Difficulties with broken infrastructure, limited airport
capacity and concerns about potential security threats
in Haiti slowed the delivery of humanitarian supplies to
hard-hit areas in the first days after the quake. Even
ambulances are in short supply, reported World Vision
staff.
“The basics are the hardest,” said Dave Toycen,
president of World Vision Canada. “There was a mile-long
line for gasoline. It's a logistical maze out here.”
The security situation could change rapidly if shortages
of food, water and other basic supplies reach a critical
level, the agency warned.
With thousands in Port-au-Prince left homeless by
destroyed or badly damaged houses, many are sleeping in
the streets or at spontaneous settlements in public
parks and other spaces. World Vision staff have seen
people living in very unsanitary and hazardous
conditions.
Supplies running low; resupply begins
A Hercules C130 brought items such as hygiene kits,
blankets, water containers, and shelter materials from
World Vision’s warehouse in Denver. The aid group is
planning more flights this weekend from Panama City,
Toronto, and an additional flight from Denver, bringing
more supplies, including medicines, tents, and shovels
to remove debris.
World Vision staff are finding alternatives to the
congested Port-au-Prince airport, including bringing
supplies overland from airports and ports in the
Dominican Republic, where the agency has a sizable
presence.
Provide first aid
World Vision teams have distributed first-aid supplies
to more than ten hospitals in the Port-au-Prince area.
“Some volunteer teachers have been performing first aid
for the past day or two to those who have been injured,”
reported Toycen. However, he fears many will die of
their injuries if not tended to soon. “We are racing
against the clock.”
Many of the injured have started to develop gangrene
because they did not receive timely and adequate medical
care. Family members of patients are taking measures
into their own hands since the hospital system is
completely overwhelmed and suffering serious structural
damages; one World Vision volunteer saw an amputation
performed in the hallways of the general hospital using
unhygienic tools. World Vision volunteers also have seen
a severed foot become an amputated leg because the
wounds were not sterilized.
Amputation tools and supplies to sterilize wounds are in
short supply; World Vision anticipates a need for
significant amounts of crutches and braces for
earthquake amputees.
Children alone and at risk
World Vision has started to identify children who have
become separated from their parents. The organization
has expressed concern about the number of children who
are leaving Port-au-Prince and walking into towns
outside the city to find help. World Vision’s Dominican
Republic staff in the border town of Jimani are helping
provide food, water, and medical care to hundreds of
unaccompanied children who fled Port-au-Prince for the
border, either alone or who became separated from
parents along the way.
There were a significant number of children in
orphanages prior to the disaster, and World Vision staff
acknowledge that the earthquake certainly has created
more orphans. Because the quake struck during school
hours, there are hundreds of children who simply have
not found their parents.
Donations to World Vision’s Haiti Quake Response can be
made by calling 888-56-CHILD, at
www.worldvision.org, or by texting the word “GIVE”
to 20222.