Irish Haiti Response

2011-03-23T22:37:00.000Z

Our Little Brothers and Sisters – Ireland would like to invite you to an information meeting at …..

The Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre
Findlater House
27-31 Upper O’Connell Street
Dublin 1
On
Saturday 26th March 2011
13.00 hrs to 15.00 hrs.

The agenda includes

How donations received in 2010 were spent
and
The way forward for Our Little Brothers and Sister – Ireland

All are welcome. Please come and bring a friend!

Earthquake response video

2010-06-10T23:22:00.002+01:00

A video posted by NPH on the Earthquake response:

http://www.youtube.com/user/nphinternational#p/a/u/0/FbXXGjIF-yc

Art Auction for Haiti

2010-04-23T23:34:00.002+01:00

ART AUCTION FOR HAITI

Date: Monday 26th April at 6pm
Venue: The D4 Hotel (Berkeley Court) Lansdowne Road, D.4

Viewing: Saturday 24th April 1pm -5pm
Sunday 25th April 11am – 5pm
Monday 26th April 9am – 4pm

Circa 300 of Ireland’s leading artists, together with a number of private collectors have donated work for this sale. The auction will be conducted by John de Vere White of de Veres Art Auctions who said that ‘the standard of the work contributed by artists and private collectors is very high indeed”.

Artists represented include: John Behan, Basil Blackshaw, Carey Clarke, Peter Collis, Michael Cullen and Pat Scott to name but a few.

Joint Organiser Fergus Ahern, Chairman Boyle Arts Festival has indicated the work is still coming in.

He said that “there will be four main beneficiaries of the funds raised, all of which are organisations with long ties with the devastated areas and ‘on the ground experience’ in Haiti –
Medicines Sans Frontieres, The Holy Ghost Fathers, Haven the Irish Building Trust and
Our Little Brothers and Sisters ( Nos Petit frères at Soeurs), a charity dealing with orphaned and abandoned children. All funds will go directly to these organisations for immediate relief efforts. “I wish to thank all the artists and collectors who have contributed work so generously.”

There will be work at the auction for every pocket and the organisers hope that private individuals as well as companies will support the sale.

Works will be available to view online from Friday, 16th April at http://www.deveresart.com/

Gena and a new admirer!

2010-04-16T21:46:00.002+01:00

Best picture I've seen all day - click on this link to see!

Here is an interview with Demi Moore after her return. She starts to talk about the St Damien Hospital about 2:36. Its a surprisingly thoughtful and perceptive interview given that she was only there for a day.

'Celebs visit St Damien'

2010-04-15T20:48:00.002+01:00

You might have seen some coverage of Sean Penn and Demi Moore in St Damien in the Metro/Herald this week. Here are some more pics. She was there with Susan Sarandon and Ben Stiller and Olivia Wilde (Dr Hadley from 'House') and Gerard Butler (King Leonidas from 300) as part of a group from Artists for Peace and Justice who collaborate with NPH in Haiti.

I suppose it keeps Haiti in the public eye.

The documentary '100 dead people in my truck' which features Gena and Fr Rick has won a top award at the 46th Chicago International Film Festival. It will receive a Gold Plaque for best Social/Political Documentary at the 2010 Hugo Television Awards in Chicago this Thursday, April 15th. There is an article about it in the Mayo Today website - here.

From Wynn Walent, Home Correspondent, NPFS Haiti

2010-04-12T20:40:00.004+01:00

Several weeks ago Father Rick recounted the story of an old friend who carries two stones in his pocket. On one stone is written, I am nothing. On the other is written, I am everything. This friend refers to these stones often, taking one out of his pocket when he feels it is needed. When asked for an explanation, Father’s friend described the importance of embracing our strengths and being completely fearless when employing them for good, while at the same time being always cognizant of our limits and of the larger context in which we are living.

In many ways this is the story of our work and our daily lives here. The images beamed across the world of loss, pain, and devastation are ever present and undeniable. Equally present however, tucked inside of the long labor of each day, are the joys and beauties that surround us here, bittersweet as they may be at times. The smiles and laughter of the children of St. Damien’s Hospital; the first steps of a child in Kay Germaine walking on a new prosthetic leg; the electricity that emanates from the children as they sing and celebrate mass at our home in Kenscoff. These things are as powerful as ever and they serve as a reminder of just how lucky we are to be able to offer the services that we provide. The worlds of St. Damien Hospital, of Kay Germaine Rehabilitation Facility, and of our home in Kenscoff are not perfect. There are problems, renovations needed, unfinished projects, and real difficulties and challenges to be confronted each day, but there are also committed and organized people working to make things better, and hope bubbles constantly as things move in a positive direction for the children.

The caregivers at Kenscoff as well as the doctors, nurses, and therapists of the hospital, work tirelessly. Support and donations continue to stream in from our fundraising offices around the world. Volunteer drivers truck back and forth from the home in the DR to Haiti, arriving exhausted and relieved to deliver needed goods. Children wave from hospital windows shouting happily to a passerby. Kenscoff workers sit outside combing the hair of the children and preparing to celebrate mass.

Kay Germaine continues to take in and serve the so often forgotten children with neurological disorders that are overwhelming even to parents who have unlimited resources, not to mention families living in a tent city. Our Angels of Light Program, which enlists the work and talents of over 100 ex-pequenos, provides a long term response to the incredible need in Port au Prince, serving 2 meals a day to 1200 children living in tent cities, in addition to providing them enrichment and academic support. In all of these areas there is real progress, achievement, and joy as we witness lives improving. In this way we continue to work, holding the I am everything stone and making progress with each step.

Outside of the walls of NPFS people are suffering tremendously. In addition to our long-term programs and investments, we distribute goods and food to other areas of the country helping to feed, clothe, and comfort those in need. The aid is simply not enough, and there are a great number of people who will continue living and dying in inhumane conditions that should be unacceptable. Whether in Port au Prince or in the provinces, the magnitude of the problems and the suffering facing the future of the nation are beyond staggering. It is in these moments that we see the I am nothing stone, and we feel the weight of the problems facing Haiti.

The important fact with regard to this stone, the I am nothing stone, is that it is not a call to inaction, or an invitation to lay down our arms and surrender. It is the opposite. Our recognition of the fact that we are but a small oasis in a desert of pain should compel us to continue working through the long days, feeling lucky that we are in a position to offer some support to some people, in a land where the majority are not so fortunate. The joy and pride and gratitude is real, and the fact that it is tempered by an understanding of its limits does not cheapen it, but rather helps it to grow.

After January 12th, the government mandated that all hospitals provide free care for three months. This will end tomorrow. The rainy season has begun and it will lead into hurricane season and even more suffering for the many Haitians currently living without shelter or medical care. Here we are lucky, and despite all of the challenges and problems, we are cared for. In the morning we will wake up dry and eat our breakfast. We will celebrate mass in the chapel and share peace and comforting words. We will have the privilege of working and helping for another day. On the outside of the walls there are so many without hope or even the most basic resources, and sadly many are left without ways to contribute to the solution.

As the sun sets over St. Damiens Hospital, and down through the hills of Kenscoff, we rejoice in the work of each day and are thankful to be in a position to help. After the sun sets it will begin to rain, as it does every evening of late, and we will be reminded again of the countless outside who are suffering. The only thing to be done is to continue to reach those that we can, and continue rejoicing in the work and successes of each day, knowing that simultaneously our work is nothing, and that it is everything.

Some new photos 8 April 2010

2010-04-08T21:33:00.002+01:00

Lovely selection of pictures of Haiti just uploaded by Monica.

Letter from Erin Kloos - 2 Months On

2010-03-18T19:14:00.001Z

Hello family and friends of NPH,

This past Friday, March 12, 2010 marked the two month anniversary of the earthquake, tremblement de terre la, that shook Haiti and in turn devastated the lives of millions of Haitians and foreigners in one way or another. The following Monday, March 15, 2010 marked my 27th birthday. For those of us who still can't believe that we graduated college so many years ago (five!) and are in denial that 3o isn't far away, 27 can feel really old. This year, however, I am counting my blessings that I was alive to blow out all those candles (in one breath, mind you) on my pink-frosted ice cream cake.

On January 12, 2010 a little after four thirty, I returned home to the Father Wasson Center in Petion-Ville Haiti where I lived and jumped in the shower in my 5th floor room. This timing was important because while bathing is essential in order to wash off the sweat and grime of Haiti before bedtime, if one waits until after the sun goes down it is really hard to get in the cold water, but taking a shower too early ensures more sweat and grime to accumulate on the skin and in the hair and thus the need for additional bathing. At 4:53 pm, as I was toweling off, so fresh and so clean, our building started to tremble ever so slightly. I chuckled at first imaging a large dump truck hitting the building or something else more feasible than an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0. As a foreigner in the country, I was prepared to be wary of kidnappers, gang violence, thieves and hurricanes, but earthquakes were not on my "be ware list."

Soon, though, the rumbling grew more intense and my brain comprehended what was happening. I immediately braced myself in the doorway of the classroom as I had learned to do from TV shows like "Saved by the Bell;" being from Arizona, I never practiced earthquake drills. The door frame was no match for a 7.0, however, because within seconds I was thrown to the ground by walls that had come to life. When the building finally settled, my arms and head were pinned down by concrete slabs. Miraculously, or thanks to a Saturday morning episode of "Saved by the Bell," the door to my bedroom fell on top of me like a tent thus protecting my torso and legs from immediate crush injuries and any further falling debris.

My first thought was, this is it, I am dying. It took me a moment, but I realized that I wasn't bleeding and I was breathing. I decided I could survive for three days without water. I also knew without a doubt that my friends, family really, who worked for Fr. Rick and NPFS would be searching for those of us in the FWC as soon as possible.

So I waited.

After many hours and attempts to get someone's attention by screaming, I 'found' Molly. She was trapped in her room which was once right below mine on the fourth floor. Neither of us could speak very well but we did check in on one another from time to time always ending our short conversations with "I love you."

I was trapped for nine hours before someone finally heard my screams. Three hours later and thanks to the skillful (and precise) jackhammering of my new friend Patrick, a builder from the partially-constructed hotel next door and humanitarian, I was free and was carried down what was then equivalent to one flight of stairs to the waiting ambulance.

I was transported to a nearby doctor's office where I waited for 24 hours to be airlifted by helicopter to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There I received emergency fasciotomies on both arms for the crush injuries I had sustained. Again, thanks to the miracle door, I had no broken bones and other than failing kidneys, was in relatively good health. I spent the next thee weeks recovering at Broward Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and returned to my family's home in Phoenix, Arizona on February 17th.

