Haiti

Wow....I'm sure everyone has seen the pictures and heard the terrible stories coming out of Haiti. I'm not sure how many people know that Zach and I went on a mission there in May of '08. Let me just start by saying that when we were there the country was in shambles with absolutely no infrastructure and tremendous poverty. The roads are dirt, the houses are built out of stones and clay and the government is corrupt. But everyday that we were out in the communities working the clinics, I saw resilient, grateful and kindhearted people who only wanted a better life for their children or grandchildren. It was heartbreaking and devastating to see and witness the poverty and lack of care that so many of these people were receiving....now they are being forced to deal with natures cruel fate....

This picture is at the Hotel Montana that was destroyed in the earthquake. The background is the city of Port-au-Prince.



Here is one of downtown Port-au-Prince as we were driving to a clinic. The people of Haiti would steal the tires off of cars and cut the tire/rubber up and then sell the rubber so that people could use it to start fires for cooking or heating water.

I found out from Zach's mom that the rehab center and the compound where we stayed has sustained significant damage and that the hotel we ate dinner at, Hotel Montana, is still reporting over 200 guests as missing. This country needs help immediately and will need help for many months, years to come. Healing Hands for Haiti, the Utah group, plans to return in October and I hope I can do everything in my power to be with them again. So many people are going to be donating time, money and resources in this immediate aftermath that I hope all is not forgotten in the months to come...because help is still going to be needed.