Naturally, the clubs of District 6980 are free to consider any outside relief effort that they are interested in participating in. District 6980 will NOT endorse any other relief program to the clubs.
Thank you for your consideration and I thank you for presenting this information to your fellow Rotarians.
Our thoughts are most certainly with our Rotary brothers and sisters in Haiti along with their fellow citizens and we pray for the strength and resolve of those Rotarians working on the ground to provide the direct assistance to those who have suffered at the hands of this tragedy.
From Jack Vaughn 1/15/2010 1:57 pm: Albert, evidently, is OK. Nothing on Sony
From Dan Sansbury (North River) 1/15/2010 12:27 pm:
FYi -
Article contains more information about hospital in Leogane - maybe walls cracked, but still standing. Let us hope so.
Dan
A message to all members of PCUSA Haiti Mission Network
Board member Dr. Donna Martsolf just called from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, feeling extremely blessed, and full of news. She and her husband Dr. Rob Martsolf are with Father John Talbird and staff from the Children's Nutrition Program: Kara, Ashley, Laura, Joey and Courtney (sorry for no last names!).
She reported that Dean Hilda Alcindor is fine, though mourning the loss of a student. We don't have the student's name, but she was at her home in Leogane, not at FSIL. The FSIL School of Nursing is fine. It appears that within a half hour of the earthquake, Hilda was working with students and graduates caring for the many people who came to the school grounds for medical attention. This is how we were imagining them, and it's a wonderful image indeed.
Michelle Sare, a potential visiting faculty member who traveled to Haiti with Donna, is safe at FSIL. Not only safe, she's running the emergency "clinic" taking place at FSIL, along with some of the graduates (Evens, Marthe). Donna said the students "stepped up big time and they're champs."
Hôpital Sainte Croix (Holy Cross Hospital) in Leogane, a mile from FSIL, was reported as collapsed. However, Donna said it is cracked but standing.
Many of you have asked what you, your church, school, or university can do. A statement from the White House Press Secretary supports what we've been telling callers:
DONATIONS
"...We are encouraging private citizens to focus their efforts on supporting established aid organizations that are deploying resources to Haiti, and to hold off on traveling there themselves..."
There are many excellent organizations working in Haiti, and it's easy to find the most effective, reputable ones. We consider Haiti Nursing Foundation to be one. Contributions will reach FSIL as soon as possible, to cover student and faculty needs, medical supplies, hygiene kits, and other support for the school's relief efforts.
MEDICAL PERSONNEL, FOOD, AND SUPPLIES
It's wonderful how many nurses have asked if they can help in Haiti. At this point, however, only the most experienced relief organizations can deal with the challenges posed by a lack of water, food, lodging, and transportation. Most roads that are not strewn with rubble have been impassible at night because of people sleeping or lying wounded there -- bringing us back to the White House statement:
"We ask that you keep track of offers of in kind services and supplies being offered in your communities in the coming days so that as needs on the ground are assessed we can quickly turn around the resources and get them to Haiti. Those looking to donate time, supplies or funds should contact the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) at 703-276-1914, or visit them online at http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/
From Dan Sansbury (North River) 1/15/2010 12:19 pm: Beyond initial prayer report/update on health of 10-year old, which has occupied much of our thoughts/prayers for 10 days, I wanted you to see report of Rodney Babe, long-time mission worker in Haiti. He and Sharon have served there over 25 years. They were agricultural mission workers for 15 years in Leogane area (many trees planted on hillsides up from Leogane were because of Babes work in developing co-ops among Haitian people). They moved into Port-au-Prince a few years ago where they were doing teaching at college level. Their narrative and Sharon's injuries and evacuation are same story so many are experiencing right now.
Dan
Hello Everyone,
Hannah Ruggiero is improving every day. As long as Hannah keeps improving, she may be going to Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta for Physical Therapy as soon as next week.
Her family has requested that you join face book were they have updates on Hannah every day at Prayers for Hannah Ruggiero.
Please continue to keep Hannah and her family in your prayers.
From Rodney Babe:
Thank you for your prayers. The situation in Port-au-Prince is very dire. Our 4th story apartment was one of the casualties. Sharyn had returned from teaching yesterday and was in the apartment for about an hour when the quake struck. Details are still difficult to write, but a wall and the ceiling (concrete) collapsed simultaneously. As they collapsed, she was thrown from her computer station and high backed office chair. The concrete slabs hit the chair which caused them to slide to the side rather than crushing her. She began to crawl toward an open space. About that time, another wall fell partially crushing her. Again there was some room to wiggle and she managed to continue to crawl toward open spaces as the building collapsed totally.
Eventually the 4 stories became a single story of rubble. She continued to crawl and eventually made it to the street. All told, perhaps 3 minutes.
Neighbors carried/ dragged her away from other buildings and walls. Eventually she went to a hospital that was overflowing and was given a couple aspirinâ€"all they had for medicine. The hospital was closed shortly afterwards due to damage.
She finally got to the U.S. embassy. She was on a backboard by this time and was examined by a missionary doctor and the embassy doctor, neither who had x-rays. They both fear she has a broken back.
The embassy arranged for helicopter evacuation to a U.S. military hospital in Guantanamo, Cuba. This seemed prudent because she was in intense pain and had significant swelling of the entire waist area. She also had increasing problems breathing. She had some cuts and many bruises developing and was unable to move her right leg, although she has feeling in it and can wiggle her toes.
She was medically evacuated about 2 p.m. today. I was not permitted to accompany her as only seriously injured people were put on the medivac helicopter.
I do not know when I will have computer access again as I am leaving the embassy soon. In Port-au-Prince, there still is no phone service or electricity.
