Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association relief news update from Haiti.
For hundreds of thousands of homeless families and countless seriously injured, each day since the January 12 massive earthquake has been an exhausting struggle for survival, leaving little time to even grieve loved ones lost.

Translator for Haitian earthquake survivor (M): She’s so starving. She has like three or four kids. Every day is a war for her to find something to eat. She said, “How am I going to survive this thing? My house is broken down. Everything is gone.”

VOICE: Sending her deep condolences and sorrowful prayers, Supreme Master Ching Hai had immediately made funds available and donated US$60,000, asking our Association members to render help for the most vulnerable victims, in particular through medical and operational care as well as quality pain medications.
Our Association members from around the world also contributed financially, bringing the total donation to US$269,000, an amount that could acquire supplies valued at US$9.6 million in the United States, based on Haiti’s cost of living.

With most covering their own travel expenses, our Association’s relief team has been joined by more international Association members who are also skilled physicians, including wound care and other specialists along with nurses, dentists and cooks.

Arriving with each new deployment to Carrefour, near Port-au-Prince are shipments of plant-based protein supplies, antibiotics and medicines. Working together with the kitchen staff of the Adventist hospital, the relief team’s professional chefs and cooks have been addressing the dire need for nutritious vegan fare
to help the victims regain their much-needed physical resiliency and strength, given their still-unstable living conditions.

Our Association’s team has thus been preparing and distributing thousands of healthy, warm vegan meals each day, based on local Haitian recipes. One of the relief team members, a medical doctor, reports from the hospital where he has been serving.

Correspondent / Medical doctor (M): I’m speaking with the head of the kitchen at the hospital.
Thank you for letting us use your kitchen to cook food and work with your people, to feed the people of the hospital and the employees.

Head of hospital kitchen (F): It’s a pleasure for the hospital, because you come from overseas.
You came to help the Haitian people. I appreciate your team because you are very kind, you can collaborate with Haitian people. It’s very good.

Correspondent (M): Do you like the vegetarian food?

Head of hospital kitchen (F): Yes, it’s good. You maintain your health with vegetarian food. It’s good! Your help is very appreciated by us, and I think that Jesus appreciates more your help. May God bless you.
Correspondent (M): Thank you, and we appreciate you, too.

VOICE: Our Association’s correspondent also spoke with some of the patients.

Correspondent, also medical doctor (M): We are here on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince in front of what looks like a typical house that has sustained great damage.

Unfortunately, there are millions of people that have been displaced from this horrendous earthquake.
This has caused several tent cities to develop. We’re going to walk up to one tent city right down the street which is 25,000 people strong.

Correspondent (M): Could you please tell us what has happened to you?

Translator for Haitian elderly woman sitting in rubble (M): She doesn’t have any place to live. She’s homeless. Her house has collapsed from the earthquake. She has nobody to take care of her, no children, and she’s sleeping out.

Translator for Haitian boy with amputated leg (M): While the earthquake passed, he was in a higher building having 5 stories. While his mother sent him to go buy cards, just to charge the telephone, and then the earthquake passed. The house fell on his leg, and his leg is broken. His mother’s dead.

Correspondent (M): Oh… I’m very sorry.

Translator for young man with amputated leg (M): He says that the worst thing is that people living around him are dead. He’d been 3 days under a higher building falling on him. All the buildings around him are falling on people. There aren’t any people alive, only him safe and alive.

Translator (M): He says he has received medical care, and food and that the food is good, is tasteful. He likes it. Like carrots, and some potatoes, and rice. This is their culture.

Translator (M):  He says thanks and when you’ll be leaving for home, try not to forget him.

Correspondent (M): We will do that.

Correspondent (M): Have you liked the food that you’ve had here at the hospital?

Haitian boy who lost mother – In Creole (M): Yes! (Oui! smiling)

Correspondent (M): Reporting for Supreme Master Television in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We thank everyone, including governments, organizations and volunteers who are contributing to the aid efforts in Haiti at this time.
Our gratefulness also goes to Supreme Master Ching Hai for her caring support and our Association’s relief team for their unhesitating efforts.

We pray for the recovery and safety of the Haitian people, and that such tragedies may cease with our greater consideration for the environment and one another.