Cross President Jim Cavnar and several staff members recently returned from a trip to Haiti. During their time in the earthquake-devastated country, they visited several of the ministries we are helping during this time of recovery.

In their first few hours on the ground the staff was struck by the empty streets of Port-au-Prince, which before the earthquake were teaming hundreds of vendors, children, cars, and animals.

Cross International President Jim Cavnar surveys the damage in Leogane where nearly all of the houses were destroyed by the quake. Cross is supporting an IDP camp of about 200 people who lost their homes there.

“It was like being in a ghost town on the set of a Hollywood movie — it was unreal,” Jim said.

Michele Sagarino, vice president of development, added, “The lack of life in the streets and knowing what that means was very hard to process.”

The group from Cross met with Gladys Thomas, who runs an orphanage and Christian school we support just outside the capital, to survey the damage her ministry sustained. She told them that they’ll have to completely replace one of their buildings and rebuild the tall cement wall that protects their property from trespassers. She also said that her ministry has taken in 20 new children since the earthquake.

Jim and the staff from Cross also visited an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp we are supporting in Leogane, which was at the epicenter of the deadly earthquake. Despite the extensive destruction, there was hope among the people in camp. They had just received another shipment of rice when the group from Cross arrived.

With tents and supplies from Cross International, Project Medishare was able to set up a makeshift hospital that is helping hundreds of earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince.

After visiting a few other ministries we support, assessing damage, and planning an approach to help, the team from Cross stopped by Project Medishare’s tent hospital. Jim and the staff were very impressed by the work being done there — work that has been going on since the first day after the quake. Cross donated tents and supplies to the ministry, which were of great use when the ministry set up makeshift surgical and exam rooms, an infirmary, a lab, and a pharmacy.

Overall the group was impressed by the work we’ve accomplished together with our ministry partners to help those suffering in Haiti. “Our partners are showing tremendous courage and faith in the wake of this disaster,” Jim said. “Though it was difficult to see the suffering, we were glad to also find hope among the people as we met with our partners. We feel blessed to be a part of the recovery efforts that are bringing relief to those hurting in Haiti.”

Click here to learn more about our relief efforts in Haiti.

Our Projects Officer Mike Henry, who has been updating us from the field since the earthquake shook Haiti Tuesday, sent us more news this afternoon. Below is an excerpt from his notes from the day after the earthquake:

Mike Henry, Cross International projects officer

I woke up at dawn on Wednesday morning to the sound of helicopters flying over and thought, “My God, it wasn’t only a bad dream.” I was in disbelief. The aftershocks began early, typically just a slight shake.

I decided that I needed to get busy trying to help. I figured that the search and rescue teams were on the way, so maybe I could help expedite the situation by doing an assessment of our neighborhood and documenting areas that held trapped survivors. I had already seen and heard many, so I thought that I would do another walk-through of the areas of Cineas and Augustin to put together a more thorough report.

Mike interviewing earthquake victims in the streets of Leogane, where 90 percent of the buildings collapsed. (Photo courtesy of Kathryn Bolles, Save the Children)

As I walked through the neighborhood and interviewed different members of the community, I had to fight back the tears. There was so much damage that you couldn’t distinguish one house from the next. Every other house seemed to have missing people inside. Some folks had found and saved one or two family members who had been stuck, but were still missing others.

I drew up a small map in my notebook and began charting where people were missing, trying to distinguish between the difference of “missing” and “alive and trapped.” It was bad out there, but I managed to get together a pretty accurate map for the search and rescue teams.

Mike doing an assessment of the neighborhood surrounding the office in Port-au-Prince. (Photo courtesy of Kathryn Bolles, Save the Children)

When I got back to our office, I found that the number of community members staying at our unofficial camp had increased a bit.  I realized that logistics would soon become a major issue as we would need food, water, latrines, and either tents or some other shelter for each of them. We were able to get several cases of Vitafood meals from a partner we shipped to recently. We also gave some of the cases to a nearby orphanage that had run out of food.

With all the destruction everywhere, it’s good to be able to start helping people. I am hopeful for tomorrow.

Please pray for Mike as he continues to work with our ministry partners in the field to help the devastated earthquake victims of Haiti. Also, visit our disaster relief page to see how you can help.

Our Haiti projects officer, Mike Henry, has been working diligently with other relief agencies over the last two days to bring aid to earthquake victims. Mike visited Leogane today, one of the worst hit areas just outside of Port-au-Prince, and he said almost nothing was left standing. 

The children at Divine Mercy Orphanage were very glad to see Mike Henry, our Haiti projects officer, coming with several cases of Vitafood meals today. They had nothing left to eat.

Though it’s been very difficult the last few days seeing so much suffering everywhere, Mike was happy to report on some of the positive things he and our partners are doing to help the people. 

Just today, he was able to deliver several cases of nutrition-packed Vitafood meals to children at Divine Mercy Orphanage, who have been sleeping in the backyard after their building was damaged in the 7.2-scale quake. The food was quite a blessing, as they had nothing left to eat.

A view of the street just outside the hospital in Leogane, a town outside of Port-au-Prince. Almost nothing was left standing there.

President of Missions David Adams has been working with U.N. officials to provide millions of meals to busloads of refugees fleeing Port-au-Prince. 

Check back soon for more updates from our staff in the field, and please continue to pray for the people of Haiti. Also, visit our disaster relief page to help.