Thank you,
Rodney
A Note from Presbyterian World Mission:
Please keep Sharyn and Rodney in your prayers, as well as all of the people of Haiti. Rodney has asked that we let you know that his computer and e-lists have been lost. He will send updates as he is able.
If you feel called to support earthquake relief in Haiti, please give to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance account #DR000064. (See www.pcusa.org/pda for more information.) Visit PCUSA Haiti Mission Network at:
http://pcusahaitinetwork.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network
From Dan Sansbury (North River) 1/15/2010 12:11 pm: ROTARY FRIENDS,
I wanted to send you some additional information as I have rec'd it. The hospital collapse you know about. I learned this morning that the guest house is now rubble, as is the former residence in the same compound used by mission workers. The Kathryn Bolles cited below is now w/ Save the Children, based in Connecticut. She used to be director of Children's Nutrition Program here, and was based at Rivermont Church. She was the first speaker to come to Rotary and talk about work in Haiti (and, later, we heard Pam Edmondson, who succeeded Kathryn) - all that in our first four years, while meeting at the restaurant.
The most informed Rivermont Church people are going to be the two cited above, Jess Hornsby and Jack Danner, plus Chuck & Martha Sternbergh. [note to Rivermonters named in previous sentence: Tom is our club's representative to district for emergency/disaster relief, and they are meeting in Cookeville, TN, Saturday a.m.; Mike Brown and Jim Roxlo are club president and assistant district governor, respectively, and have been to Haiti several times to work on wells; Mary Beth is our International Committee chair, and involved in her own work in Caribbean w/ getting clean water to various places; Dan Page is active participant w/ all these matters - once again I am trying to be link between Rivermont Church & Rotary.]
As was noted this morning, our church did have 4-5 men planning on going tomorrow to work on guest house improvements, in support of upcoming medical mission trips. We do have a team led by Sternberghs hoping to go in late March.
I hope we will look short-term and long-term w/ fellow Rotarians for how we can help our brothers & sisters there.
We will pray that the new wells keep working, and provide water for 1,000's.
Dan
From Jim Roxlo 1/15/2010 10:56 am: Tom, this is the second Rotarian from the Petion-ville RC that I have made contact with.
Dear Jim,
Everything is still chaotic right now. The Hotel Montana where our Club meets completely collapsed. Many member's houses are damaged and most everyone lost friends and family. My office building completely collapsed. It will be a while before we can coordinate a Club meeting.
Raphael.
From Jim Roxlo 1/15/2010 10:55 am: Jim & Mike,
Have you had any contact with anyone in Haiti? I just got off of the phone with Pat Fuller; she is the woman who we took the extra suitcases to Haiti for on the trip I made with you and Mike. She has been in contact with a minister who was at the John Vital-Herne Orphanage in Leogane when the earthquake occurred. Five children and two staff member were killed when the orphanage collapsed. There are two children in critical condition and four children still trapped in the destroyed orphanage. Is there any possibility that Albert (sp) could help?
The Orphanage is within sight of the bay and could be accessed from the water easier than the roads. Let me know if you have any other ideas on how to get assistance to the Orphanage.
Don
Update from Jonathan Wiles, LWI
Better news emerging. All but one of the nationals is now accounted for and the one, anecdotally, is OK, families too. My Rotarian partners have been stateside and our partners' (staff) is being evacuated tomorrow. No injuries within my circle so far. The guest house managers, John and Susie Parker from the Austin area are accounted for and uninjured, even with John having to be pulled from his collapsed apartment a-joining Hospital St.Croix which has been destroyed (all of this is in Leogane, W, SW 18 miles from Port au Prince). Thank you for your prayers and concern. I am going down with a medical team sometime in February to start picking up the pieces.......jv
And oh yes, The Rev. John Talbird and Ashley Aakeson from the Chattanooga area (CNP staff et cetera) made their way to US Embassy today and are to be evaced tomorrow.......jv
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 7:36 PM
Subject: Re: Haiti update from Jonathan
Point of clarification. I do not have a team on location in Leogane doing well work, but I am unable to account for my national crew as of 19:30 hrs CST today.....State Department is telling us that they have no news of Leogane Commune located 18 miles west of Port au Prince - probably 8 miles west of epicenter. My worries grow as time passes. Even their day job bosses are unable to make contact with any of them. The bosses are holed up in the Kenam Hotel in Petionville and are safe, but in communicado. Please pray for the safely of my friends and colleagues in Leogane. jv
On Jan 13, 2010, at 5:56 PM, Sharon Evans wrote:
LWI staff, board, friends:
A few quick notes on the situation in Haiti...
When yesterday's earthquake struck, two LWI teams were already on the ground in Haiti - one, led by Jim Mohney, was repairing wells near Cap Haitian on the north coast. The other, organized through Jack Vaughn, was made up of four volunteer drillers working with the team of Haitian nationals that work with LWI in Leogane, near Port-au-Prince.
All indications are that the north Haiti team was in an area that was only minimally affected by the quake (thirty seconds of shaking, no serious building damage). The south Haiti team was in the affected region, but most likely in a rural area, where the greatest danger would be getting stranded for a few days due to road and bridge damage, rather than collapsing buildings.
We want to stress that although we have not heard directly from the team leaders, there is no cause for worry at this point. Most cell towers are down, and the ones that are left are shutting down from overuse. Nevertheless, please continue to pray.
LWI is currently organizing and leading a coalition of water organizations to amplify our collective efforts to help Haitian communities restore water. This will most likely consist of repairing wells in peri-urban areas and outlying communities that are being flooded with quake victims. A Haiti Relief Fund has been established and is now accepting donations. The initiative is described here: www.water.cc/haiti, and is currently featured on the front page of our website. Please spread the word.
