A First-hand Account and Call for Assistance from Haiti

Danielle Saint-Lot, Vital Voices Network member and co-founder of our chapter in Haiti, Femmes en Democratie, offers her first-hand account of current conditions and calls for assistance in the post below:

Dear All:

We urgently need in Jacmel: an orthopedist, two anesteniologists and a surgeon.

I am safe with my daughter and my staff in Jacmel. Jacmel old city is completely destroyed.

We are homeless and living in a camp in a Catholic community with 200 people that have lost more than their houses. We have been blessed.

In the Jacmel region around 2,000 families has been affected leaving around 20,000 people in very bad conditions. For the moment we have an estimate of 150 deaths but some children are still under a shool building. We have set up 4 camps one of them with 4,000 persons.

I am part of the local camps management.  We are doing our best to manage the situation in Jacmel with the assistance of the UN and local authorities.  But we are still traumatized and are waiting for humanitarian assistance. The earth is still shaking at night.

We are still counting our blessings because the situation is worst in Port-au-Prince.  I have lost a few friends.

Early by 5:00 am every morning, for two hours there are like 500 - 600 people on the streets singing religious songs, dancing and blessing God for being alive.  It is like a parade, the local way of healing their pain, it is vey impressive.  A real therapy for these victims which have lost everything except their Faith.

Keep on praying for Haiti!

Danielle

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2 Responses to “A First-hand Account and Call for Assistance from Haiti”

  1. Ludmilla responded on 16 Jan 2010 at 9:15 pm #

    Dear Danielle,
    I would like to help a smaller, more direct organization. I would be able from where I live to raise some money for Jacmel. I would appreciate if you could let me know how to the help to you, letting us know whether money or supply is better.
    We are all praying for you all.
    Sincerely,
    Ludy from Haiti living in Panama

  2. Luce Depestre Vastey responded on 16 Jan 2010 at 9:38 pm #

    Chere Danielle,
    Je suis originaire de Jacmel, medecin pediatre retraitee a Miami. J’aimerai me joindre a vous afin de porter mon aide aux Jacmeliens. Veuillez m’indiquez a quel organisme m’addresser afin de me rendre en Haiti.
    Bon courage,

    Luce

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