Haiti Update - Feb. 19

Dear Confreres,

The news media continue to report from Haiti but the pace and volume of reports continues to diminish as the world goes back to its business of being the world. But the work continues and will go on for years to come and the Order of Malta knows that. Your generosity reflects your ongoing commitment to help the sick and the poor while giving witness to your faith.

While the business of helping the people of Haiti to recover goes on tirelessly, there is concern that people in general and rescue efforts specifically will wane when the need is as desperate as ever. You can be sure that Hôpital Sacré Coeur, Hope for Haiti and the Haitian Health Foundation will continue to deliver whatever they are capable of — they were fully engaged before they earthquake, they are fully engaged now, and they will not rest until they have done all they can for these wonderful people. Malteser International, by its nature, goes into a disaster region with a strategic objective — to provide immediate relief for the people in crisis and then to help them rebuild their country and rebuild their lives.

Here is what is going on in Hôpital Sacré Coeur from a report from Dr. Peter Kelly. They continue to recruit teams of primary care physicians, orthopedic surgeons, plastic and general surgeons and nurses to care for our increased population of inpatients. Their current census of patients is 248 in the tent hospital, new pediatric ward, ICU and PACU and another 64 in the old hospital. Food has arrived from CRS thanks to the tireless effort of Dr Roger Jean Charles, KM and Jim O’Connor KMOb. A current focus is on drilling new wells to supplement the increased need for water and to improve sanitation with dry toilettes and latrines for the tent hospital.

An urgent request for anesthetic gas needed to perform the large number of surgeries was filled when Project Hope responded within minutes with an offer to provide the necessary gas. The Order of Malta, Americares, CRS, CMMB, private donors and many corporations have generously responded to our needs and continue to respond.

The effort to recruit the 40 to 50 volunteers needed each week, getting their personal data and credentials and documenting their travel plans is overwhelming; a team functioning on less than 4 hours of sleep a night is working to accomplish this task. Carol Fipp, Deb Paine- Motyl, Julie Condon, Denise Kelly, Joni Paterson and Deb O’Hara-Ruskowski make up this team. They also perform many other tasks necessary to keep the hospital functioning.

A message from Dr. Peter Kelly, KM:

“As I reflect over the past month on all that has happened and what we have accomplished and I remember how Hôpital Sacré Coeur started, I cannot help but see the hand of God. For those of us that have seen the daily financial struggles to meet the hospital expenses, the growth of employees and patients and the need for expansion over the years, we remember that God always provided. Today as the memory of this catastrophe starts to fade it is important for all of us to remind everyone we know of the struggle that faces the Haitian people. We need to continue to work to provide the care for these wonderful people as if it all depended on us and to continue to pray to God for guidance knowing that we are dependent on Him.”

Malteser International is manning a Medical Clinic in Léogâne, Haiti and has asked that doctors and nurse midwives consider volunteering their time to man the clinic. They are asking for a commitment of a minimum of one week. They are also looking for a Chief Medical Officer to oversee the operation of the clinic. That position would entail a four week commitment. If you have financial constraints on cost of transportation, reimbursement would be available from Malteser International.

The Associations from the United States have been asked to provide doctors and midwives for the following weeks:
Week #1 — February 21 to February 27
Week #2 — February 28 to March 6
Week #3 — March 7 to March 13
Week #4 — March 14 — 20

If you are available to volunteer, please contact: Geoffrey Gamble, KMOb at his e-mail address: Geoffrey.Gamble(at)USA.dupont.com

The Haitian Health Foundation is looking for volunteers to help at the next container loading project to send desperately-needed food and supplies to Jérémie, set for Saturday, March 13th, at our Norwich office. The loading begins at 9:00 am. Other volunteers can help stuff envelopes. See the web site at www.haitianhealthfoundation.org for more details.

No less tiring work continues from Hope for Haiti — see their web site at www.hopeforhaiti.com. The commitment to deal with the issues of today and to continue to work toward the long term solutions for Haiti is not diminished. You can go to our web site where we post the latest information as it comes in. You can also go to the web sites of Malteser International — Americas (www.maltarelief.org) and Crudem (www.crudem.org) for up to date information.

God bless you for all you do, for your generosity in helping, for your prayers and for all the people on the ground in Haiti and behind the scenes around the world who will not give up on these, our brothers and sisters.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Jeffrey R. Trexler
Executive Director
www.maltausa.org