If you are contacted by team members in Haiti, or have other information to share, please pass it on to us.
Thanks - more soon!
Jonathan
From Jim David (Bradley Sunrise) 1/15/2010 9:01 am:
Len Graham called this morning, and said the best way to contact and help the people of Haiti is to work through Douglas LaRoy who is the General Director of Missions for the Church of God International HQ. He can be reached at 478-7116. Rev. LaRoy will ensure the delivery of any supplies of relief.
From Mary Beth Sutton (Carribean SEA) 1/14/2010 7:55 pm: fyi. looks like people can actually get to leogane!
I was actually able to get a call through to Jean Marc with the filariasis program in leogane. He says most houses are down. They've already buried 90 people in the immediate leogane city and says many, many more people are buried under rubble. Right now he says they're most desperate for meds. They're completely out. He confirmed the road is passable, so any medical groups going down should be able to get there with supplies (once you figure out transportation).
--------------------
Subject:road to Leogane is passable
Wonderful news!! The road from PAP to Leogane is passable?? I just received a call from Murat who is at his home! Sounded as if he had some damage. His family is fine, but nothing is open, so no food, no water.....I gave him Kathryn Bolles cell number with instructions to call her immediately. I told him John Talbird had made his way to the embassy and that bill Squire is endeavoring to come into pap tomorrow on spirit air. Murat had no news of Albert or anything about leogane.........jv
From Gov. Carol Foster 1/14/2010 7:36 pm: Greetings, Rotarians: I know that many of us have received inquiries from Rotarians with questions regarding contributions to assist Haiti. Please know that a Donor Advised Fund has been established that is accepting contributions. Complete information is available at www.rotary.org/haiti. Information is also available on the home page, www.rotary.org.
Please pass this information on to your teams and others who might be interested. Annie Palubicki (annie.palubicki@rotary.org) will be happy to answer additional questions that you might have on the fund.
Michael Smith
Major Gifts Officer Zone 30
office: 847.866.3220
fax: 847.556.2180
From Gov. Carol Foster 1/14/2010 7:35 pm: The District 6780 Disaster Response Committee will be meeting on Saturday, January 16 at the Crossville Depot (169 N Main St) in Crossville, Tennessee beginning at 9:30 Central Time.
This meeting will cover the initial reports coming out of Haiti and will begin the process of determining the recommended responses by the clubs in District 6780.
This is an open meeting to all Rotarians who have an interest in what is going on in Haiti, and it is hoped that many will choose to attend and help the committee formulate a plan. The meeting will be over by Noon central time.
Also a page has been set up on the district website and updates will soon be posted on news coming out of the area.
www.rotary6780.com
From Gov. Carol Foster 1/14/2010 7:11 pm: Re: ShelterBox
ShelterBox Responds to
Haiti EarthquakeNeed
help with donations to send 1,000 boxes
ShelterBox is responding to the scenes of destruction in Haiti. A ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) with members David Eby from Tennessee and Wayne Robinson of Georgia from the USA and Mark Pearson from the UK are on their way to Haiti right now.
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean island of Haiti at close to 2200 GMT on Tuesday, January 12. Initial reports state that hundreds of people are feared dead while thousands of people have been left homeless.
We're doing everything we can to ensure immediate aid reaches the people of Haiti, but need your help!
Please make a donation now at ShelterBox USA or call 941-907-6036.
From Gov. Carol Foster 1/14/2010 7:10 pm: Re: RAM flight to Haiti: Thank you for your great response to our earlier email regarding Remote Area Medical using their plane to fly medical supplies to Haiti. There will be other flights going to Haiti, so if you are not able to donate on such short notice please consider donating supplies in the days or weeks to come.
There are a few additional things you need to know:
1. Due to a wonderful response, the folks at RAM are overwhelmed with the logistics of sorting out and organizing donations. Starting immediately, please drop donations off at Digital X-ray Specialist (3700 Pleasant Ridge Road) instead of RAM's South Knoxville location until 9:00 p.m. tonight or 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.
2. There are two additional items that RAM is in need of:
a. Flashlights with batteries
b. Headlamps with batteries
3. RAM will begin accepting donations again after Digital X-ray closes at 6 p.m on Friday, until 10 p.m. They will be open on Saturday, January 16th from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday, January, 17th from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. and will continue to stockpile provisions to fill the plane as many times as possible. Because their parking lot is small, if your church or business could bring everything in one or two loads it would help to avoid gridlock.
4. RAM's staff is overwhelmed by phone calls, so if you have questions, please call Chris Caldwell, pastor at Hope Community Church, at 865-599-1044. You can also call Angie, a member at Hope Community Church who has offered to assist with phone calls. Her number is 865-455-9635.
*If you hear of the FAA banning incoming flights due to an inability to refuel them, please be assured that RAM has alternative plans to get the supplies delivered.
Visit www.rotary.org/daf for more information.
From Robin Textor 1/14/2010 4:40 pm: Donations to a DAF are tax deductible, but do not count towards any Rotary Foundation recognition (Paul Harris Fellow, Major Donor, Permanent Fund, etc.)
Greetings, Rotarians
I know that many of us have received inquiries from Rotarians with questions regarding contributions to assist Haiti. Please know that a Donor Advised Fund has been established that is accepting contributions. Complete information is available at www.rotary.org/haiti. Information is also available on the home page, www.rotary.org.
Please pass this information on to your teams and others who might be interested. Annie Palubicki (annie.palubicki@rotary.org) will be happy to answer additional questions that you might have on the fund.