Today I am recovering physically and am even typing this with two hands; a feat nearly impossible only a few weeks ago! Emotionally, however, I am still have a long road ahead of me dealing with the death of my brother Ryan and my good friend Molly, both of whom were also in the building when it fell. There was five of us in fact, including Rachel a visitor from Portland and Dr. Castro, a hospital employee from Cuba, who were rescued with minimal injuries. The once consolation I have is that my last words to both Molly and Ryan were those of love and I know that both of them lived life to the fullest each day they were able to.

Because I was carried out of Haiti strapped to a backboard, I saw little of the destructed city with my own eyes. Thankfully, though, I have a large backlog of updates and photographs from those working there since day 1 which will be posted on this blog over the next few days.

I have shared this personal experience with you because unfortunately it is not a unique story. Innumerable Haitians lost loved ones on that day, many lost body parts as well and countless lost their homes, their businesses and their schools. I am unique in that I received care quickly enough that I still have my hands and I have a home to live in that is still standing, is full of nutritious food to eat and clean water to drink. And, as far as I know, Phoenix is far from any major fault lines.

Thank you to everyone who has supported NPFS, Haiti, my family and myself through donations, work, and prayers. I continue to pray for Molly and her family and all my friends in Haiti as we, Haiti and myself, heal and move forward.

With love,

Erin

Some Recent Haiti Updates

2010-03-08T20:36:00.003Z

NPFS Fr. Rick message part onehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioYDFiwThqY
NPFS Fr. Rick message part twohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6ibBB7hQn0

Apologies - I am very late posting this update.
Update: February 28, 2010
The Father Wasson Angels of Light on-site day camp in Tabarre is serving children from three tent communities on a rotating basis. Teams of Hermanos Mayores (youths that grew up at NPFS Haiti, St. Helene home) attend to ten other communities. All locations serve a
total of 1,500 children. Each child (on and off-site) receives breakfast, fresh roll with peanut butter and milk and lunch (currently only on-site) rice and beans, salad, fruit or juice. A percentage of the food and milk are donations received through the Dominican
Republic. The St. Francisville bakery provides 4,000 rolls for the program and any extras are distributed to the families of the children enrolled in the day camp program.

A former cook from the St. Helene home who has experience in preparing large-scale meals will start the second week of March to prepare lunch for the off-site camps. Our transportation team will deliver the prepared meals to the Hermanos Mayores activity teams in the tent
communities who will then distribute the meals to the children that attend the program. Our goal is to feed 2,000 children daily.

The Hermanos Mayores organize the daily activities in the camps. Each day begins with a prayer and singing. Then the children show off their creative abilities by a song contest. Afterwards they break into smaller groups for an array of activities such as frisbee, jumping rope and soccer. After a break there are more relaxed activities such as reading, Spanish, coloring, story telling and charades.

Hermanos Mayores from NPH Mexico and family members of Alfonso Leon, program director, arrived two weeks ago to help with coordination of the on-site camp. Luz has worked on developing the kitchen and activity schedule, supporting the director and warehouse coordination.
Salvador’s carpentry skills have been a great help in constructing benches, chairs and tables out of used wooden shipping palettes. We are very grateful that they are part of our team.

Day Camp Locations and number of children per day.
1 - Ambassade 120 children
2 - Pernier 150 children
3 - Meyotte-Duval 150 children
4 - Boukan Lapli 110 children
5 - Delmas 64 100 children
6 - Girado (My Father’s House) 80 children
7 - Delmas 2 200 children
8 – Cite Soleil 120 children
9 - Carrefour Airport 100 children
10 - Rue Capois 100 children
11 - Delmas 103 50 children
12 - Place Boyer 120 children
13 – Kenscoff 100 children
Emergency assistance to Hermanos Mayores is being distributed and many have already received money and food (rice and beans). Personal care kits and tents will be handed out as soon as they arrive.

Through a contact of the German office, the Friends of Waldorf Education Emergency Education Team offered their service to our program. They did a three day training with our activity teams. During the first day they asked the Hermano Mayores leaders to write how their personal earthquake experience and they broke into small groups to talk about their trauma. The Waldorf group then demonstrated activities that they could do with the children. The Hermanos liked the instructors and replied that they had very good ideas to share.
For the next two days the Waldorf team supported the Hermanos with the day camp activities in the on-site camp in Tabarre.

Blacklion - Fundraising day for Haiti 17th March

2010-03-08T20:32:00.002Z

Schedule is as follows:

3.00 pm: Live Music on outdoor stage by local artists
4.00 pm: First Annual St Patrick’s Day Parade in Blacklion Village featuring St Michaels Scout Band, Enniskillen
5.30 pm: Live music and dancing on outdoor stage by local artists
7.00 pm till Late: Music and Entertainment in local pubs
Local artists include Eugene Dolan, Michael Leonard, Together One Voice & Shannean Set Dancers

Fund Raising Events will take place throughout the day in aid of Our Little Brothers and Sisters, Haiti

Latest Updates 21st and 22nd Feb

2010-02-23T09:49:00.002Z

Haiti update: February 22, 2010

Haiti is in mourning. One week ago we mourned the one month anniversary of the tragedy with three days of prayer, mass, and reflection. This week the Sisters of Charity heard that some of their fellow sisters, the Sisters of Mary, had died when their church collapsed. They recovered some of their bodies and they are now buried outside of the church at Saint Damian hospital. This week they also discovered a school with two-hundred children inside. The Sisters are recovering the dead, because the government is not present, tragedy compounding tragedy. This morning, we had a funeral for three ex-pequeños, two brothers and a sister, who died instantly when the earthquake caused their home to collapse. The funeral was held at Kenscoff, the main orphanage, and they were laid to rest surrounded by their two surviving brothers and almost 500 of their brothers and sisters, who showed solidarity through prayer, readings and song.

This is but a small glimpse, but one that is close to home for us here at NPFS Haiti, happening inside our walls and to those near and dear to us.

In one of his sermons this week, Father Rick said that we are now in phase two of the crisis, and that this phase is so much harder than the first. The first was one of action, adrenaline, of saving a child’s life by amputating a limb and rescuing people from under the rubble. But now, after more than five weeks, we can no longer find anyone alive, the amputations have been done and now need to be cared for and watched over, and we have begun to think of what we have lost.

And so now we begin to look forward, to take stock of what happened, to begin to feel our losses, and the uncertainty of the future.

Danielle Greilich

Home Correspondent

Message from Fr. Rick :: Sunday Feb 21st
What Family Means During Lent

Dear friends,

Lent is meant to be a heavy time. The dark of winter, the recognition of sin and personal failing, the seeking of penance and self-discipline. This takes place during the period of the sun lengthening to full light at spring, which is the rich symbol of the victory of light in resurrection. Our lent begins with three heavy darkness’s.

We have retrieved the bodies of Mikhael, Delourdes and Ronald Ferdinand (the siblings of hermano mayor and NPFS employee Joseph). They currently are lying in our hospital chapel for burial today at St. Helene. These have been very emotional days for us, especially for Joseph and his older brother Dodo. Yesterday at mass, the chapel was packed with hermanos mayores, crying and comforting, showing that the family bonds we have tried to instill are real, and are clearly seen when it counts. We stood before their lifeless bodies without words, with nothing but each other and our faith, hope and love. These really heal and give courage. It is amazing to see it as a true and deep dynamic. Father Wasson’s intuitions and instincts were right about the ability of a community to form a family.

Four other hermano mayores were arrested yesterday in separate incidences, two by Haitian police during a small rice distribution. The police assumed them to be thieves of the rice and the usual unfairness ensued. They were liberated only when the police themselves became beneficiaries of most of the rice.

Two others were arrested by US military when the bus they were on as passengers hit a wagon. We still cannot understand why they were chosen as the culprits. One was handcuffed and beaten.

I mention this because before both injustices these youths were so clear about right and wrong, fairness and corruption and they are balanced in their views about how to handle it.
Rejecting offers from others to inflame it on the radio, they came to "dad", (me) as they said, to try to talk and figure it out.

I so admire their equilibrium and their refusal to be treated unfairly and this led to long discussions about how to proceed. But it also led to longer discussions about the importance of not internalizing the incident. In other words, fighting the tendency that victims many times have of feeling that for some reason they deserved what had happened. I admire their desire to have "dad" help figure it out and deal with it.

The third incident was also remarkable. A young woman was brought to our hospital in labor.
Her mother, father and husband were killed in the earthquake and she didn’t want to deliver the baby. She kept crying and screaming out to the baby…

“Don’t come out! Don’t come out! Stay where you are. This is no place for you. It’s no place for anyone!”

Literally she fought the delivery. The Italian midwife volunteers tried to help her. Instead of pushing during contractions, she would suck up a deep breath and draw pressure away from her pelvis telling everyone to leave her alone, begging the baby not to come out into such a world.

The Italian midwives were crying, begging the mother to believe life was good. Begging to see the child and welcome the child. They were midwives not just of the baby but of the mother’s soul.
After 12 hours of resisting labor, then came the little baby and a mother with a new but faint twinkle in her eye.

It makes me shudder.
Let us thank God for the power of family during lent and for the powerful reality that with even no blood or cultural ties we can really be family to each other.

Fr. Rick Frechette

Haiti - One month later - Links and stories

2010-02-13T16:33:00.004Z

I have a lot of links and emails to post so this will be a long one.
Links first:
Message from Fr Rick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaMRuSAa9rE

NPFS Day Camp Feb 2nd and 4th
http://picasaweb.google.com/MonicaGery/NPFSDayCampFeb2ndAnd4th?feat=directlink

Haiti Tent Cities Feb 3rd and Feb 6th
http://picasaweb.google.com/MonicaGery/HaitiTentCitiesFeb3rdAndFeb6th?feat=directlink

Letter from Gena - sorry I can't post the photos but I can forward the full letter if anyone would like it.

Kay St. Germaine Rehab Center
February 11, 2010

I woke up to the sound of rain this morning and I said "oh no," as straight away I thought of those in the camps. The sky did not even look as if it was dumping more misery onto a people already in desperation. In fact the sky looked calm and sleepy and the thin clouds were like a light sheet pulled back from a sleeping bed. I rang my staff in Kenscoff (the mountains where the orphanage is and where I usually live) and they were shocked because they woke up to clear skies.

A little while ago I got a phone call from Guerlande, mother of Bedgina, two months old and an amputee. I asked how they were. Yesterday they received a tent from someone that wants to help them. “We are in the mud. Everything is wet and we can’t even put up the tent because everything is wet and muddy.”

