No news today

Haven't heard from Chris today, but remain hopeful that they are getting vital work done. PIH provides excellent updates, many of them referencing things that Chris has mentioned in his emails. To get these updates, subscribe to the PIH mailing list at www.pih.org. There is a sign-up box in the top right corner. Also wanted to mention some other great organizations doing great things:

- Red Cross
- CARE
- Oxfam

Please keep giving what you can. A great suggestion is to set up a monthly donation. Many sites allow for automatic monthly drafts in the dollar amount of your choice. Help is going to be needed for a long time.

Also, one of our closest friends is headed down to Haiti tomorrow to get her almost three-year old adopted daughter out of Port-au-Prince. Keep them both in your prayers.

In the meantime, keep the people of Haiti and the people on the ground in your prayers. Will post more as soon as I know more.

From the Ground in Haiti: Day Four Cont.

Received this afternoon:

i'm dashing around all day. mostly at the hospital, putting out fires. today, after the tremor/wake-up call, the hospital removed all patients. its so hot out here and its terrible enough already.i was asked to organize complete campus assessment only with Corps of engineers structural guys. was able to pull army contacts and make it happen, everyone is now getting back into the wards.

also working on restoring electrical power. a huge mess, so coord with all types, went out to cite sole to borrow batteries from an equipment company, finally got the thing started only to have no one to help us complete the work. used same army contacts, got electricians here who worked with local haiti guys we also brought in to get things started. hope to have power by 5pm

it rained hard last night. so bad, haitians are homeless or fear sleeping inside, if they have shelter, its sheets strung up by ropes. so can it get worse for them? and then the tremor this morning, i think a 6.1, really shook people up, no pun intended.

but we keep going, jim and i working hand in hand, we have 82nd airborn troops stationed here who are awesome, its absolute choas.

have a coord mtg tonight, i have been lynch pin between UN, US Army and Corps of Eng to organize assessments. still have decent hospitals with pats outside since day 1 that need assessment.

From the Ground in Haiti: Day Four

I received this about an hour after the 6.1 aftershock hit this morning.

"We are safe and making stuff happen. We have been at HUEH the general hospital in P-a-P also called the University Hospital. Tons of patients, lots of media. Clinton and Paul [Farmer] were here two days ago. 82nd airborne with us -- awesome guys. Working with awesome Aussie UN guy. We are working to connect UN, US Southern Com, Corps of Engineers, Ministry of Public Works, Digicel and other local contractors. I've seen some pretty rough stuff and it's extremely difficult to do our work. But each day things get better."

From the Ground in Haiti

For those of you who don't know, my husband, Chris, is currently in Haiti working with Partners In Health and other relief volunteers. They are doing great things. Here are a few of the updates I've received:

Day One:
Already reopened a hospital via structural assessment
- 32 bed facility in which they could squeeze 100. Hooked up with UN
engineers, US Army guys, and a crazy field hospital with over 120
patients needing immediate surgery - working on finding ORs, then beds
for them at established facilities. Will be coordinating initial
building assessment teams in PAP to reopen or condemn more hospitals,
then govt' and UN buildings to get them back in action for more
coordinated response.

Day Two:
Yesterday was difficult, but there is more positive than negative, so we're making stuff happen....staying in PAP ... we have control of the Central hosp in downtown, just up from the Pres. Palace. [we are] helping restore the facility and helping w/ organization of building assessment teams. we are making progress, but things are
challenging. main energies are life saving efforts. problem: many orthopedic cases, open fractures. we have ortho surgeons, no ORs. a few places are operational, but over capacity. we have teams in central plateau waiting for patients, trying to line up transport. otherwise, helping PIH reestablish central hospital in downtown and working with UN/Ministry of Public Work doing building assessments to open more hospitals, then gov''t/NGO offices to restore communication. coordinated efforts very difficult b/c on-ground com systems sporadic. email best mode, but few have hand helds, so we email w/ boston who then coms back to people here.
i am safe and with wonderful people. its tough, put we're making things happen.

Day Three:
I'm safe...but busy.

About Partners In Health

We have chosen Partners In Health (PIH) as our primary donation source because Partners In Health has an unparalleled reputation in both the NGO and international community. For more than 20 years, PIH has worked in Haiti to provide free medical care, community support and dignity of life to underserved communities.

To make direct donations to Partners in Health for earthquake relief, visit https://donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake?source=earthquake&subsource=homepage

PIH co-founder, Paul Farmer, was featured in the book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, The Man Who Would Cure the World, (Random House) and has been joined by co-founders, Ophelia Dahl and Jim Kim, in a tireless fight to bring social justice to the poor and underserved populations around the world.

To learn more about PIH, visit www.pih.org today. Read more about PIH's direct response to the disaster in Haiti, donate directly and more.

All we ask is that you give what you can today. Then encourage your friends and family to do the same. Together, we can make a difference.

Change for Haiti

Earthquake Relief for Haiti.

It's everywhere: What can I do? How can I help the people of Haiti?

The answer is as simple as spare change and a jar. And while the idea may seem simple, our belief is that you shouldn't wait until you have “enough” to give, instead, you can give what you have and ask those around you to do the same. Spare changes, loose bills, whatever you can give, it will make a difference for the millions of hungry, sick, hurt and displaced people of Haiti.

Our goal is to place change jars in as many locations as possible around the country. In schools, offices, libraries, local businesses, gyms, restaurants..anywhere your community members gather. All you have to do is print a label, attach it to a jar and put it out there.

Change for Haiti is a grassroots fundraising effort seeking to urge communities to action. On this site, you will find flyers, jar labels and information about where funds will go. We're not a formal organization, we're an idea. Our goal is to provide those who want to help with a resource for ideas, along with the materials and encouragement to move forward.

All we ask is that you give what you can today. Then encourage your friends and family to do the same. Together, we can make a difference.

Hope begins right here, right now, with you.

*All proceeds from this site and efforts of the Change for Haiti founders will be donated directly to Partners In Health, a non-profit medical organization whose dedication and direct relief efforts to the people of Haiti span more than 20 years. We encourage all interested parties to do the same. To learn more about Partners In Health or to make a direct donation, visit www.pih.org.

Please contact changeforhaiti@gmail.com if you would like to receive more information or have ideas for making a change.