Michael Smith
Major Gifts Officer Zone 30
office: 847.866.3220
fax: 847.556.2180
From Roger Larsen 1/14/2010 1:47 pm: Tom -I had sent this today to my contact in the Carrefour Club just outside Port Au Prince - Carrefour was at the epicenter of the calamity.
Jim Roxlo and I had planned a trip to Haiti this month both to continue overhauling water wells and to investigate other project ideas. I'll copy you on the response (if any). It seems email is a more reliable mechanism than Cell Phones right now.
PP Roger Larsen
Secretary,
Rotary Club Of Tellico Lake
Dear Joseph - Words are not adequate to express our profound sorrow for what has happened in Haiti. We see, through our news media, the scope and depth of the devastation - our hearts go out to you.
Please let us know what we can do as a Rotary Club, as a Rotary District to help. If you can identify something or some service that will help, help your club at Carrefour and ultimately your nation, please let us know. We will do everything in our power to assist.
Yours In Rotary Service
Roger Larsen
From Jim Roxlo 1/14/2010 10:20 am: Mike Brown: Are there any known relief efforts underway in the Leogane region? In the absence of some practical effort in the Leogane region, I suggest we focus on supporting PIH until something gets operational near / in Leogane.
From Mary Beth Sutton (Carribean SEA) 1/14/2010 10:19 am: Mary Beth, the second email I sent this morning addressed Leogane. I sounds like no one can get there and in light of the fact that we have heard nothing from Leogane I can safely say that no relief efforts have started there. But Kathryn Bolles of Save the Children should be arriving this morning and she used to live in Leogane so she is going to try to get some help there. I am about to forward another PIH letter about their plan of action. I agree. We need to support them. Ann
From Linda Nelson 1/14/2010 10:10 am: I belong to the Mt. Juliet Noon Rotary and just received a forwarded email regarding this districts response. I have a son who is engaged to a girl from the Puerto Plata area of the Dominican Republic. Rotary is very active in that area and all the larger cities of the DR. If I might suggest you contact those clubs and in particular the one that is very active installing clean drinking water. They were written up in the Rotary Magazine mid year last year. Money can be forwarded to that club to allow them to cross the border and enter Haiti to put in as many clean water stations as they can. According to my future daughter-in-law the quake was felt all over the Dominican. She said people were screaming and afraid to return to their homes. It didn't take them long to figure out that ones with tin roofs are a little safer than the ones with cement. Puerto Plata is about an hour from the Haiti/Dominican border. There may be clubs even closer.
From Donna Mathews 1/14/2010 9:55 am: I'm a member of the Noon Mt. Juliet Rotary club. A friend of mine is very involved with Hope to Haiti. He has high regard for their dedication and integrity so I'm forwarding you the link. I hope it will be helpful.
TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO WATCH THIS....
Scott Bonnell, Director of our HOPE TO HAITI project was interviewed this morning on Tallahassee TV. Very compelling piece. I suggest you watch.
http://www.wtxl.com/Global/SearchResults.asp?vendor=ez&qu=bonnell
You can visit the HOPE TO HAITI website at: http://www.hopetohaiti.com/
Emails between Jim Roxlo & Tom Kale 1/14/2010 9:52 am: Tom: Thanks. The hospital in Leogane was affiliated with the Episcopal Church, correct? They had been debating closing it too, correct? That may be an area we can work in also, depending on what the church wants to do.
I also wondered about the school where the first well was repared.
It seems that one thing we can keep in mind is that both "Health & Hunger" and "Literacy" are Rotary focuses and may guide us as we select appropriate ways of assisting.
Jim: The hospital had recently been on a very severely reduced schedule - essentially working as a day clinic. It was probably mostly empty. If the other buildings survived (the apartment, guesthouse, etc.) then the news will be good for us. It might turn out that we can help get medical missions going to Leogane if the guesthouse is operable. Perhaps we will know today or tomorrow.
As the hospital delined in importance over the past few years, there were several small hospital/clinics that grew up around town. Think of a doc-in-a-box in a Haitian strip mall. This is where most people got medical attention. Maybe the good news is that these small structures were less likely to be destroyed.
From Mary Beth Sutton (Carribean Sea) 1/14/2010 9:52 am: News about Hopital Sainte Croix in Leogane.
Kathryn Bolles (team contact CScott@Savechildren.org) hopes to fly into PAP from the DR for Save the Children this am and meet with their team. One of her priorities is to speak with authorities to get the road open from Carrefour to Leogane, on behalf of Hopital St Croix and many others. She is also trying to find Mr Murat &/or others who could help with getting clearance for a landing at PAP for an airplane from a group that has loaded it with supplies and personnel, the Remote Area Medical (RAM)Team group; that group has been known to even parachute in. They would like to go to Leogane and help there. Contact is Mitch Henrich 504 756 9511 or MHandr@LSUHSC.edu. Meantime have heard that DR Buresh & team (Univ Iowa) plans to go and hopes set up tent hospital near the bandshell at Leogane, since we have confirmed that the hospital itself has collapsed. CMMH (that supports Hopital St Croix as well as Ecole St Vincent and others) will have an emergency call in this morning for its board. There is as yet now news about the blind and deaf children of Ecole St Vincent, nor of the Sisters of St Margaret whose convent collapsed, although we have heard that they survived.
Gretchen Glode Berggren, M.D., M.Sc.Hyg.