I rang Fritzner. He is the uncle of Stevenson. “What can I say Dr. Gena. We are here, everything is wet, everywhere is muddy. The little tent you gave us for Stevenson is good so he was ok. He is gone back to the hospital today for his appointment so you will see him.”

It is quiet where I am sitting and the hazy sun has evaporated all signs of the morning downpour outside my door. My mood is pensive and I wonder what is next for the people of Haiti. Over one month now and still no signs of real solutions for those displaced. Is it normal that after one month people are still crowded together in makeshift tents (made from sheets). Is this what always happens in countries where bad earthquakes occur? Was I being unrealistic when I expected that by now most families would have a real tent and people would be located in areas where there is flat land and where it would seem that it would have been possible to set up proper services? I wonder am I crazy for thinking this could have happened by now. I mean four weeks have gone by already! I try to be optimistic but those of us living here know all too well that the rainy season in Haiti is never much fun and I DREAD what will happen if people are not properly set up before the rains come.

Our work goes on and in a small way we make a difference. Mothers and fathers in the hospital share their stories with us and now we are family to them. Johanne had a surgery yesterday. They removed the bone that had crushed into her brain. An Italian doctor did the surgery and we are all so thankful. You should have seen her family - mother and grandmother! The first day, Johanne was taken by helicopter for a cat scan. Her mother and grandmother, watched every helicopter that flew by for the next hours, waiting for Johanne to come back. When she came, you would think that it was God himself, come down from heaven, such was their relief to see Johanne. Yesterday was the surgery and again the waiting, and the waiting. The surgery went well and Johanne was stable last night and this morning. How beautiful to witness the love that surrounds her. You can see her in the below photo and Norma is working with her to get her to swallow food in her mouth again.

In the same room as Johanne is Angelin. Angelin was buried in the rubble for five days (she is five years old) and now she had lost half her leg. In the beginning she was so sad - never could get a smile from her. Sad eyes, telling stories no five year old should ever have to tell. Her mother stays with her - a young mother that lost her other child in the quake. These days Angelin is much better and much more responsive. Her smile is brave and hopeful and she smiles more frequently now. But sometimes when she is sitting by herself, you can just see how much she has gone through - from the way she sits and stares and her mind is miles away.

This is Veronica. Her mother died and she is being looked after by her loving dad. She is full of the joys of life and always has us smiling! She is two!

How about these beautiful young ladies? They are both so proud of their efforts on the crutches! Marie Marthe is to the right as you look at the picture and Marie Francis is next to her

Lest you think tis only girls in our hospital, how about these darling boys: First is Peterson and his mom. Then we have John Joseph and then Mykenly.

I know it is not easy for you to see these kids in this way. For us too it is not easy and for sure for the families it is not easy. However this is the reality we face and I am happy to tell you that we will be involved in their lives from now on. I say we, but really it is you too because it is your money we are and will be spending. And these are just a few – there are many more and if I have the time, I will bring them into your lives. I tell these mothers and fathers that they are not alone because people care and they are so thankful. My team and I are thankful to all of you.

I started this letter this am and now it is already dark. To my eyes the sky is ominous as if she also needs to cry for all that she sees every day. I spent most of my day on the computer – pulling together many people in an attempt to get Yolene (Director of our special needs school) out of the country to go see her husband who is near death in Michigan. He was evacuated out of here days after he was crushed in the quake. Thanks to our friends in Digicell she is scheduled to go to Jamaica tomorrow and they will help us get her a visa to be with him. Meanwhile as I write, a dedicated friend has been traveling for hours (from the south of Haiti) to get here tonight so she can go with Yolene tomorrow. This morning all of this seemed like an impossible task but I am a person of hope and the day I give up hope is the day I go into the grave! So fingers crossed it all works out and she can make it to see him before he dies. It is a tough journey for Yolene who is only married since last July. Life sure is not easy is it?

Best wishes to all of you reading this and many many thanks for all the help and support. I need you to keep Haiti right beside you all the time – like your loved ones. We are all afraid that people will loose interest after a while and for sure you must be getting tired of hearing about Haiti all the time. Understand that for now, we are not able to do big things – we need to be sure that when we start rebuilding for people, we will be doing it in a way that will be safe for everyone. So for now we give money, clothing and food and we take down all the details so we can find the best way to help each case. The discharged families from the hospital are coming to us for therapy. This week we hired a new therapist for the amputees. She has some basic training and she is very happy to have a job. We will be hiring more therapists in the coming weeks and also a music teacher will start with us on Monday. We need to get the kids singing and laughing!

Love to all. Keep the faith!
Gena Heragty, Director of Special Needs Programs

Letter from Fr Rick
February 12, 2010

Thirty Days Later

It is tradition of the Catholic faith to celebrate mass in the remembrance of the dead after one month has passed. Today throughout Haiti, at 7 am, in what is left standing of the parishes of Port au Prince, this mass will be celebrated for the estimated 200,000 dead. In addition, President Preval has declared today to be a day of national fast, and the beginning of three days of national mourning. We are participating in this act of solidarity by offering mass at 7 am at Titayin, together with Bishop Dumas, at the burial place of the indigent dead. We ourselves have buried about 2,500 people there in the last 30 days.

After weeks of frenetic activity, we are returning to a state of equilibrium. Our hospital had become a trauma MASH unit, as had all other medical centers in Port au Prince that are still standing. We were able to offer about 30 surgeries a day at four sites (two in our hospital, one on our hospital grounds in a tent, and one at the St. Camillus Hospital, which we staffed for the emergency.) Many of these, sadly, were amputations – sometimes two for the same adult or child.

To give an idea of the size of the problem, it is likely there are about 20,000 people now who have been amputated or who have orthopedic hardware screwed through their skin to the bone. Port au Prince estimates about 20 Haitian orthopedic surgeons, and visiting teams to Haiti will soon leave. All 20,000 need to be followed closely for removal of hardware, control of infection, reevaluation of the amputation, and of course for artificial limbs and rehabilitation. We have worked closely with the St. Camillus Hospital so as to return our St. Damien Hospital to a pediatric center and to have a growing center for adults at St. Camillus.

In collaboration with the Papal Nuncio, the president of the Haitian bishops conference, the local CARITAS office and the Italian Protezione Civile, we are setting up seven positions in the provinces, (especially since about 30% of the population has abandoned the capital) to be able to allow access of these people to a medical system. We can do our best to follow a certain number from these sites, return them to Port au Prince for needed attention by helicopter or land, and use the points as well for large distributions of food and educational materials for schools. We hope to continue to partner with St. Camillus and the Haitian bishops to strengthen a similar response in Port au Prince.

At Francisville, we are making a center for production of artificial limbs. Gena Hergaty hosted a meeting two days ago of 30 non-governmental organizations at our St. Germaine program, to determine the best collaboration for all those eager to invest in rehabilitation and physical therapy.

On the home front, Erin Kloos has made an exception recovery after being dug out of our crumbled Fr. Wasson Center. The funeral of her brother Ryan will be later this month in Phoenix. Fr. Craig Hightower celebrated the funeral of Molly Hightower, concelebrated by Fr. Phil Cleary. I hope I can arrange to leave Haiti for a few weeks to see my father, and to visit both families for mass in their homes.

We offered mass last Saturday for Molly and Ryan on top of the rubble of the Fr. Wasson Center on an altar made of fallen block, using chant and incense to honor Molly and Ryan and all who died in the earthquake, and to show our faith and hope, and determination to rebuild and continue our life giving mission.

The Fr. Wasson Center is being cleared by heavy government equipment, and we will rebuild a central administration center on the site, with metal instead of cement framework, which are fast becoming popular here. We will also make an artistic monument to stand prominently on the corner, by a famous Haitian artist, dedicating the new center to Ryan and Molly and honoring all the victims of the earthquake.

In Tabarre our three areas of destruction were the perimeter walls, the tower, and the chapel. The Italian Protezzione Civile is clearing the debris, reinforcing the tower, rebuilding the chapel and rebuilding the walls. Additional internal, non-structural damage to the hospital is being repaired by the Italian companies that made the initial installations (especially the central oxygen supply). The new maternity and neonatal program, born of necessity during the traumatic days following the quake, is following a good and logical course, and the rest of the hospital is returning to normal.

The surgical capacity will still be challenged as we tend to many postoperative children and new traumas. The cancer center got quite a boost, thanks to Sister Judy, as it is now a partner with the Danny Thomas Children’s Cancer Hospital in the USA. This will bring quite a help for development, diagnostic, training, material and medicines.

The St. Helene orphanage in Kenscoff was largely spared, but we were glad to see so much charitable activity on the part of the children, coming to the hospital to visit injured children and distributing food and supplies in the tent cities.

The Family Services team has been very attentive to vulnerable children in the tent cities and has elaborated a good plan for continued involvement. Future reports will be given on all these points I mention in this summary by the people involved.

We are still gathering the names of those who have died or disappeared in the rubble. We hope soon that Daniela, our temporary home correspondent, will be able to make a memorial page on the NPH website. We are very much struck with sorrow by the deaths of our colleagues or deaths in their families.

The St. Luke program has been valiant and tireless, and we suffered the loss of some staff and directors. We also suffered the loss of one third of our 18 street schools. We will resume school in tents, as soon as we have enough, and thanks to Artists for Peace and Justice, we are studying all aspects of rebuilding.

Everywhere around us there are huge problems. There are wounded, homeless and hungry among our 800 employees (all programs combined, including St. Luke). This is made more dreadful by the advance of the rainy season. We had our first rain yesterday.

In a separate letter over the next few days, I will outline the investment we hope to make in addressing these three social problems and the rebuilding and advance of our own programs.

For today, please join us in mourning. Join us in prayers for the dead, for the living, for the future.

Thank you and God bless you.

Fr. Rick Frechette

Letter from Adele

2010-02-09T19:29:00.002Z

Sorry for not updating recently but am making up for it now with this email that Adele sent in the last couple of days. You can feel her pain in her words.

Haven't had much time lately for email. Sorry. The impact of what is happening around us is having an effect. The volunteers who have responded to the emergency are working tirelessly. Admin., doctors, nurses etc. There are so many living in tents and under the stars it is difficulty to know exactly how many. They seem to come in on a two week stint. Surgeons leave and surgeons arrive from the DR. The airport is still closed to commercial traffic. A new group of Italian civil defence have arrived and errected more tents around the guest house. It's more like an army camp every day. Only discovered yesterday a group of Slovak army personnel are camping at the back of the car park.

