An update on the Haiti Foundation Against Poverty

It’s been almost a month since the earthquake disaster in Haiti, but medical and rebuilding efforts are far from over. Shortly after the earthquake, I wrote about the Haiti Foundation Against Poverty and my hometown’s connection to Haiti. There is much to be done still, but things have come a long way since the panic and fear of the first few days in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Mallery and the Haiti Foundation Against Poverty have received many supplies from people in the states helping them. Many of the kids from the school and orphanage were found to be safe, and now have food, water and temporary shelter in tents. They also brought a medical team to Haiti and have been treating hundreds of patients daily.

The Facebook updates from Mallery are much more positive and hopeful now, and a photographer from my hometown’s newspaper even went down to Haiti with one of the teams to document the efforts of HFAP and the medical team. His stories and photos have shown the resilience of the Haitian people and the true power of people to bring relief to a struggling country.

Aftershocks ravaged the already damaged Haiti, making rescue efforts even more difficult and frightening the HFAP team. Some success stories have come from Mallery and her team, such as a child they thought was dead that was found alive. The girl, Kelencia, was scheduled to go back to the United States for surgery for a hole in her heart, but getting her back has now been almost impossible because of the many critically injured people that need to leave the country. Though getting her to the State for her surgery is now more difficult, she is alive and doing well. The medical team has treated hundreds of people, doing surgeries, fixing broken bones and healing all other kinds of injuries. They have also fed hundreds of families with the supplies received from people in the United States.

Unfortunately, the conditions are still poor. Bodies are still littered in the streets and thousands of people are still missing. Even more people are injured and without food or water. CNN’s Anderson Cooper has been very involved with the Haiti crisis, and just returned to Haiti within the last day. Some of his reports have been disturbing, including bodies being dumped and left unidentified, as well as this video about the involvement (or lack thereof) of the Haitian government.

Updates from Mallery talking about the plentiful amounts of rice, corn and oil that were bagged for Haitian families, the babies that HFAP is helping and the successes of the medical team bring hope to the hundreds of people following her story and the efforts of the team. The tragedy in Haiti was devastating, but the actions of people like Mallery who have sprung to the aid of the country have been inspiring. There is still much work to be done, and Mallery and the team are hoping to raise enough money for a portable medical unit. They are also trying to obtain refugee status for several children from the orphanage, as well as temporary visas for the children that already have passports.

AWARENESS + ACTION:

You can learn more, donate, and find links to some of the stories from the photographer at the HFAP website.