Blog: On the ground in Haiti

• A visit to La Gonave

  23/02/2010 2:47:37 PM

  Madeline Wilson, Communications Specialist - Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs

  On Friday I went to an island called La Gonave off the west coast of Haiti. This is the island where the Australian sponsorship programs are located. I was relieved to hear directly from the World Vision regional coordinator that very few children across the island were directly affected, and no children sponsored by Australians had lost their lives during the earthquake, even though the island felt the giant tremor and thousands of homes had been damaged or destroyed. But La Gonave is now experiencing a different aftershock - there has been an influx people from the mainland seeking refuge.
  
  The population of La Gonave before the earthquake was around 100,000 people, and since the earthquake an additional 40,000 people have arrived from the mainland, seeking refuge with their extended families and overwhelming the already limited resources of these communities.
  
  I ...

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• Good days and bad days

  15/02/2010 2:10:50 PM

  Madeline Wilson, Communications Specialist - Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs

  You have good days and bad days when you are working on an aid response. Some days you feel motivation and pride because you know your work and the work of your organisation is making a difference. And other days you feel overwhelmed and emotional about the enormity of the situation and the needs of the people affected. These are the days when you realise that you can't possibly help everyone, no matter how strong your will.
  
  I had one of those days this week. I met a girl who was so very sick. Her name was Chistel and she was one-and-a-half years old. She was a beautiful little girl with a sweet smile. She had a swollen neck, a fever and an ear infection. I met her in a mobile health clinic that had been set up by World Vision ...

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• The realities in Port-au-Prince

  8/02/2010 1:46:43 PM

  Madeline Wilson, Communications Specialist - Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs

  Since my last post I have left Hinche and been in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince for 3 days. And I continue to be blown away by the extent of damage the earthquake has caused, and the impact it has had on a nation.
  
  I have now seen the area in the city of Port-au-Prince that was most affected by the earthquake. The only way I can think to describe the depths of destruction is in how you might imagine a city scene in a movie about the end of the world. Buildings collapsed everywhere, piles of rubble metres high, some buildings still standing but completely vacated of all forms of life. Eerie.
  
  Driving through this scene felt totally surreal. It was one of those out-of-body moments where I had to remind myself that I was here, in Haiti, and this is real. ...

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• Arriving in Haiti

  5/02/2010 11:11:44 AM

  By Madeline Wilson, Communications Specialist - Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs

  Today was my first day in Haiti. I arrived here after stopping over for a day in the Dominican Republic, the country that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. I spent the day in the Dominican Republic recovering from my 30 hour plane journey, and trying to adapt to the time zone here.

  I flew into Port-au-Prince, on a light plane with five others. And when I say light, I mean the cabin was possibly smaller than the inside of my first car! So you hold your breath and just hope the landing is going to be smooth. Thankfully it was.

  As we landed at the airport my colleague Steve who arrived in Haiti two days after the earthquake explained the transition of the airport from the first few days until now (almost three weeks on). He said that ...

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• Did you feel that one?

  25/01/2010 11:13:58 AM

  By James Addis.

  I must be remarkably insensitive to after-shocks. Colleagues keep saying ‘did you feel that one?’. Where were you at “X” pm? or “Y” am? Did you feel it?

  I must confess I haven’t felt a darn thing since the really big one a few days ago. I think my biggest concern is a really big quake in the dark. I’ve been sleeping with a flashlight in my hand. The thought of fumbling for it in the inky blackness does scare me a bit. But once I’ve got the flashlight firmly clenched in my left hand, I sleep like a baby.

  It was a bit of a quiet day yesterday. I managed to phone my wife and my parents back in New Zealand. It was so good to hear their voices.

  I got out to a homeless camp, about a 5-minute drive from the World Vision office. I ...

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• The Aftershock

  21/01/2010 10:18:10 AM

  By James Addis

  Well, a heart-stopping moment this morning when a powerful after-shock, just after 6am had me making a hasty exit out of my hotel.