Little by little the hospital is returning to being a paediatric centre again. Our OR doesn't appear to be as busy but post op patients are still coming in from the USS Comfort hospital ship. We expect to be getting around three hundred. These are now being treated in army tents outside the hospital buidling. With army hellicopters landing continuously on the grounds there is no lack of activity.

Through it all it's the children, their parents and our Haitian workers who continue to amaze. I'm here a week now and only found one employee who has a house standing, and even they are afraid to go indoors. None of the parents have houses standing. All are happy to be in the hosptial with their children/family because they have nowhere to go. All our workers are living under makeshift tents on the streets near their homes. They go about their work as if nothing has happened but there is an emptiness and deep sadness in their gaze. Something I've never seen before. Many have lost loved ones with still more unaccounted for.

For most, reality is setting in. The initial shock is turning to dispair as people wonder how they are going to manage. Especially the families of childen/patients who are amputees.....out of work and with nowhere to go, grim reality raises it's head. Those who have been hopeful and smiling over the last week begin to feel the weight of this reality.

A few of us went to Petionville and Port au Prince yesterday and passed hundreds living on the streets. Camp cities were visible in parks and laybys. The city centre is like a bomb site. Collapsed buildings and rubble are being cleared but as yet with nowhere to go. People, perhaps family members, are still chipping away at mounds of what have been homes, schools etc. in the hope of finding those still unaccounted for. We passed a university where the locals told us about 200 bodies remain buried. Charred remains were visible because bodies have been burned to prevent disease spreading. Even writing about this is troubling. I can't imagine what it is like to be living this hell on a daily basis. And yet life goes on. Street vendors have already set up stalls beside many of the distroyed building, some precariusly overhanging the streets. Many shops have reopened but with little on the shelves. Banks are back in business.

Visiting the hospital wards I notice our Haitian staff are back on their normal shifts. Fewer foreigners are around as normality returns. Many visiting doctors are out doing clinics in the poorer areas. As for the children!!! One little girl of eleven, Croixnise, has lost all her family. She always gives us a big smile with outstretched arms looking for a hug. Her foot is in plaster but hopefully will heal well. There is never a mention of her loss and she never complains. Victoria, two and a half is still smiling although her leg has been amputated below the knee. I know I mentioned her before but she is a treasure and as bright as a button. Her dad dotes on her. Last night she gave me all the money ($5) from her dads shirt pocket and then said she had to go wash her hands because of the 'microbes.' Her mom and older sisterr died in the earthquake. Another little baby has lost both arms but holds out his little stump when we gesture to shake hands. Life has to get better for these little warriors.

And then, new to our hospital, is the neo-natal ward. Here new babies are born daily. But they are so tiny and almost appear old before their time. The really healthy ones are few and far between. I haven't seen the dad of the twins in days, which makes me wonder if baby Jonas has joined his sister with the angels.

And our older children who are living outside the orphanage...... Many are helping out in the hospital, bakery, depots etc. It gives them a purpose and I am grateful they are by our side at this difficulty time. However, with schools still closed and nowhere to go many more visit us regularly. They are sleeping outdoors to in the park's camps. Most tell me they can't sleep and have recurring dreams of the terrible 46 seconds that changed their lives forever. We are told the first quake only lasted 46 seconds. 46 seconds to shatter dreams and hopes for the future. Already they have been told there will be no state exams this year. Government buildings have been destroyed and all records lost. Again, a sense of dispair prevails.

And yet there is always a funny side to Haiti. Recently a driver went to renew his car tax and although his car had been damaged in the quake, without windows and with a big dent in the roof, the tax officer was grateful and renewed his tax. Most likely, they didn't even have any records.

Yesterday I also stepped into another world. Visting the orphanage, our childen are almost oblivious to the havoc wrecked on the outside world. Except for the odd few all are back sleeping in their houses. There was great excitement when former volunteers visited, some of whom they hadn't seen for over a decade. The 'babies', the youngest now four, sang and danced for us. All wanted to see if my wires had been removed and some mimicked how I looked after the motorbike accident last year with my scarred face and swollen eyes. Boy do they have good memories.

Better go and see how they are at the hospital.
Take care

Adele

Letter from Gena - Mother's and Children's stories

2010-02-03T12:59:00.002Z

I have been holding off on putting up this letter as I wanted it to go up on a day when there was no update so it wouldn't be overshadowed. If anyone would like to assist these and other women like them I can make sure that your donations are assigned for that purpose, just email me. Gena says she will be following these women and assisting them where she can.

Kay Ste. Germaine,
Sat.30 jan.2010
Finally some quiet – finally some moments to stop and think about all that has happened since Jan.12 2010. I am tired – physically tired and my spirit is tired. I am in our rehab centre – just beside the hospital. Today I am trying to stay away from the hospital – trying to put some distance from me and the sad realities living over there. My body is here on the couch and yet my mind is there with the children. I see Johanne lying on her bed-seven years of age and she is in a coma. The wall that fell on her head pushed a bone in her skull into her brain and to most people she is dead. The doctor asked me to tell the grand-mother-Meritanne- that they cannot do anything for her and that there is no hope for Johanne to recover. I told him that I would tell the grand-mother that it was unlikely Johanne would recover BUT I would not say that there is no hope. Where there is life there is hope and how could I take that little hope from this loving mother? How could I? Meritanne has been with her grand-daughter day and night and she knows that she is very sick. She is not expecting a full recovery BUT she sees her alive when many are dead. She has hope that she might recover – even a little bit. Hope is not the same as expectation. Who has the right to take away Meritanne’s hope? No one has that right. I understand this doctor – he is a kind man that came to help. He does not want to give the family false hope. I told him he does not have to worry about this BUT we will not take her hope. She is a smart woman and she is realistic. She is a Haitian mother and the Haitian people are a people of hope. Good for her. I share in her hope.

And what of Johanne- one eye open and the other closed shut and who knows what is going on in her mind. When you talk to her and kiss her soft skin, I liked to believe she is aware of it and that the blinking of the eyelid is her way of saying that she is indeed listening. Meritanne takes comfort from the fact that the “white doctors” – Norma and I (neither of us doctors!) are giving her child so much attention and that we BELIEVE that Johanne is still very much with us. I told everyone in the ward that we have to put a lot of attention on Johanne- that Johanne has to know how much we want her to come out of this coma. Other mothers give encouragement and everyone says the same thing – thousands died, Johanne is alive. There is a reason! Johanne is one of seven kids. The others are ok – the house destroyed and they are all living in a nearby park. They lost all they owned. The grand-mother wonders what will happen if Johanne is discharged. I wonder the same but for now she will not be going anywhere as she is too unwell. Probably you dear Johanne will not be discharged as for sure your family cannot take care of you in the rubble or under the four sheets that is now your home. Dear dear Johanne, in a moment your life is changed forever and there is no point in even beginning to wonder why. I hope, I so dearly hope that we can help you and your family. I hope. I hope. I hope for so much!

From where I sit, my mind takes me to the bed of Meleanda – five years of age and immobile in her bed. She was trapped in her house – stuck under a door and debris. Her family pulled her out and she was rushed to hospital and put on Oxygen. She was 10 days on Oxygen and now she lies on her bed – ubable to move, unable to talk, unable to eat- very like Johanne but Meleanda is not in a coma. She is aware when the nurse comes to give her medicine and her little body tenses in fear. Her Mam, Clarice tells me that Meleanda responds with her eyes when she talks to her. Meleanda tries to move but cannot. The father is a school teacher – he used to work in two different schools – one in the am and one in the pm. Both schools destroyed.
Lots of people are always hungry in Haiti. Before the earthquake many people were lucky if they ate once a day. Now can you imagine the scene – no house, no clothing, no money, no food- for thousands and thousands of people. Mothers in our hospital have no money to feed themselves while they are with the sick children. They worry about their other children that are sleeping in the parks and streets. Can you imagine the stress of these people? Can you imagine the pain? Can you imagine the sadness? World- wide people are trying to help and this is so good. Say a prayer for Johanne and for Meleanda. They are only two and there are many more like them. But I have put them in your head and if you keep them there I believe it will be good for them.

Maybe ye have room for another little kid. His name is Stevenson and he is a bright and sparky three yr old. He had one leg amputated(below the knee) and yet he is still able to smile and play with his little car in his hospital bed. To see him smiling there, you would never imagine all that he has been through. His grandmother is not smiling. She sits there with a sad and tired face. When I talk with her I realize that she is worried about what and will happen when she has to leave the hospital. She has seven kids, two grandchildren and she is the one supporting all of them as she has no husband to help. Oh this woman! How can I describe the sadness, the quiet sadness that did not find the words to come out. When we spoke I felt I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her that she was not alone. “What will I do when I take him home? I have no home- we are sleeping on the street and it will not be good for him because at night it gets cold and he is already fragile. What will I do? I have no idea.”

I told her, I was going to tell her story and maybe I could help. She looked at me and in a very quiet way she said “ if you were able to do this for me, this would be so so good and I would give thanks to God. Maybe God brought you to be because you are the first person that has asked me about my home and maybe you will be able to help me. I will be so so thankful if you can help me because I do not know what I am going to do”.

This beautiful woman that could be my sister, or my cousin or my mother! Her name is Ghislaine.

I spoke to some of the foreigners that are staying in our grounds and I asked them if they can give me their tents when they leave next week. They said yes so that means I have some tents for some of the patients that will soon be leaving. For now I will be able to give Ghislaine a tent for her little boy and I will give her some money to help her out. I cannot give her life back but we will help her as we can. We have over twenty children with amputations in our hospital and probably as many adults. The statistics say that so far there are at least 2000 amputees since the earthquake. We have a lot of work to do! We do what we can and we are grateful for the thousands of people helping us do what we can do.

Gena Heraty

Update 03 Feb 2010

2010-02-03T12:58:00.000Z

NPFS Haiti Day Camp for Vulnerable and Displaced Children

Luke age 8, and his sister Violetta, age 6, were overjoyed to arrive at the day camp. This six-hour event gives Luke and Violetta the opportunity to get out of their makeshift collapsed home and away from the destroyed community in which they live. Only five blocks away from St Damien Pediatric Hospital, this community dubbed "Near the American Embassy", is one of four targeting communities that our team services.

The children are picked up in the morning (7-ish) and brought back in the afternoon around 3 pm. Hermanos Mayores, or youths that grew up at our home in NPFS Haiti, organize activities and prepare the food for the children, with the supervision of Program Director, Alfonso Leon and Social Worker, Philippe.