Harvard School of Public Health (retired faculty)
In a message dated 1/13/2010 9:01:11 P.M. Mountain Standard Time, jcvjr@mac.com writes:
Just spoke with Kathrn bolles in Santo Domingo. she hopes to get to the Kenam tomorrow, she is a team of 4. She hopes to establish communications from the Kenam....I spoke with Alec too. He has not heard from ashley since last evening.......jv
On Jan 13, 2010, at 8:53 PM, Cathy Dorvil wrote: Also getting information from friends from Leogane that the Catholic church in Leogane is destroyed, many schools and homes destroyed, and many deaths. I'm still trying to get more concrete information and will pass it along as I have it.
All, I just spoke to Jack Lafontant. He confirmed that Hopital Sainte Croix did collapse as a result of the earthquake. He said that there were deaths as a result of the collapse but did not know who or how many.
He had no information on the guesthouse or the missionary house. I asked for information on John and Suzy Parker and Albert but he had none. He is going to try and reach Hilda Alcindor at the nursing school and determine the conditions there and any information that might be available on the Parkers and Albert.
I will update as information is available.
Jess Hornsby
From Mary Beth Sutton 1/14/2010 9:51 am: This is a more complete update and scary sad:
T his is from my friend Walter Corely, former Customs Ombudsman at Treasury Department under President Clinton:
This briefing since has been widely circulated (see below) to members of the USG Haiti Earthquake Task Force comprised of St Depart, USAID, FEMA, US Coast Guard, US DOT, the White House and members of Congress. In addition to the UN via Haitian Special Envoy Clinton. I am currently working with the USG Haiti Emergency Task Force and key members of the Haitian Government to provide strategic advice, and work toward effective coordination and deployment as it is a dire situation and emergency to say the least.
I am Walter Corley a former Senior member of the House Judiciary Chairman Conyers staff and former Clinton Administration Official. I am currently in Haiti--- I was at ground zero (Karibe Hotel) during the quake and witnessed first hand the impact devistation and destruction of this 7.0 catastrophe. People need your help---now. Pls feel free to circulate this assessment to any relevant other agency, official or organization. on a confidential need to know basis as families of US and in Haiti are are under tremendous stress, worry and concern and panicked. I will continue to keep you informed. Thank you
In summary: (these are our present estimates the city size is given not casualties)
The Karibe Hotel has cracks (where I was staying) and is unstable
The Presidents personal residence is destroyed
The Presidential Palace is destroyed
The Montana Hotel where the Congressman usually stays is destroyed
The City of Canapevert a section of Port Au Prince pop 80k destroyed including the largest Hospital in Haiti
The City Bourdon pop 100k is destroyed
The City of Turgeau pop 59k is destroyed
The Nazon main road in Port Au Prince is destroyed (the main road to/from the airport
The downtown section of the City where the Palace is located is destroyed along with the Cathedral (burnt down)
The Police department HQ collapsed
The Haitian IRS building (DGI) has collapsed
The Haitian Parliament collapsed
The Caribbean Supermarket Haiti's largest collapsed
The Mountain side of Boutilier where they mine for calcium carbonate (illegally) for making concrete collapsed.
The Church of Saint Louis ROI De France destroyed
The church of Saint Thereses destroyed
No power or water
No access to fuel
Cell phone only work sporadically
The City of Leogane also collapsed
The City of Petion ville Rue Marcadieu has people stuck under debris ---decimated
The High school Canado at Turgeau collapsed in need of assistance
We are able to assist with efforts and would like to make contact with the US rescue efforts
IMMEDIATE NEEDS
Emergency evacuation air support - American Airlines and possibly Spirit have suspended service to US
Several medical, transport and surveil hellcopters
Housing for US and Haitian residents as many people are homeless
Communications equipment either Walkie talkies or Cell phones for Essential personnel and Haitian Government officials
A large ship/vessel for equipment, possible long-time shelter fuel and other essential
Security to quarantine off dangerous areas and ensure order -- we are uncertain about present UN forces
Heavy equipment Front end loaders, cadaver dogs, bull dozers and back hoes and other heavy lift equipment as many of the roads are impassable.
Fuel diesel and gasoline
Food
Shelter tents, blankets, trailers will be also needed
As recent as yesterday we were in communication with several Minsters and the Prime Ministers office. I am currently located at Mount Noire a suburb of Port Au Prince...Pls let us know your arrival as we are able to assist.
Here's a running tally of how federal agencies and departments are responding to Tuesday's massive earthquake in Haiti.
STATE DEPARTMENT:
Foggy Bottom and the U.S. Agency for International Development will lead the government's response to the Haiti quake, President Obama said Wednesday. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will "compress" but not cancel her trip to Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia.
Ambassador Kenneth Merten has spoken with Haitian President René Préval and other officials several times since the quake, the State Department said. The department also activated an early warning system to connect with the roughly 45,000 U.S. citizens living in Haiti. The warning system will attempt to connect with Americans and learn how they are doing and what support they may need, spokesman Philip Crowley said. Eight U.S.embassy employees were injured by the earthquake, including three who had to be Medevacd by the Coast Guard to Guantanamo Bay. Three American fatalities had been confirmed, according to a White House national security official.
The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince has 172 personnel and almost all had been accounted for by 8 a.m. Wednesday, State Department Counselor Cheryl Mills said. The U.S. has ordered about 80 nonessential U.S. embassy staff and family members to leave Haiti. Injured Americans will be evacuated first by Coast Guard helicopter and others may leave by way of the airport, Crowley said.
The embassy structure is intact and will provide medical assistance and other support to victims.
