A word on Haiti

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Acts 20:35
I have shown you all things, how that by so laboring ye ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Dear Friends:

There are no words to describe the devastation and the depth of my sorrow about this tragedy. It is so difficult to fathom why and how this could have happened to our brothers and sisters in Haiti and because of that, I haven't spoken on this issue before today. All I can do is ask three favors from you as Christians:

1) Don't believe the hype about Haiti. Haiti is a CHRISTIAN country filled with resiliant people who rely heavily on their faith in God. Please don't allow stereotypes, false prophets, and the media prevent you from seeing this catastrophe in the way that Christ would.

2) Pray incessantly. Imagine if your family members were a few hours away and you think they could be hurt or worse- but you had no way to reach them. Imagine seeing images of your hometown destroyed, children unattended, and your neighbors begging for water. You can't imagine it, even if you are in this situation. Pray as if your life depended on it because prayer changes things.

3) Give. Give until it hurts. Give to organizations that are on the ground doing the work. Did you know that people are being rescued, only to die later on from a lack of adequate care? Broken bones and contusions are resulting in death because, without proper care, our brothers and sisters are dying from blood borne diseases. One such organization trying to help is the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad. This is an American organization of Haitian doctors (or Haitian descent) volunteering to care for survivors of this disaster. These doctors can hit the ground immediately and bypass the language barriers that hinder quality care.

There is a description of the organization below, along to a link to their website. PLEASE, please consider donating to this organization. 100% of your donation goes directly to patient care.

Dear friends, these catastrophes can happen and we feel helpless. I send this message because as Christians, we are activists for Christ. With this information, consider yourself equipped to help.

Stay blessed,

K.

http://www.amhe.org/

Haitian Physicians Abroad Working at General Hospital HUEH in Port-au-Prince Dr Marnell Moore Dr. Moore's group, Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad, is working at the Port-Au-Prince General Hospital. The hospital, by a miracle of God, is still standing and in good condition. This building is very close to the Haitian White House, which was destroyed by the earthquake. She mentioned that they do not have lighting in the hospital, making it more complex to help those in need. Marnell told me that different doctor groups from around the world are now showing up, and many of them present themselves as “being in charge”. This is very frustrating for Marnell's group, because these groups are coming in and assuming that her group are unqualified local doctors, not highly trained Haitian-American physicians from the United States. So, they come in barking orders, and these doctors spend all of their time arguing with each-other, trying to prove they're in charge, while the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad group hastily tries to take care of all the wounded. There are about fifty Haitian-American Doctors from the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad group, and they are able to speak the language – and they know the people. Marnell feels that a Haitian doctor (from the hospital) needs to be put in charge, but there are too many egos involved to get things running smoothly. She informed me that the level of care at the hospital before they arrived was very bad. Many of the patients treated after the earthquake did not receive the proper follow-up care, and have wounds that will likely cause them to die. Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad nurses are busy delivering babies (she told me at least 12 were born last night), many premature. Many broken bones had gone untreated since the earthquake, even on patient's that have already been seen by doctors prior to the group's arrival. Dr. Moore is putting out a plea for assistance. She has informed me that their group in Haiti DESPERATELY needs pain medications (narcotics) and wound care products. Without them, they cannot do the work that needs to be done. If you have some way of providing these products, please contact Paul Nacier MD pnacier@aol.com or Eric L. Jerome, MD FACP eljerome@pol.net Also, please visit http://amhenj.org/Update.html for more information. This organization is MAKING A DIFFERENCE NOW. If you have the means to donate to this organization, I am being told that 100% of the funds are being used to help Haiti. Please visit http://amhenj.org Also, she mentioned that they desperately need news coverage on the ground for their Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad group currently in Haiti in order to increase awareness of their situation at the hospital. - Scott