Today's agenda consisted of singing, a blessing from Fr Rick, karaoke, soccer, jump rope, games, animated skits and a reading lesson.

Shortly after the 86 children arrived, they ate a Francisville freshly baked whole-wheat roll with peanut butter and a glass or milk. For lunch it was rice and beans, hot dog, lettuce, tomato and corn salad.

Luke explained that since the earthquake, his family does not have much food to eat. Violetta said that she likes to come to the camp and wishes she could come everyday. Right now the communities arrive for day camp on a rotating schedule.

Over thirty Hermanos Mayores were the key in making this activity a successful event. After suffering many losses themselves, they are able to have the inner strength to reach out to these children and create a special atmosphere for them. It is truly a testament to Fr. Wasson's philosophy of sharing and practicing charity.

Update Monday 02 February

2010-02-02T09:58:00.002Z

St. Damien
We estimate there are 210 child patients and 30 adult patients as of today, Monday, February 1st. Four more adult post-op patients arrived from the USS Comfort and 14 are expected to arrive tomorrow. Three OR's continue to operate, one US team, one Italian team and the third is located in the Italian military unit on our property. Roughly 20 surgeries are being performed daily, mainly plastic surgery and for general surgery purposes.

The four mobile medical clinics continue to operate with each attending to 70-140 patients each.

Most of the hospital rooms are now for post-op children with amputations and their care includes wound dressing and administering antibiotics.
A new obstetrics room has been created and the neonatal maternity room currently has 17 mothers and children.

Kay St. Germaine
Today is the first day that the school and physical therapy programs were open at Kay St. Germaine. There were 18 students and 10 patients for therapy. Previous to the earthquake the school had 70 students and 20 therapy patients daily. The staff is still unsure regarding the whereabouts and status of previous students.

The 30 children from the general hospital are still living at Kay St. Germaine, but Partners In Health are providing staff and some supplies for their care, while they are searching for a permanent rental facility. About 10 of these children are integrated into the classrooms, which started today. All 30 children have been receiving physical therapy. There is no exact date as of yet to when these children will be moved to a PIH location. Nine special needs abandoned children, originally from the hospital, moved from their damaged rental house to Kay St. Germaine as well. It is a very full house!

The new goal for Kay St. Germaine is to offer physical therapy for amputees. In fact, today the first child amputee referral from St. Damien hospital arrived for therapy. Patients who are discharged from St. Damien who need PT are then referred to Kay St. Germaine.

Gena has meet with other NGO’s to discuss the future prosthetic needs for children and adults. Currently, the idea is to link with prosthetic organizations already here in the country, and once patients receive their prosthetic, they can then receive physical therapy at Kay St. Germaine. There are two American organizations that stated within a week they can make prosthetics.

Gena is searching for a rental property in Petionville to continue the Kay Elaine programs that were located in the former Fr. Wasson Center. The embroidery card program is continuing at Kay St. Germaine. Prior to earthquake there were 100 children enrolled in the Kay Elaine school and therapy.

Photo: Gena speaks with a father and daughter, the first amputee referral from the St. Damien Hospital.

Messages of Support

2010-02-01T20:24:00.003Z

Don't forget that you can post your messages of support for the Volunteers and Staff in Haiti and they will read them here too. I'm sure it must help to know of support and love of those back in Ireland.

Gena Heraty Fundraiser

2010-02-01T20:09:00.004Z

Just got notice of the following fundraiser for the Gena Heraty Fund next Friday the 5th of February.

Featuring the Dame Lane Footstompers plus Special Guests at the Portobello Hotel, South Richmond Street from 8:30 until late! With special guests, raffles and spot prizes. Entrance 5 euro.

For further details contact Declan at 0879726528

Letter from Fr Rick 27 January 2010

2010-01-27T10:12:00.001Z

Dear friends,

We are very appreciative of your concern, prayers and support. Today the workers started to break up and haul off the tons of cement and iron that used to be our Fr. Wasson Center in Petionville. It is very important to us that this location is cleaned up and a new initiative is started there. I still admire the teams of 20 and 30 people who dug without stopping until they found Dr. Castro, Erin, and the bodies of Molly and Ryan. We are not sure what we will rebuild there yet, but for sure we will make a prominent memorial dedicated to Molly and Ryan, and to all of our Haitian staff and friends who died elsewhere in the tragedy.

We estimate that we are missing about 20% of our Haitian staff. Some have gone to the United States, some are dead and some are still absorbed in their tragedies. We are not sure of the total deaths yet and it will take some time. When we have a good idea, we will have a memorial ceremony for them and a page on the website to honor them. We have offered many masses for them already.

At the orphanage in Kenscoff, things have been fine. Busloads of our children from St. Helen have come to the hospital so they can have an idea of the problems, pray for the suffering and the dead and also visit the injured children.

The situation in the hospital has calmed down and we are better organized with a infrastructure in place. Patients that were sent for surgery to the USS Comfort will be returned to recouperate at our facilities. Also we will accept patients from the general public hospital. We are anticipating as many as 200 post operative patients.

Medical teams from many countries are doing all they can and all are working together in the best capacity. Four medical teams are going out daily to work in the poor areas. The team working at Christ Roi are working in the only standing building in the area.

We have a team that went to Leogane and Jacmel, two destroyed cities, to assess how we might be able to help. Alfonso Leon and his team have been working in parks where children gather on the streets to offer food and other help. They are also starting to search for orphans and other vulnerable children. We have begun free water deliveries with the St. Luke water truck and the St. Helen orphanage water truck and we are starting food distributions tomorrow.

Gena Heraty and Norma Lopez are developing the team for the rehabilitation of the many children and adults who lost arms and legs. It is bittersweet to walk through our hospital and see so many children that are missing a limb, still with a big smile.

We have many homeless employees who prefer to live in a tent rather than taking them onto our property. It is important that they keep their social and family networks vibrant and our hope is to help them build their own small homes in the future with blocks we make ourselves at our Francisville industrial center.

There are many ex-pequeños as well with nowhere to live. We hope in the meantime to get tents for them and to have stations where they can come for food. Hopefully one day we can also help them rebuild their own homes.

The problems are overwhelming. In relation to health, education, family, life, employment and social stability, the earthquake will have severe ramifications well into the future.

Please keep up your important prayers and support.

Thank you again and God bless you.

Fr. Rick Frechette

Tuesday update 27 January

2010-01-27T09:39:00.001Z

St. Damien Update
contributed by Cassandra Chapman, volunteer coordinator from NPH DR and Robin Schwartz

The St. Damien Hospital is looking more and more like its pre-quake self (except for the very visible reminders cracking through the paintwork of most walls). The patients have now been moved inside or transferred to other hospitals. The percentage of children is continually rising, and there are less and less families camping on the ground. Those families that remain are all living together in one section of the garden.

Today 58 new patients arrived, of which 17 were admitted. We continue operating two surgery rooms inside the hospital and today 13 major surgeries were completed. Four patients, (2 children and 2 adults) were sent to the USS Comfort for treatment.

Volunteers have come and go. One large group of Americn surgeons left this afternoon, and a new group of Italian professionals arrived. We still have a severe shortage of nurses and we are confronting those issues the best we can and searching for nursing backup both in and outside of Haiti.

Today we opened a brand new neo-natal ward. We currently have five mothers and six babies (one set of twins!) in the ward, and another young soul is probably being born as I write this. The babies in this new ward are aged between minutes old up to around two and a half weeks. The smallest weighs in at less than 3 pounds! The Israeli medical team donated the incubators. Other additions to the hospital are a palliative care room, seven post-op tents to receive patients on the property, and the grounds and entire hospital was disinfected by a Slovakian volunteer team.

Two updates 23rd and 25th January 2010

2010-01-25T11:17:00.003Z

Information Release for Newly-orphaned Children

Dear NPH Family,
First, we would like to thank everyone for their support and willingness to respond during this difficult time. All of your help has been greatly appreciated. After the earthquake struck, the immediate response of our NPFS (NPH-Haiti) team was to make sure our children were safe and then focus on the injured. Having achieved this, we have begun focusing on serving the growing population of newly orphaned children. The UN estimates there are 600 tent cities, with anywhere from 1,000 to tens of thousands of people. There is no sanitation, no food, no water or medical care. Our goal is to reach these communities through continuing our medical brigades, food stations and by implementing a program that gives children accessibility to a clean environment, food, water and activities. This “Day Camp” will target children living in these tent cities. Our team will begin by working within the communities and parks where we have contacts through the St. Luke Outreach programs. We are known and trusted within this existing format. With the help of the St Luke staff and those ex-pequeños that grew up at our St Helen orphanage in Kenscoff, but now have no home since the earthquake, we will bring children to our day camp and return them to their families at night. We will begin an intake process for those whom we can establish do not have a family. Since there were a number of adoption programs going on in Haiti before the earthquake struck, we also need to determine which children might have been already promised under these programs. Children who are orphaned or apparently abandoned and not awaiting completion of adoption will be integrated into our family at St Helen. As you can imagine, we can expect the orphan identification and integration process will be quite arduous. Alfonso Leon of NPHI Family Services is leading the team to implement this program. He has 25 ex-pequeños assisting him along with a cook to prepare the meals. Two large tents with the capacity for 50 people have been set-up on the St. Luke soccer field located inside the Kay Germaine compound, adjacent to the St. Damien Medical hospital.

Please recognize that we do our best to determine an appropriate response to this emergency and provide aid immediately. We simply do not have time to hold conferences to receive input from everyone who has an opinion, so please be patient with our team on the ground as they develop this program.

We will be sending out more information as it is available.Thank you,Monica

Hospital Update 23rd January
dictated over phone by Robin Schwartz and Dr. Peter Tinnemann

There are 140 patients in the hospital and two-thirds are children. Sixty children are under five and 35 children are over five. Three mobile medical clinics were treating patients in the community and each treated roughly 80 patients each, mostly children.

The UN search and rescue efforts are officially coming to a halt, but on Saturday a 24-year old student was found alive. The estimated death toll is 110,000 and 600,000 people homeless. Estimates are 20,000 still injured and approximately 1,000 people need advanced medical care. Today we transported four patients to the USS Comfort for advanced care.

We are very grateful to all the people supporting us! Today we received a huge deliver of medical supplies sponsored by a TV audience in Germany. We also received one-month stock of rice, beans, oil and salt from the World Food Program. The American Academy of Pediatrics sent medicine along with casting materials which now gives us a sufficient stock.
Hollywood actor, Sean Penn visited the hospital on Friday and brought a much-needed supply of crutches. We are extremely grateful!