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
The agency's newly minted administrator, Rajiv Shah, has emerged as the public face of the Obama administration's earthquake relief efforts. He made the rounds on the network morning shows and led a news briefing late Wednesday morning.The agency's goal in the next 72 hours is to save lives, Shah said. "That is the president's top priority and is what the president has directed us to do," he said. The agency deployed two 72-member urban search-and-rescue units to Haiti. The teams have significant training and expertise in urban settings and know how to drill through and clear rubble. USAID and FEMA hope to deploy another team soon and is seeking similar assistance from other countries, Shah said. "Part of the challenge will be getting information from the ground, which we will start to do in a matter of hours, understanding the priorities and letting that guide the capabilities we have so that we can effect this work in a really coordinated way," Shah said.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:
The Coast Guard -- one of the department's 22 "components" -- is the department's most active thus far. Coast Guard helicopters performed reconnaissance flights over Haiti this morning, Crowley said. Those flights found that the impact of the earthquake was concentrated in and around Port-au-Prince and does not appear to be an island-wide situation. Some helicopters dispatched to the country may come from the Coast Guard base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Crowley said. Other Coast Guard cutters and aircraft are on the ground providing assistance, according to Gen. Douglas Fraser with the military's Southern Command. The department's other agencies stands ready to assist, Secretary Janet Napolitano said earlier Wednesday. "I encourage the American people to donate what funds they can afford to disaster relief organizations such as the American Red Cross to allow these voluntary groups to provide goods and services to disaster survivors as quickly as possible," said Napolitano.
FAA:
The agency confirmed that the runways at Port-au-Prince airport are operational and humanitarian flights can get into the country. The air traffic control tower is apparently out of commission and flights will have use visual flight rules and land only in good weather, FAA spokeswoman Tammy Jones said. "We're told that the runways and the [navigational] aids are operating," she said. Planes are "able to take off and land...The tower is not operating but they're able to get flights in and out, but only humanitarian and private flights...There are no commercial flights."
THE MILITARY:
The Navy will move aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson from Norfolk and other vessels to the region, Fraser said. The Vinson will be provisioned as it moves South by landing helicopters on board as it sails.Plans are underway for the hospital ship USNS Comfort to dock off the coast and assist the sick and wounded. The ship served a similar purpose when Haiti was hit by several hurricanes in 2008. The military is also "very seriously" assessing whether to send American troops to Haiti to provide security assistance to the United Nations peacekeeping mission there, Fraser said.
From Jim Roxlo 1/14/2010 8:59 am: To all, PIH is Paul Farmer's group. Mike and I met him twice going in and out of Haiti. This is a very serious outfit and I'm sure we could do well by helping them. This is a definite option. Their hospital (t least two hours over bad roads outside Port au Prince) may be the closest operating hospital for the capital city.
From Mary Beth Sutton (Carribean SEA) 1/14/2010 8:24 am: Over the past 18 hours, Partners In Health staff in Boston and Haiti have been working to collect as much information as possible about the conditions on the ground, the relief efforts taking shape, and all relevant logistics issues in order to respond efficiently and effectively to the most urgent needs in the field. At the moment, PIH's Chief Medical Officer is on her way to Haiti, where she will meet with Zanmi Lasante leadership and head physicians, who are already working to ensure PIH's coordinated relief efforts leveraging the skills of more than 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses and nursing assistants who work at Zanmi Lasante's sites.
We have already begun to implement a two-part strategy to address the immediate need for emergency medical care in Port-au-Prince. First, we are organizing the logistics to get the medical staff and supplies needed for setting up field hospital sites in Port-au-Prince where we can triage patients, provide emergency care, and send those who need surgery or more complex treatment to our functioning hospitals and surgical facilities. To do this, we are creating a supply chain through the Dominican Republic. Second, we are ensuring that our facilities in the Central Plateau are ready to serve the flow of patients from Port-au-Prince. Operating and procedure rooms are staffed, supplied, and equipped for surgeries and we have converted a church in Cange into a large triage area. Already our sites in Cange and Hinche are reporting a steady flow of people coming with medical needs from the capital city. In the days that come we will need to make sure our pharmacies and supplies stay stocked and our staff continue to be able to respond.
Currently, our greatest need is financial support. Haiti is facing a crisis worse than it has seen in years, and it is a country that has faced years of crisis, both natural disaster and otherwise. The country is in need of millions of dollars right now to meet the needs of the communities hardest hit by the earthquake. Our facilities are strategically placed just two hours outside of Port-au-Prince and will inevitably absorb the flow of patients out of the city. In addition, we need cash on-hand to quickly procure emergency medical supplies, basic living necessities, as well as transportation and logistics support for the tens of thousands of people that will be seeking care at mobile field hospitals in the capital city. Any and all support that will help us respond to the immediate needs and continue our mission of strengthening the public health system in Haiti is greatly appreciated.
If you are not in a position to make a financial contribution, you can help us raise awareness of the earthquake tragedy.
Thank you for your solidarity during this crisis,
Ophelia Dahl
Executive Director
From Mary Beth Sutton 1/14/2010 8:23 am: All, I just spoke to Jack Lafontant. He confirmed that Hopital Sainte Croix did collapse as a result of the earthquake. He said that there were deaths as a result of the collapse but did not know who or how many.
He had no information on the guesthouse or the missionary house. I asked for information on John and Suzy Parker and Albert but he had none. He is going to try and reach Hilda Alcindor at the nursing school and determine the conditions there and any information that might be available on the Parkers and Albert.
I will update as information is available.
Jess Hornsby
From Mike Roark 1/14/2010 8:14 am: In case this might help, here's a little info being passed around by my friends at the Atlanta Radio Club about what the amateur radio community is doing. Contacting a local ham radio group may find folks in direct communication there.
