Haiti Update: January 27, 2010

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Highlights of The Salvation Army’s relief work for January 27 include the following:

• Team members in PaP accepted a shipment of 18 pallets of food and 4 pallets of bottled water sent over from the logistics team in Miami.  The 18 pallets of food represent over 213,000 meals.
• Food sufficient for 11,000 meals was given to support a group of Haitian technicians who are working to restore the communication system in Haiti.  Lack of good communication remains one of the significant challenges that continue to hamper the effective coordination of relief efforts.
• Over 100 preschoolers attended classes again today.
• Approximately 250 patients received medical attention from doctors at The Salvation Army compound.
• Arrangements to facilitate a food and water distribution in Petit Goave were finalized in preparation for what is believed to be the first major delivery of relief aid that will reach earthquake survivors in this coastal community.
• Salvation Army personnel continued to network with other agencies to coordinate essential services for the thousands of families we are standing alongside of in Port-au-Prince.
• Team members in Haiti continue to be supported by logistics managers and many hundreds of volunteers as food and other critically needed supplies are purchased, repackaged, and then shipped to the warehousing facility in Miami to be readied for final shipment to Haiti and ultimately distributed to families who have been displaced and rendered homeless by the earthquake.  This is truly a massive effort that must be managed throughout the entire process in order to ensure that an uninterrupted supply of relief goods are available to the people of Haiti while the country’s infrastructure is rebuilt and normal supply chains are reestablished.

Local Response Team Heads to Haiti

The Indianapolis Salvation Army sent its first Disaster Response team to Haiti today. The 3 person team flew out from Indianapolis International Airport at 3:25 PM for Fort Lauderdale, and will fly to Port-Au-Prince tomorrow. They will be part of a national Salvation Army disaster team that will respond to the overwhelming need in Haiti for the next 2 weeks. A new team will relieve them on January 30 and they will return on January 31.

The local team is made up of Salvation Army Disaster Service Director – Jerry Larsen, and Salvation Army Officers – Captain Marcos Ramirez and Captain Geff Crowell. Internationally, Jerry Larsen is one of The Salvation Army’s most highly trained disaster response people. He has served at 9/11 in New York, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and numerous other response operations. In Haiti, Jerry will take on an administrative position while Captains Ramirez and Crowell will be assigned to hydration and, spiritual and emotional care. All three men have extensive disaster service experience and training.

This will most likely be the first of several Salvation Army response teams from Indiana. “The devastation is so vast, and the need is so great, that The Salvation Army will be providing aid for many months to come,” said Larsen. National and International teams will continue to serve on 2 week tours for the foreseeable future.