Fr. Rick arrived in Haiti Saturday morning after driving all night from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is happy to be back in Haiti but shortly after his arrival, he was called to a meeting with Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, to discuss the efforts in how to alleviate the suffering of the Haitian people. After the meeting, which was at the Port-au-Prince General Hospital, Fr Rick was interview by CNN. All the other meeting participants left in their air-conditioned cars parked between the rubble and stinking streets. But Fr. Rick mounted the back of a motorcycle and rushed back to the hospital. He prefers to use the same means of transport as the local people.

Haiti and Bolivia Update 24 January

2010-01-24T15:12:00.002Z

Dictated over phone by Robin Schwartz and Dr. Peter Tinnemann

At our St. Helen home in Kenscoff, all of our staff have returned to work but we are unsure about the teachers since school is currently not in session. A truckload of food donated by the World Food Program arrived at St. Helen and we estimate that the supply will last four weeks. Also UNICEF is providing us with a steady milk supply for the children in the hospital.

Adult cases are still decreasing at the hospital. Today there were roughly 60 volunteer medical doctors, nurses and paramedics. We have improved our OR shifts and working 24-hours on surgeries. It is a very inspiring team who are in good mood and spirits.

There are roughly 200 patients and only a few are camping outside. This evening local radio stations talked about numerous aftershocks and patients received news by cell phone feeling anxious to hear this news.

The medical team medevacked15 patients with spinal cord injuries and two patients with closed head injuries. A US volunteer physician is helping to facilitate the transports based on the help of Senator John Edwards, together with Paul Haggis, both of whom visited the hospital today. Sean Penn and Maria Bello, representing Artists for Peace and Justice also came to see us. The University of Miami medical team is on the ground in Haiti. They assessed these 17 patients and approved their transport for treatment. The Haitian patients will be returned to Haiti after they receive the specialty care which is not available in Haiti.

Mobile clinics were in town today and working fine and we have plans for the program to expand. At the moment the UN and Haitian ministry of health described 600 temporary makeshift campsites from 1000 to tens of thousands of people. The UN is currently trying to organize a response to these camps. Help requires shelter protection from the rain, food, water, sanitation, medical treatment and a vaccination campaign. Concerns rising in the health community and other NGOs are that there will be a shortage of food and potential epidemic outbreaks.

A few of the St Luke street school buildings were destroyed in Cite Soleil and Wharf Jeremy but some are still intact and some are in the process of being assessed. Regardless all school are closed. The buildings that are usable will be opened as clinics or for food distribution centers. The medical clinic in Wharf Jeremy is still standing and appears to be okay.

The next step for outreach activities is to go into the communities and provide services to the people living in temporary shelters. Top priorities are food, water, sanitation and vaccinations. Since the St. Luke Outreach team has worked in these communities for years, we are in good position to help.

Bolivia Update

Dear NPH Family,

I have received many emails about the earthquakes here in Bolivia, thank you for your concern for our family. I am thankful to be able to report that we are fine, most of the children and staff did not even feel the earthquakes and we have had absolutely no damages to our home, the nearby communities are also fine.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Thank you,
Kara King
Interim National Director, NPH Bolivia

Letter from Gena 23 Jan

2010-01-23T17:33:00.000Z

Tis a sunny day in Kenscoff and outside the kids are enjoying the sunshine – some lying on mattresses, some on their wheelchairs and some washing the dishes. Inside the house is cold and the feeling is less relaxed. Those working inside (cook and people cleaning) are inside because they have to be and they are afraid and nervous. Each noise get the hearts racing again as everyone wonders if this time will be a big or a small tremor. The kids are not scared but the staff are terrified. And me? I am permanently shaking!! Not just me, all of us adults are this way. We do what we have to do and do our best to ensure the well being and security of the kids but make no mistake, we are also worried that another big one could come.

I was in Tabarre for the first earthquake (and also the second one)and my immediate thought was Kay Christine. I do not have great confidence in the building but thankfully it is fine and has survived both strong quakes with no damage. Our kids are sleeping inside – at my insistence because it is so cold and damp outside and we have many fragile kids. However, the rest of the kids in the orphanage are sleeping outside – on the basket ball court. They are too afraid to sleep indoors. My kids are not afraid to be indoors and indeed they all sleep very very well. Not so for us adults and personally I feel greatly the responsibility of having everyone indoors. We have all those from upstairs sleeping downstairs – girls in the therapy room and boys in the dining room. The more dependant kids are in their own dorm downstairs.The nights are long and lonely as we wait for it to get bright and the kids to wake up. At least if they are awake they have a
better chance of running outside if another earthquake occurs. I wonder what would happen to those that cannot walk if it happened when they are asleep. My plan is simple – if the shaking happens during the night, those that can get out will get out and I will stay with those that are bed ridden. Whatever will be will be but there is no way I am leaving those kids on their own. Probably no one would get out as those that are sleeping would never get up in time. I try and think positively and I put my trust in God but non the less I am scared. Not for myself – for the kids. So I tell myself this “ God brought me here to these kids so they are ultimately his responsibility. I can only do my best and the rest is up to him”.

You know during the first earthquake, I was very happy to hear that several of the staff stayed with the kids and shielded their bodies with their own. So if they were to die they were going to die together. The staff are brave and despite their fears they do as I ask and stay indoors to cook and food and take care of the kids as is required. With each tremor comes more fear and my heart aches for all of them. Sadly we lost one staff member. Dieudonne Massillion had been with us for just over 15 years. She was in her house and when the quake happened she ran outside to get her youngest son. While running, a wall at the side of her house fell on top of her and she was dead before she reached the hospital. The hard thing for all of us is that with all that is happening we do not have time to grieve for her. She was buried the following day and no one of us was at the funeral – I was still in PV- and the staff here were too busy keeping things together.
It is very sad and hard to accept. Dieudonne has been as much a part of the Kay Christine family as any of the kids and she was a very good worker. Almost two years ago her sister Olivia died from a stroke and Olivia also worked with us for many years. No one her can believe that in such a short time we have lost both of these sisters.
Our twins, Solina and Xiomala lost their sister Solita. Solita grew up here in the orphanage and she loved her sisters very much. She used to come to our house daily to braid their hair. Solita was living close to Port Au Prince (Delmas area) with other family members. She was eight months pregnant and she and her unborn baby died when the house they were living in collpased. Her brother told me that she died because she was trying to get him out. On January first Solita spent the day with us here in Kay Christine and her sisters were very happy. Indeed last summer she spend a month with us and we were going to employ her in Kay Ste. Germaine after her baby was born.
Many staff members lost friends or family. Carmelle lost her niece, Mme Maxime lost a nephew, Mme Casimir lost 2 nephews – and others lost in laws, cousins, friends etc.

Our program in Petionville (Kay Eliane)no longer exists since the building collapsed. We lost our wonderful volunteer Molly Hightower during this collapse. (That collapse also killed Ryan, a young man that was here visiting his sister Erin (a vol). Molly had been with us since June and she was the one that got the kids using the swimming pool and she also helped with the riding program and many other activities in our three places. Molly was a bright smile that brightened every day and we miss her a lot. We were very lucky that at the time of the quake, all our staff from Petionville had already left and also the children that attended that day. Luckily for us all the staff are fine – apart from loosing homes! We have heard from some of the parents that used to attend but not all. I know that one of the parents lost his wife. They have two handicapped children plus one other children and now this man is all alone and has no idea what he will do. Most
of my staff from Petionville have been in Tabarre this past week and some have been helping in the hospital.

In Tabarre(Kay Ste. Germaine) we lost one of our teachers. Marie Carmelle died in her house with her two small children. The youngest child was not yet one year old. Marie Carmelle had worked for many years in the kinder-garden in Ste. Helene but had transferred to our school in Ste. Germaine and she had spend one year with us. Marie Carmelle was loved by all the children and was full of life and energy. She always had a smile on her face and indeed when the school year started she told me: “ Gena, you don't have to worry, this school year we will make you so proud”.
All other staff members are fine TG. Many have lost their homes and all they owned. Yolene the directrice of our special needs school, has had a very difficult few days. Her husband was in his little shop when the building fell on top of him and she had no idea where he was as he never came home. She looked everywhere and eventually found him in a very serious state. He is paralised from the chest down, has a broken foot and was in danger of dying. Luckily we were able to arrange for him to be flown to the US so he has a chance to live. But if he does survive, the road ahead will not be an easy one as he will most likely remain paralised from the chest down. They were married in July.

Some of the parents of the children have phoned to say they are ok. Many have lost homes but are thankful to be alive. So far not everyone has checked in with us so we do not know how they are. We hope that on Monday most will come to the centre and we can plan the next weeks. At the moment we are giving lodging to a group of abandoned handicapped kids that are being cared for by Partners in Health. They are beautiful kids and will probably be with us for a month or so. The plan is that they will find a location of their own and move there.

What now? Lots of ideas – we always talked about Kay Ste. Germaine being used in the after noons and maybe serving adults – now there are so many people without limbs that we must see how we can help them and our centre might just be the place to get going a new program to serve these people – kids and adults.
But for now, we need the tremors to stop. We need to find a way to get some sleep as we are all tired and stressed and operating on nervous energy . We need to find a way to deal with our losses – and we have lost so much. We need to be able to sit down without shaking, take a shower without being afraid that the building will collapse with us as did with our friends Erin and Molly. So once the tremors stop, we can move forward. Until then, we continue to live in stress.

May God grant eternal rest to those that who have lost their lives. May God protect those of us living and may God grant good care to all those suffering.

Gena Heraty

Updates and Links 23rd January

2010-01-23T11:26:00.005Z

I'm delighted to post information about any fundraising activities that are taking place - such as the following:

A fundraising dance is being organised in aid of 'Our Little brothers and sisters, Haiti (NPH)' in The Ard Ri House Hotel, Tuam, Co. Galway on 28th February, 2010 from 3p.m. to 6p.m. Music by Midnight Melodies.

Sr Breda Power will be speaking about Haiti on Liffey Sound (96.4 FM) between 10 and 11 am tomorrow. You can listen on line here . Sr Breda worked in the community in Gonaïves for many years.