On Tuesday there was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, which has since been followed by serious aftershocks. Communications in and out of Haiti have been disrupted. No word has been received as of yet from any of the national HH Amateur Radio operators. The DailyDX notes that HH2/HB9AMO, Pierre, is OK and was located about 140 km north of Port-au-Prince in Cap Haitien at the time.
The IARU Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator, Arnie Coro, CO2KK, is coordinating the multi-national response by hams. There are organized nets on 7045 and 3720 kHz and amateurs are asked to monitor but also keep the frequencies clear of non-essential traffic. Amateur Radio operators should also be aware that emergency traffic pertaining to the Haitian earthquake is expected on the SATERN frequencies of 14265, 7265 and 3977 according to SATERN's leader, Major Pat McPherson. The Salvation Army has a website up for H&W traffic and other news at www.satern.org .
Amateur Radio operators are circled around Haiti in Cuba, Florida, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and other locations listening for any calls, but so far only one station has checked in.
Rich Moseson of CQ Magazine reported to us that Father John Henault, HH6JH, made contact late Wednesday morning with the Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net (IATN) on 14.300 MHz, the IARU Global Centre of Activity frequency for emergency communications. He said that he was safe, but had no power and no phone service. He was operating on battery power and hoping to get a generator running later in the day.
Please keep the nets clear for emergency and priority traffic on frequencies :
14300
14265
7045
7265
3977
3720
Additional frequencies may be activated on different bands at different times of day, so be sure to listen carefully before transmitting to make sure you are not interfering with emergency traffic.
The situation is still chaotic and more information will be posted as soon as possible. Information is being validated and shared between many amateur groups and news sources as it unfolds.
Allen G. Pitts, W1AGP
Media & Public Relations Manager
ARRL, the national association for Amateur RadioTM
225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA
From Jim Roxlo 1/14/2010 8:12 am: Here is another way we can help. Gaetan needs news and rumor control from the outside since he can't watch the evening news. He probably doesn't have time to websurf on his blackberry, and maybe that's not working anyway. So he could use a good digested news summary every day or twice per day. There might be a wire service we could copy for him. Is that something the Disaster Committee would like to do? We could make it available to others who have e-mail contact with someone in Haiti.
Email from DG Carol Foster to club presidents 1/13/2010 7:42 pm:
Dear Club Presidents, I am sure that many of the clubs in the district will want to help the people of Haiti in this time of need. I want you to know that your district is busy establishing lines of communication within the disaster area. We are working on setting up an information page where updates can be posted on the district website. We are working with the Zone Coordinators and the Disaster Response Rotary Action Group to gather as much information as possible about the situation down there and to establish specific needs that the people in Haiti have. We will be looking at how we can help the Rotary Clubs in Haiti help their members and the communities they are in.
Please, if you have anyone in your clubs that has a connection in Haiti or is communicating with someone in the country, have them forward any news to me at tskale@comcast.net. The District Disaster Response Committee will act as a clearing house for information and will work to design an action plan for relief to come from the district and the clubs. It is our hope that we can all work together as a district rather than have individual clubs initiate their own relief efforts. The committee would be interested in knowing any ideas that clubs may have and as our assessment progresses, we will be letting all the clubs know how they can help.
One challenge will be how to actually get aid into Haiti. Being a foreign country it may take a while to establish how we can actually get aid to those who need it. We also want to let the first-responders do their job. Rotary is not a first-responder organization, but as a second-responder we can make a big impact because we can find the holes in assistance and focus our efforts. I hope all the clubs in the district will want to participate when we figure out what we are going to do.
We will let you know what is happening as things progress.
In Rotary Spirit,
Tom Kale
District 6780 Disaster Response Committee Chair.
From Mary Beth Sutton re: Senator Corker's Office 1/13/2010 5:30 pm: Ronda Smithson from Senator Corker's office just called. She has been in touch with the State Department and has given them the names and locations of all the people we noted in our report to them.
She said the State Department has no information regarding Leogane, has not been able to reach anyone who has actually been in place and who can report on conditions there. They are working to get a first hand report.
She said the State Department says the airport is open and Americans who can should make their ways to the Embassy or the airport. Evacuations are taking place.
From Tom Kale 1/13/2010 5:24 pm: I was thinking about our district plan for dealing with disasters. The first order of business is to make sure the Rotary family was taken care of, then let the Rotary club help us help them help the community.
So we need to see if the members of the Leogane and Petionville clubs have immediate needs that we can help with.
From Jim Roxlo 1/13/2010 4:52 pm: We are working on the Haiti situation. There is no word at all from Leogane (the area where our project is). Leogane is only about 10 miles from the epicenter, so the news could be bad. But the population density is much less than Port au Prince, where all the news is coming from.
From Jack Vaugn 1/13/2010 4:47 pm: no news from albert, sony, murat. have been calling and texting....katheryn bolles should be able to give us a leogane report tomorrow.....thats all i know...jv
From Jim Roxlo & Tom Kale about Allison Kwesell's efforts 1/13/2010 4:06 pm:
Tom: Thanks Jim. Would it be easier to ship things to the Dominican Republic and then let them get things into Haiti, down the road. Thinking about logistic of future aid shipments. We may need to establish a connection with a Rotary Club in the Dominican Republic.
Jim: That's a good idea. It might even be best if we want to get some aid to Leogane to contract with SCORE. If they are set up to ship to DR and truck over the mountains from there, then we shouldn't try to reinvent it. On their website it looks like we could set up to accompany the goods if it went that way. The Disaster committee might want to make a contact with SCORE and see if they have aid going to Leogane. ??? Then if we found out the hospital was still standing, we could help SCORE on the receiving end.
