When the earth shakes

Updated 15 Jan 11:04CST with info from FSIL.
Updated 15 Jan 10:23CST with note about the Sisters of St. Margaret.
Updated 14 Jan 22:09CST with conflicting report about hospital.
Updated 14 Jan 16:64CST with message from Roosnel Delicat.

It’s hard to tear myself away from the flood of information long enough to even post, but I want to share what I know so that others can help Haiti in the coming days. And make no mistake, it will need a lot of help. (There’s an entire section below on how to help).

I’m watching CNN’s, the NY Times’, and AIDG’s Twitter lists, as well as @RAMhaiti, @PIH_org and @aidg itself. I’m also watching a Google News search for anything about Léogâne. Tracy Kidder provides some context on the situation in the NY Times.

Here’s what I know so far. According to the USGS data, the quake struck a few miles directly south of Carrefour, halfway between Port-au-Prince and Léogâne. According to the USGS shakemap, that puts Léogâne and Gressier directly in the hardest-hit zone.

Léogâne is home to l’Hôpital Sainte Croix, a hospital operated by the Episcopal diocese, which although it hasn’t had inpatient services for about two years is the second-largest hospital in the country, after General in Port-au-Prince. I have an unconfirmed report that the building has collapsed.

Sainte Croix is host to several international partnerships, most notably the Children’s Nutrition Program. I have heard (again unconfirmed) that Kara Telesmanick, their Program Manager at Sainte Croix, and another of their staff there are safe and staying in Port-au-Prince for the time being.

Update: There’s now a conflicting report (I found it tweeted) from FSIL that the hospital is still standing, but other parts of the complex (see below) have been destroyed. FSIL also confirms that the Children’s Nutrition Program staff are okay. More from an e-mail from FSIL:

Donna [Martsolf, a member of the Haiti Nursing Foundation board,] called from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince [...] assuring me that she was giving eyewitness reports. She and her husband Rob are with Father John Talbird and staff from the Children’s Nutrition Program: Kara, Ashley, Laura, Joey and Courtney.

[...] Hôpital Sainte Croix was reported as collapsed, but Donna said it’s cracked but standing. Leogane has much destruction. The HSC guest house and Children’s Nutrition Program quarters are gone. John & Suzi Parker you’ve heard about – John somewhat injured but okay, and both insisting on staying to help for a while longer.

John & Suzi Parker run the hospital’s guest house.

The Sainte Croix hospital and parish compound is also home to the priest of our partner parish, The Rev. Kerwin Delicat, and his wife Rholcie and daughter Kercie. We have had no word from them yet. From other reports I’ve been able to find, the prospects aren’t good that much of Léogâne is still standing.

Update: We have heard from Roosnel, Fr. Kerwin’s brother, who lives in Port-au-Prince:

We are all doing well cause of the Lord. Thank you very much for your prayers.

Not sure if ‘we’ includes Fr. Kerwin et al in Léogâne or not.

Also no word yet of our partner parish is Ste. Philippe & Ste. Jacques in Gressier, which is even closer to the epicenter of the quake than Leogane. Their new church building was due to be dedicated in April, with a group from St. John’s (our parish here in Minnesota) to attend. They had been having services in the single long building that served as both church and school, with classes separated only by chalkboards; who knows what state either building is in now.

We have had word, however, from several of the folks in Port-au-Prince. The Rev. Kesner Ajax, who administers the parish partnership program, is reporting regularly via e-mail. He reports that Bishop Duracin and his wife, as well as the Sisters of St. Margaret, are alive, but that the cathedral, the convent, the Bishop’s residence, and the rest of the Sainte Trinité compound has been destroyed. At least two other churches have also been levelled, including the one in St. Etienne, which is partnered with another of the Episcopal congregations in Minnesota. ENS has more updates posted here.

Update: The Sisters of St. Margaret in Boston have now heard directly from the Sisters in Port-au-Prince:

THE SISTERS ARE ALIVE AND UNHURT! We have spoken directly to Sr. Marie Margaret. She is with Sr. Marjorie Raphael and Sr. Marie Therese in a football field at College St. Pierre. The front of the Foyer collapsed but the back is still standing. They had some of the ladies from the Foyer with them. We will keep updating you as we know any more. PRAISE GOD!

The Foyer they refer to is Foyer Notre Dame, a home for elderly Haitians who had been homeless. We stayed at the guest house at the Foyer in April 2008.

How to help

1. Donate for immediate relief. Partners In Health, Paul Farmer’s organization, is taking donations to assist the temporary UNDP field hospital that has been set up near their location. Oxfam has put out an appeal for donations to fund the large mobilization they’ve already begun. Mercy Corps also already has a team on the way and is taking donations. I recommend any of these, as well as (of course) the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

   Some of these organizations are (or will be) seeking material donations as well, particularly medical supplies. KONPAY is one such organization. Partners In Health is also looking for volunteer medical personnel to help them set up services in Port-au-Prince.

2. Donate for long-term rebuilding. Giving now to serve the immediate needs is good, but Haiti will need support for a long time if it is to be able to recover from a tragedy of this magnitude.

   Episcopal Relief & Development, which helps those in need regardless of religious (non-)affiliation, is already preparing to meet medium-to-long-term needs. The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti has over two hundred schools, several medical facilities and programs, and other infrastructure that will certainly be employed to help the country rebuild.

   Health programs, such as the aforementioned Children’s Nutrition Program and Lespwa Timoun, will be absolutely necessary to the country’s recovery as well. So will economic development programs like Fonkoze (a microlending program) and AIDG (an infrastructure development group).

3. Get involved. The organizations mentioned above, and others, have already been working in Haiti a long time, and will continue to do so. Some of them provide opportunities to visit and work there. Their respective websites have details.

   I’m sure that there will also be some organizations that will assist in rebuilding by sending work teams, building materials and equipment to Haiti. I’ll be keeping my eye out for these and posting about them here.

Other good ways of helping have been posted by YES! Magazine and Chris Sacca. Whichever way seems most appropriate to you, please help somehow. Remember that in Haiti, even the smallest donation can go a long way.