NPFS Update Thursday Jan 12th

2010-01-23T11:07:00.001Z

Hospital Update
dictated over phone by Robin Schwartz and Dr. Peter Tinnemann

The hospital grounds are clearing up and patients are being discharged. Today there were more than 60 patients in the outpatient clinic. We have also sent some adult patients to another hospital site more suited for their care. A group of visiting physicians went with them to work for the day at their site. We are also working on getting spinal cord and neurosurgical cases to the USS Comfort.
We have four surgical teams from the US and Italy. These teams are complete teams that work 24-hour shifts. There are two major ORs and a small room transformed into an OR. They are still doing amputations. Our local hospital staff is working on getting back to pediatric care.
In collaboration with St. Helen, we brought children down from Kenscoff. This effort was important so they could see the work that the hospital is doing and to share with their peers because they are very far removed.
One medical team provided medical care today for 40 patients living in one of the many makeshift camps. They are not really a camp but thousands of blankets connected with wooden sticks to try and protect them against the wind. They have no food, no water, no sanitation and no medical care. These camps are a big concern to all organizations.
The St. Luke Outreach team is working on going out into the community to distribute water and they are discussing strategies about combating possible future outbreaks of disease. If the rains come these tent cities will be washed away.
We have an average of 80 volunteers excluding the Italian civil defense. Many of the volunteers are surgeons and physicians. We were very happy to receive surgical support from the first group of volunteer nurses. We appreciate all volunteers because the hospital staff is functioning at half capacity. Many staff have lost their homes, or family and have not been able to return to work. We do not have an exact number of missing staff.
We have a 35-year old man that arrived positive for tetanus and has severe, deep wounds. Having tetanus can result in convulsions when exposed to light and sound. This patient was located in the ER, which is quite loud and whenever someone was shouting, he then started to convulse. He was treated with Valium, but continue to speak to everyone in English saying, “please help me”. In most countries, tetanus is easily preventable. A single shot vaccine. Today we received a tetanus shipment from the WHO so we are no able to vaccinate all in-coming patients.
Channel 5 from Italy visited us today along with two Italian newspapers. Robin had a radio interview with a station in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Francisville Update

Marco Randon from Italy assists in managing the bakery at Francisville, the lot adjacent to the St Damien complex. They are baking 5,000 rolls a day for distributions and the people are reporting that it is a miracle to smell such a wonderful aroma. This effort helped immensely in the very first days when supplies were short and continues to help.

The walls at the car mechanic workshop are damaged, but all the machinery inside is safe. Paolo Basso from Italy is helping with repairs and maintenance, when not busy downloading supplies or giving support at the hospital. The warehouse at Francisville is becoming the main hub supply and temporary home for the Italian civil service including their helicopter-landing site.

Links and Updates 22 January

2010-01-22T14:09:00.003Z

I am actually starting this update for the fourth time now today - my laptop keeps crashing. Hopefully this time all will go smoothly.

The documentary screened last year on RTE called '100 dead people in my truck' featuring Gena and Fr Rick is being repeated tonight on RTE2 at 8:05.

I have received this update from Adele about Fondwa. I have banking details if anyone wants to donate.

'Thanks for your concern, your support and prayers. We have lost about 25 people in Fondwa including a member of the Sisters of St. Anthony of Fondwa: Sr. Odile Damus and a child of 2 years from the Fondwa Orphanage: Jude Dubic. They both died at the APF Guest Center which have been destroyed completely. Everything in Fondwa has gone. The infrastructure that we have built in 22 years: the Orphanage, the School, the APF Center, the Clinic, the Radio Station (Radyo Zetwal ) the Sisters' Convent, the buildings of the University of Fondwa ( 7 of them). Everything has gone. The epi-center of the earthquakewas in Fondwa, between Leogane and Jacmel. The big building of Pastor LucGuerrier has gone. The Roman Catholic Church in Fondwa has gone also. The Church of Philadelphie ( a Protestant Church) has gone with about 15 young people under the concrete blocs. The Spiritan have lost one Seminarian,Stephane Douge who died with 12 other Seminarians ( Oblates, Montfortans ) at CIFOR. CIFOR ( a theological school for religious in Port-au-Prince) is gone completely. The Cathedral of Port-au-Prince has gone also. TheArchbishop of Port-au-Prince, Mgr. Joseph Serge Miot died and will be buried on Saturday January 24. A big part of St. Martial College has gone, specially the Elementary Section which was also used as the Spiritan Pre-Noviciate House. All of the buildings of St. Martial are damaged alot. Our spiritan house in Senghor where I live with Fr. Patrick Eugene is seriously damaged. Our court-yard is used actually as a Refugee Center for about 200 victims of the earthquake. The other Spiritans are Ok. Fonkoze has lost 3 employees - one Branch ( Bizoton near Port-au-Prince) has gone and 6 other branches very damaged. The Central Office and the Port-au-Prince branch are among them. But the rest of us are alive and are in strongly in solidarity with the rest of the Country. Together, we can rebuild Fondwa andHaiti.'

I have the following update from Damien Moran 'Sr. Helen, Sr. Mary Hardiman and Sr. Eileen Davey are also fine, as are all the LSU nuns. As regards Fr. Nicholas, the parish priest, I don't know, but I'm sure we would have heard by now if there were any serious casualties from the Montfortan community. The compound seemingly suffered a few cracks. They are currently sleeping outside and trying to take care of the kids' (100) nutritional needs. I was told that Helen was busy doing hospital visits but there was no. info abou who she was visiting. The info. I got was quite scant as it seems the info the nuns in Banagher got was also minimal. They have had no direct contact with Helen or any of the Port-au-Prince community since this all started. They have nuns in Gonaives who they have been able to contact once from what I know.'

There is a mass on Sunday the 24th for the People of Haiti in Whitefriar Street Carmalite Church at 4pm. All are welcome and if anyone would like to contribute I have the contact details.

I received the link for this on-line petition 'The work ahead to recover from this tragedy is immense. So here's our goal: $890 million for Haiti. That’s how much Haiti owes to the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, and a handful of others.
Sign the petition below to ask Haiti's creditors to act quickly and cancel Haiti's debts:
http://one.org/international/actnow/haiti/index.html?rc=upgradeaidmailto
As Haiti begins to rebuild we can help by lifting this debt.'

Garda Club gig on tomorrow night 8:30 entry ten euro. All proceeds to NPFS Haiti.

Also worth attending is DUBLIN MUSICAL SOCIETIES FOR HAITI AT THE BURLINGTON HOTELON SUNDAY 31ST JANUARY 2010 AT 8PM Tickets: €20
Book now! Call or text: 087 2063309.

There is a Folk benefit concert for Haiti on the 3rd Febuary with Tommy Sands. Email seanpoboyle@hotmail.com or call call 087 6398571 for details. I don't have full details as I didn't get the flyer but if anyone wants to forward it to me I'll post full details.

Six One News Friday 21 January

2010-01-21T20:23:00.004Z

The Six One News tomorrow Friday 21 January will have a special feature on Haiti with commentry in the studio and from Haiti. I think their coverage has been very balanced compared to some of the dedicated news networks so it might be a good one to watch.

Google Maps have released a series of highly detailed images of Haiti before and after the earthquake. See the series here.

The Mayo News website whole front page is devoted to Gena. See it here.

I didn't post the NPFS update from the 19th or 20th as they are now being posted very quickly to the NPFS website. If you look at the update for the 21st there is an amazing account from Peter Tinnemann on the progress being made in the hospital and the trading of aid between the various agencies.

Dont forget the Garda Club on Saturday night!

Six One News - RTE1

2010-01-20T17:43:00.002Z

Gena featured on the Six One news tonight on RTE 1. It will be available on the RTE Player for the next 7 days. The link is here. You need to go to about 8:04 minutes into the report to get to the Haiti report. The same report was also on the Nine O'Clock news.

Gena sent an open letter yesterday which I am going to publish here as she has such a lovely way of expressing herself and it gives a real sense of who she is as a person and also the reality of what she is going through over there. I really hope that the volunteers and staff are getting some emotional support and help too.

"One week later and still the wounded are not treated. One week later and so many dead, injured or just disappeared. Amazing how fast the world we live in can change. Kids in the orphanage still sleeping outdoors - except for my kids- they are inside since last week. All are fine and not in any way suffering from the tragedy.

I am in the hospital in Tabarre every day - helping where i can. The husband of the directrice of our special needs school is paralised from the chest down and in danger of dying if he does not get to the states so we are all working on that and hopefully he will get out tomorrow.

Lots of people helping out and everyone doiong what they can. So many people left without arms or legs and my God they are so so strong. Lying in their beds, not complaining at all and they have lost so much. One girl lost a leg when she was rescuing her younger siblings.

I dunno what to say - so many emotions and really no time to deal with them. At night when I lie down, the bed seems to be forever shaking, when I go to the loo it seems to shake and really when i talk to people they say it is the same for them.

My heart aches for Haiti and the Haitian people. My heart aches for those I have loved and lost. Some people blame God or wonder if he is even here. I do not blame God nor do I doubt his existence. My mind is logical. this was a natural disaster and it wreaked so much havoc because haiti was in a mess long before the earthquake.People in tents all over the place- makeshift ones. Are they getting help? I worry for osme cos who will find them where they are, off the beaten path?

How am I? I am ok. I am alive and happy to be alive. i am happy for all the support I know I receive, from people I know and people I do not know. I am sad- as is everyone here. We have lost a lot but we have a lot to work for still. There is no time to grieve just now. Well maybe there is but we choose not to take it cos the wounded need us to be strong if they are to survive.. So we are ok and we are people of faith and we believe we can make things just a little better. For now this is all I can bring out of my mind.Love to all.Gena"

Haiti Aftershock 6.1

2010-01-20T13:08:00.002Z

Have just had confirmation that Gena is ok after the latest aftershock which CNN are reporting as 6.1.

NPFS Fundraiser Saturday 23rd January

2010-01-20T10:21:00.003Z

Venue: Garda Club, Harrington Street
Date: Saturday 23rd January
Time: Doors 8:30

Ten Euro Entry

Line up includes : Tony Boylan, Selfless Good Deeds, the Dickheads, the Cool Rockin' Daddies plus special guests

Please come - and bring a friend!

NUI Coffee Morning

2010-01-19T16:28:00.003Z

I've got a few email from friends and relatives of Kieran Rigney to let me know that a coffee morning has been arranged for Wednesday and Thursday morning in NUI Galway. Many thanks to those organising it. Hopefully it will be a big success.

NPFS Update Monday 18th January

2010-01-19T15:42:00.003Z

In addition to circulating the daily update from NPFS Haiti I can post details here of any fundraising efforts you might want to publicise. This offer is open to any group raising money for Haiti, not just NPFS, of course! Just email me at irishresponse@gmail.com and I'll post your details with the next update.

