Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Haiti.
A month has crawled by as efforts to rebuild the nation continue after hundreds of thousand succumbed to the severe 7.0-magnitude quake on Janurary 12.
Yet hope continues for over a million Haitians still in search for the necessary shelter, food, and water to survive another day. Supreme Master Television reports on the situation from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Supreme Master TV (f): In the aftermath of the earthquake, everyone here is looking around, trying to rescue everything they can and with what is left, rebuild their lives.
They’re picking up doors and metals and anything of wood or scraps that they can put together and selling it on the market so they can make a little bit of money to make their ends meet and to get some clean water and, and food and the basic essentials.
The people of Haiti are very resourceful; they're very creative. They have a lot of courage, and they have an immense life spirit that allows them to go around and continue and, just survive, no matter what the circumstances.
VOICE: Sending her heartfelt care to the vulnerable in Haiti, Supreme Master Ching Hai had donated an initial US$60,000, asking that our Association members, especially those in the medical fields, go to offer their professional services.
Realizing the vulnerability of the homeless quake victims, she recently requested that our Association members purchase and distribute easy-to-use tents, preferably with a screen to keep out mosquitoes, to provide more adequate shelter. Combined with the steady outpour of donations from our global Association members, the total contributions now total over US$271,000, which could obtain US$9.7 million in aid in the United States, based on Haiti’s cost of living.
With most covering their own travel expenses, our Association members continue to arrive from various nations to offer medical, nursing, translation and other services.
The nation is still lacking healthcare personnel, especially English-speaking doctors and nurses. Our Association’s relief team has been working from the major Adventiste Hospital, one of the few stable facilities in the region, joining with other aid groups in providing much-needed medical attention such surgical,
nursing, and dental care. Meanwhile, there is also a growing need for food.
Supreme Master TV Correspondent (f): They just told me that since the earthquake they haven’t received any help or any food or any water, not even drink of a water.
They’re sleeping over there, kind of under the stars, and they’re trying to scavenge to get some food from the markets.
Whoever can give them some food, and these are lots of kids that are here, you know, left to their own.
VOICE: The Maison Notre Dame de Lourdes orphanage, which assists mothers who are ill and their children, had expressed concern that their lack of nourishing provisions would cause people to return to the streets.
Hearing of this, our Association’s relief team was able to provide an initial two-week supply of rice, beans, sugar, oil, salt, spaghetti, tomatoes, pasta, flour, corn and fresh vegetables.
The relief team also went to another orphanage in Port-au-Prince where they delivered similar food supplies. Meanwhile, our Association’s cooking team, working from the Adventiste hospital, has continued preparing thousands of wholesome vegan meals every day for patients, staff and quake victims.
Relief recipients and fellow aid workers alike have expressed their deep thanks for Supreme Master Ching Hai’s loving assistance, as in the following excerpt from the website of the US-based Park Ridge Hospital group:
We've got an amazing disaster relief team feeding over 3,000 meals a day to the patients, families, and staff here at the hospital - they have come together from around the world and often participate in relief work.
They are known as the Supreme Master Ching Hai Disaster Relief Team. They are all 100% vegan, so the food has been great and I don't have to wonder what I'm eating...
http://parkridgeinhaiti.blogspot.com/VOICE: Our appreciation goes to all nations, organizations, and persons working to assist the Haitian people. We also thank Supreme Master Ching Hai for her wholehearted support of the vulnerable, as well as our Association’s relief team for their dedicated endeavors.
Our prayers for the smooth recuperation of the Haitian people and that such disastrous circumstances are eased through our gentler stewardship of the ecosphere.