On 12th January 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake devastated the capital of Haiti, affecting the lives of more than 2 million people. An estimated 200,000 are believed to be dead, hundreds of thousands injured, and over a million people left homeless.
Upon receiving a call to volunteer to help the needy people of Haiti, Dalvin and I immediately decided to seize the opportunity to lend a helping hand to those who were affected by the catastrophe. With just a few days to prepare, and with the help of our team, we packed whatever supplies we could get our hands on and embarked on a mission to bring aid and relief to the Haitian people.
On 25th January 2010, we departed from Moscow and joined the City Care Team 3 in Paris before flying 9 hours to Santo Domingo and taking an 8 hour bus ride, past the border into the town of Carrefour, Haiti. With all the TV coverage and vast photos and videos on the internet, it still could not prepare us for what we saw with our own eyes, heard with our own ears, smelt with our own noses or felt with our own hearts upon entering the quake-struck country. The stench of death greeted our senses, houses and all kinds of buildings were reduced to rubble, thousands of people living in makeshift tents in the open fields or streets, children crying and signs were planted all over the city with the words: We need help, food and water. Children and adults who lost their families adopted one another. With each passing vehicle with foreign people, the eyes of the Hatians glimmered with hope amidst all the despair. It was indeed a sight that could break ever person’s heart.
Upon arrival in the afternoon, we immediately checked into base camp. After a short briefing by our team leader, we started work straight away, attending to the injured and the sick. With a total of 3 doctors, 2 nurses, 2 relief workers and 2 medical students, our team linked up with a group of American firefighters and local volunteers to care for the people in the surrounding area.
We worked everyday from 8 am to 6 pm at our medical facility located in a theatre with an average of 300 people per day lining up to receive treatment. Cases ranged from dehydrated babies, wound infections, lacerations, fractures, hip dislocations, gun shot wounds to the common cold. There was even a boy who lined up the whole day just to come in to request for a bottle of water. On day 1 itself, Dalvin and the group of firefighters successfully rescued an abandoned man on the street, wounded, dehydrated and left to die. The team also visited and cared for orphans who lost their parents in the earthquake. They were all left homeless and had to live in the open as they had to place to go to. In the course of our few days there, we managed to set up a 2nd mobile medical clinic a few blocks away where there was a great need for medication and treatment. Individuals in the area who could not travel far flocked to the mobile clinic for the necessary care. In total, our team managed to meet the medical needs of more than 1,700 people.
This trip with City Care was very rewarding as we learned so much about life in just a span of 10 days. Just when we thought that we were there to be a blessing to the people, we instead were even more blessed by them as they taught us life lessons we would never forget. Their resilience and their ability to move on with life really proved to us that losses or failures are never fatal. The things we saw and experienced also really taught us to truly value the things in life and to count our blessings. The Haitian volunteers, many of whom suffered great losses, taught us character as they worked hard and selflessly helped in the tedious setting up, security, drug arrangements and translation.
On Sunday, we attended a church service in Haiti and we were amazed to see the people rejoice in God in the midst of suffering. It was evidence that even when you have lost everything and have nothing, Jesus really is more than enough for you. I think it was best said by a writing on one of the walls of the house we stayed in: “It doesn’t matter where you’re planted because it depends on how you respond to the nourishing. The poorest of poor spots can bring the sweetest of sweet fruits.”
This mission trip to Haiti has really been an eye opening experience for the both of us and we are very thankful to God. We also thank all of you who have prayed and supported us throughout this period of time. Indeed, God can really exceed all our expectations!
written by,
Herman