Dictated over phone by Robin Schwartz and Dr. Peter Tinnemann
Currently we have 200-250 patients in the hospital. Today our doctors attended to 72 patients, mostly fractures and wounds. Patients are coming to us from as far as the other side of Port-au-Prince and they are desperate to find medical care. We are concerned because we are not seeing many malnourished children cases, which is typically the population of children that come to St Damien. We still have more doctors and surgeons offering to help. In particular we had 20 Haitian volunteers working today. Two truckloads from the Dominican Republic arrived today with bottled water and powdered milk.
A Swedish newspaper, German press DPA , German TV station and Associated Press visited the hospital today. We are investigating the possibilities of setting up clinics at other locations in and around the capital.
The St. John Bosco student houses appear safe as there was no visible structural damage, but as a precaution, an Italian engineer is coming to evaluate them. They received a supply of food and water today. The children at St Helen are still sleeping outside on the basketball court. Hopefully with a visit from the Italian engineer, it will help reinforce psychologically that they are safe to enter. They received a supply of food, fuel and water today and a schedule has been designed to provide weekly deliveries from the Dominican Republic. Seventy-five children and youths in our St. John Bosco program that live with extended families will be relocated to St Helen because their homes were destroyed. We are working on an action plan to support other orphaned children.
The 30 special needs children that we rescued from the General Public Hospital have been moved over to the Kay Germaine rehabilitation center, adjacent to the St. Damien Hospital.
Maria Bello, a hollywood celebrity was on Larry King Live Sunday night where she spoke about her experience with NPFS Haiti and Fr. Rick Frechette. We were unsuccessful in finding the video but you can read the transcript at
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/17/lkl.01.html

Nurses needed for Haiti

2010-01-18T16:13:00.004Z

The following request has been issued from NPH.

At this time we are compiling an on call database of medical volunteers for Haiti. Our most urgent need is NURSES.Candidates should have a prior relationship with NPH, MUST be self-sufficient, bring their own food and supplies plus spend a minimum of two weeks in country. French and or Creole is preferred but not mandatory.

I have additional information available if interested.

Haiti Update Sunday 17 January

2010-01-18T16:02:00.002Z

St. Damien Update
Today, Fr. Rick left to return to the US to take care of his dying mother. We wish him peace and safe travels during this difficult time. Meanwhile, Dr. Roberto from Italy is filling in as Medical Director of St. Damien.

Our triage is functioning nicely and we continue with registration but we aren't able to analyze figures yet; we should know more in the next few days.

The wounds of the patients that are coming in are getting worse. There are fractures and soft tissue injuries. Besides the medical volunteer teams that are on the way, we are receiving people at the door to volunteer. Today a team of traveling surgeons from the Dominican Republic were making castings. We are continually being amazed by our staff.

There are now tents in the back yard where the Italians set-up a state of the art operating system to help supplement our work.

The second OR is now functioning so people continue to receive surgery without pause.

The first of the ground shipment of supplies was received. Two trucks arrived with food and medical supplies organized by NPH DR, paid by Andrea Bocelli.

Patients and staff have returned to some areas of the hospital that were closed. The Italian Civil Defense forces said it was safe. This was a huge help because we were concerned for children that were exposed to the weather. People are afraid and not everyone wants to go inside. We are working on convincing the staff in a kind and practical manner.

A one-year-old baby arrived with part of her skull and face missing. A visiting celebrity, Jimmy Jean Luis took her photo to show on CNN’s Larry King Live tonight. We hope with this national exposure that we might be able to connect with an organization that can help us find her some continued medical assistance.

Today there were visits from the top two anchors of the UK, Sky TG 24 from Italy, LA 7 Telecom and American Fox 5. The journalists are typically overwhelmed when they visit us.

St Damien Update dictated over phone by Peter Tinnemann to Monica Gery

NPFS Update Saturday 16 January

2010-01-17T12:25:00.003Z

This is the NPFS update for today. I have two other posts with information also posted today so you may need to click on 'older posts' below to see them.

St Helen Orphanage Update
Contributed by Mark Ouwehand, NPHI IT Manager
The children in Kenscoff are doing well and everyone is safe. There is hardly any structural damage. Currently there is enough food, but they are running low on diesel, but we have close UN ties, so there should not be a problem. There are still lots of vegetables, fruits and potatoes in the market, just that prices are going up fast.

Ferel is working in Petionville and Port-au-Prince to help with the external youths, ex-pequeños and staff. Alfonso arrived today and will help with coordination at the home. Margo (Ferel's wife) is also helping along with Sr Altagracia.

St Damien Update dictated over phone by Peter Tinnemann to Monica (Peter is an ex-volunteer 96-97)
The hospital continues to be swamped with patients and we are not able to assess where they are coming from. The are desperate to find medical care. Overall the estimate is 500-700 patients in a hospital which is built for 200. Out of that 700, 200 are children and one third are under 12 years of age.

Approximately 100 x-rays have been performed daily and there are still people awaiting x-rays. There is one operating room functioning at this time for amputation of arms and legs. We are trying to prioritizing surgeries, but we still do not have a working system and people are awaiting amputations. Most of the injuries we are seeing are fractures to the extremities, external fractures and wounds that are a couple days old and impossible to fix the smashed and soft tissue injuries.

Basic utilities are up and running including water and electricity. The well is functioning properly after the piping was damaged.

Due to the dedicated staff, we are able to maintain a high level of hygiene, on all levels in the hospital. A truck arrived today from Food for the Poor, which delivered rice and beans, surgical supplies and disinfectants. Also a donation of 2500 family rations was delivered from CVS so that everyone that leaves the hospital has a supply of food.

The hospital grounds are open on some sides due to the perimeter wall falling down and there are slight security concerns but no major incidents. There are security issues all over Haiti and the UN is stepping up patrols with their limited resources.

Most patients are on the ground floor of the hospital. The second floor is empty with no patients and the empty rooms tell the story that the rooms were left in a hurry. There are still plates of food on the tables.. People are afraid to go inside the buildings and apparently there are still aftershocks. According to the government's advice we are not to be in the building. There has been no assessment of the buildings, only according to eyesight there is no damage. Some of the ground floor rooms are being used for intervention and wound casting and dressing.

The front yard is full of patients that we are trying to move into the courtyards and luckily we have no rain. Plastic sheets have been set-up to shade wherever it is possible.

Today, two people died...one adult and one child, but there were also two births. One boy and one girl. It was delightful to see the physician from Italy running around trying to find a rubber band for the ambilical cord. He then found a band in an office, sterilzed it and used it.

The Italian army is setting up tent offices in our backyard, flattening the land and waiting for their supplies to be delivered. We anticipate they will be attending to patients as well.

Fr. Rick is providing medical care to patients, giving hope and talking with people to re-instill hope. He is providing pastoral care to everyone, including the staff. Among his many other duties, Fr Rick and Fr Peter (American) have also taken medical supplies to visit the injured around the city and performed funeral services at the general morgue. Doctors from all over the world are coming to volunteer and it is amazing and impressive to see that beyond all the languages that people are all working together. People are working hard to alleviate suffering. Staff and volunteers are sweating like crazy, everyone is tired and exhausted. It is amazing to see that after 14-years to see so many ex-pequeños still here along with the staff. Dr Arty was with us all day and she is like Fr. Rick helping to motivate the staff. She is great support to the Haitian staff if the have difficulty understanding a volunteer.

At 5 pm, the lights are back on. You can hear the sound of the generator, all the cars have left the compound and the city has lights again. It is quiet where before there were many people yelling and crying in pain.

The local mobile phone service is up and running but still jammed and satellite seems to be jammed. We are trying to have a central communication command and we brought our own satellite phones (if they work) but we need radios on the compound to find people.

The stores are not open but we are receiving reenforcement from the Dominican Republic.

Click link to see photos by Mark Ouwehand:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MonicaGery/11610HaitiEarthquakeUpdate?feat=directlink

Message from John Kloos - Father of Erin and Ryan

2010-01-17T12:14:00.004Z

Below is a message from John Kloos, the father of Erin and Ryan. Please take a moment to read it.

On behalf of my wife Kathryn, my daughter Katie and my daughter Erin, I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Those are working. Keep them up. We have been with Erin since mid-morning on Friday. To be honest, her physical condition was considerably worse than we had expected. However, her attitude and determination were far better than we had hoped. They simply do not make people stronger than this girl. We are confident that she will make a full recovery.

We are dealing with the loss of our son Ryan in the knowledge that, although cut short, his life was one filled with love and accomplishment. There was never a time in our 24 years together as a family of five that we shared anything but positive relationships. There are no regrets. There are only good memories.. Before we can plan any kind of a service to remember Ryan, we need to get Erin healthy and home. Ryan would insist on that, too. We do not know how long this will take. We ask your patience.

We also want to thank you for your offer to help us in any way that you can. We have not and we will not hesitate to call on any one of you, if you can be of assistance. Right now, we have everything we need, including family support. However, the situation in Haiti is dire. The people who worked with Erin, people I have come to know as family, are in desperate need of financial assistance to continue their recovery work.

There is no shortage of ways to donate to the relief efforts in Haiti. However, at my request, NPH has provided us with a way to funnel donations directly to Erin’s co-workers. Yesterday, I asked my sister Karie to get the word out. So, you may have already seen this web site. However, this is my first chance to assure you, directly, that 100% of the funds donated will be put into the hands of NPH in Haiti. This is how you can help. This is what will be meaningful to Ryan’s memory and Erin’s future.

https://secure.imodules.com/s/769/inner.aspx?sid=769&gid=1&pgid=890&cid=1918

Thank you.

John Kloos, on behalf of Kathy, Katie and Erin

Media Links for NPFS

2010-01-17T11:08:00.008Z

Here are some links to pictures and news reports that show the Hospital and the damage in Petionville.

This is the article featuring Gena and Meave from the Irish Times yesterday.

These pictures are also from yesterday. Thankfully it looks like they are getting some UN assistance now.

MonicaGery's other Picassa albums show clearly the damage to the hospital and the Fr Wasson Centre - the old hospice.

This is Fr Rick on NBC the day after he arrived - Friday.

This is an abc news report from St Damien also with Fr Rick. (You have to watch an ad before you get to it).

On a practical note Oxfam Ireland are urgently looking for volunteers collect funds. These are the Dublin contact details - ania.rutkowska@oxfamireland.org / 1850 30 40 55

Even if you feel that you can't do anything and feel helpless remember 'whatever your faith, religion, beliefs (or none)– please take a moment to pause, pray, meditate for those suffering in Haiti'.

If you have any other links of interest please let me know and I'll post them here.

Message of Support

2010-01-14T22:46:00.000Z

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