  I was soon joined by the rest of the World Vision, staff, mostly in pyjamas.

  Once we had recovered our breath, the conversation quickly turned to how many more fragile buildings might have been brought down.

  The whole thing maybe lasted six or seven seconds. I’m writing at 6.30 am and my heart is still pumping quite hard. It’s certainly the biggest quake I’ve ever been in, but I imagine peanuts for others.

  You can’t help feeling the people of Port-au-Prince could use a break. Yesterday, I spoke to a man at one of the city’s hospitals, where World Vision was delivering medical supplies. He was holding his bandaged up son, but had actually come to visit his daughter, who was lying on a ...

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• First distribution of aid

  18/01/2010 8:16:31 AM

  By James Addis

  The last time I was deployed to a humanitarian emergency I had no wife and no children. This time I have a wonderful wife, Sharon, a daughter, Nicole, 3, and a young son Michael, 6 months.

  In previous emergencies I never got homesick. Now the tug of home hits more powerfully than ever. I keep needing to pull myself together. "For goodness sake man you have only been here a few days."

  It’s not only missing the family of course. The heat, the smell of sickness and despair, the tragic stories that one hears, it makes one long for peace and tranquility, the comforts of home, familiar faces; a strong cup of coffee - taken at leisure and not in a mad rush.

  Yesterday, I attended our first distributions of relief aid to the homeless – biscuits, health kits, clothes, and bottled water. Chatting to people waiting ...

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• The most shocking I have ever seen.

  17/01/2010 5:59:00 PM

  By James Addis.

  I’ve been deployed to many humanitarian emergencies. For me, this is the most shocking I have ever seen. I will never forget the corpses piled outside the city morgue.

  Travelling back to a modest hotel at 2am last night we drove past hundreds, maybe thousands, who would have no shelter that night and perhaps not for many nights to come. Some slept under vehicles. Some on sidewalks. Some dangerously on the road.

  Some had set up chairs in the middle of the street and remained talking into the early hours. Vehicles were parked haphazardly. We had to ask bystanders for one to be moved. Our driver got out and helped push it. People were good natured about it all. So far I have not seen a hint of the violence that some have predicted may erupt if conditions do not improve. On the contrary, for now, a ...

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• From Hinche to Mirenbalais

  15/01/2010 10:33:31 AM

  By Ruth Mlay.

  Yesterday morning we moved from Hinche to Mirenbalais, 1 hour out of the capital, hoping to get closer to Port au Prince to do an assessment. As we drove through the small town of Hinche, we saw cars queuing at petrol stations waiting their turn hoping to get some of the dwindling fuel. Today we heard there is no fuel in Plateau Centra. Port au Prince is bound to follow suit shortly.

  Telephone communication has been down. This morning however everyone was excited to find a few bars on their phones but all we can do is send text messages. From what we hear, things in Port au Prince are only getting worse.

  Last night groups of aid workers and tourists were streaming into the hotel where we are staying. Their accounts of the situation in Port au Prince are devastating. We sat transfixed listening to one ...

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• Haiti arrival

  14/01/2010 5:58:00 PM

  By Ruth Mlay.

  I arrived in Haiti on Sunday 9 January and went straight to Hinche, Plateau Central, 3 hours out of Port au Prince, to carry out training on community vulnerabilities and capacity assessment.

  We had to stop the training as the tremors were too strong.

  In the last 24 hours we have felt at least 6 aftershocks. This morning the Haitian radio was urging people in Port au Prince not to go back into their homes as they were expecting more aftershocks.

  Chaos continues in the capital. The streets are closed, some main bridges are closed and people slept in the streets last night. Those whose homes are not completely destroyed cannot stay in them as they do not know how safe they are.

  Currently, we are in Mirenbalais, Plateau Central, 1.5 hours out of Port au Prince.

  24 hours after the quake, aftershocks can still be ...

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