From Mary Beth Sutton (Carribean SEA) 1/13/2010 4:04 pm: RE: St. Marc Trouin: Pere Kesner confirmed that Pere Michaud was not in the church when the four people were killed. I will try to find out if St. Etienne Buteau is the St. Etienne on the way to Petit Harpon that we have visited. If this is the same then our school in Petit Harpon may be in trouble.
I have asked Pere Kesner about Pere Jonas. I am worried about Boss Jean, our contractor. Charlie, what about Jerry at TEBOsa? Do you think he is okay? Their plant is right near the airport.
Carol Mutter has an unconfirmed report that there was damage in Leogane and Jacmel. CNN reported that Grand Goave was completely wiped out. It is the first large town you come to from Leogane if you don't turn left to go toward Jacmel.
Hopefully, more information to come. Ann
From Mary Beth Sutton (Carribean SEA) 1/13/2010 4:03 PM: Bad news from Pere Kesner: Dear Friends in Christ: We have devastating news to share with you from Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake yesterday. According to reports I have received here in Les Cayes, the damage in Port au Prince and areas around it is terrible. There is no Cathedral. The entire Holy Trinity complex is gone. The convent for the Sisters of St. Margaret is gone. The Bishop's house is gone. College St. Pierre is gone. The apartment for College St. Pierre is still standing. Bishop no longer has a house in which to live.
In Trouin, four people were killed during a service.
In Grand Colline, the church is gone. In St Martin of Tours, the kindergarten is gone.
In St. Etienne Buteau the church, the rectory and the school are gone.
In Les Cayes, BTI is OK, but some people were injured trying to get out of the buildings during the quake. The rectory in Les Cayes is in very bad condition.
The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)
Or
Partnership Program Coordinator
Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
C/o Lynx Air
P.O. Box 407139
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33340
From Tom Kale 1/13/2010 3:51 pm: According to Jim Roxlo, Allison Kwesell, a phptographer with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, who spent significant time in Haiti last year, is wanting to help. She is promoting SCORE INTERNATIONAL (http://scoreinternational.org/featured-news/help-haitians-rapid-response/).
From Jim Roxlo 1/13/2010 2:14 pm: FYI. Made contact with Petion-ville. "Thank you, James. I have a damage knee. Comm betwee us in haiti is difficult. We will let you know
This is a catastrophy
G (Gaetan)
From Tom Kale to Committee 1/13/2010 10:30 am: I have spoken with Jim Roxlo who has contacts within Haiti through North River's project down there. He is feeding me information as he gets it.
He recommends that we set up a kind-of command center to gather information and to share with the clubs of the District what is going on and what they can do to help, if they so desire. He recommended, and I agree.
PDG and Zone Coordinator Robin Textor also has contacts in Haiti and I will be talking to him about establishing lines more lines of communication.
Right now that is the focus...establishing reliable forms of communication and begin assessing the needs. North River's relationships are in Leogane and Petionville, which may be where the district ultimately plays a role in assistance. We know the hospital in Petionville was damaged, but we do not yet know about Hospital St. Croix in Leogane. According to Jim the epicenter of the quake was close to Leogane.
Only after knowing what the needs are can we coordinate a good plan of assistance. I imagine that our District will want to pay some role in helping the people of this country. Remembering that Rotary is not a first-responder group, I think this is a good plan for fulfilling our role as a second-responder. There will be massive assistance efforts going on. We can really make a difference, especially if places like Leogane need help, but aren't part of the original focus of assistance by the governments.
I will be in touch with Governor Carol as well so she can contact the club presidents with the Districts plans, and hopefully direct them to the page on the District website when we get it set up.
From Mary Beth Sutton/Jim Roxlo 1/13/2101 8:50 am: A major earthquake centered just 10 miles from Port-au-Prince has devastated sections of the city and knocked out telephone communications throughout the country. Reached via email, Partners In Health staff at our facilities in the Central Plateau report that they experienced a strong shock but no major damage or injuries. We are still attempting to establish contact with other PIH facilities and to locate several staff members who were traveling in and around Port-au-Prince.
In an urgent email from Port-au-Prince, Louise Ivers, our clinical director in Haiti, appealed for assistance from her colleagues in the Central Plateau: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages.
The earthquake has destroyed much of the already fragile and overburdened infrastructure in the most densely populated part of the country. A massive and immediate international response is needed to provide food, water, shelter, and medical supplies for tens of thousands of people.
With our hospitals and our highly trained medical staff in place in Haiti, Partners In Health is already mobilizing resources and preparing plans to bring medical assistance and supplies to areas that have been hardest hit.
Both our teams in Boston and Haiti are already mobilizing to deliver resources as quickly as possible to the places where they are needed most.
Thank you for your solidarity during this crisis,
Ophelia Dahl
Executive Director
From Jim Roxlo 1/13/2010 8:35 am: I talked to Judy Elb last night at the CNP office and she had heard indirectly from Kara, who is OK. This message is a good one, accounting for all the US folks down there this week or stationed in Leogane. Still haven't heard anything about how the Hospital in Leogane fared or anything about our Haitian well team or the Petionville Rotarians. It seems it may be a while before we get hard news.
FYI John (Talbird) is in Haiti this week. He is staying in Petionville at the Kinom Hotel. He was able to leave Mary(his wife) a message that he and the other members of the CNP (Children's Nutrition Program) team are all okay!
The hotel is an older hotel that is well-built and it did not suffer any damage. Most of the cell towers are not working so we have not heard from Wilkine, our med student that lives in Carrfour (sp) with his aunt and uncle.
The staff at Hopital St. Croix and the CNP staff in Leogane are all okay.
Please keep all our friends in Haiti in your prayers. Ann
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